Pierre Poilievre promises to speed up Ring of Fire development

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Developing the mineral-rich Ring of Fire area in northwestern Ontario has been stalled for a decade thanks to the federal Liberal government and it’s time to start getting shovels in the ground, says Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre.

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“My government will set a deadline of six months to green light permits for the Ring of Fire,” Poilievre, accompanied by his wife Anaida, said during a press conference at the Pioneer Construction facility in Greater Sudbury on Wednesday.

Poilievre, who was also to attend a Canada First rally at the Radisson Hotel in the downtown core later in the day, said a Conservative Government would also help the Ontario government to build a highway to get to the Ring of Fire development, as well as help with the building of infrastructure needed to develop the site and clear the way for mining.

Decades of exploration have turned up nickel, copper, chromite, platinum and other metals in the area around the James Bay Lowlands that miners call the Ring of Fire, but the area lacks an all-season road connecting it to the southern portion of Ontario.

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Poilievre said his government would commit $1 billion over three years to building roads.

Currently, Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals Ltd. controls the most advanced mine projects in the area, after acquiring Toronto-based Noront Resources Ltd. in 2021 for around $617 million in cash.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been seeking to advance the project and has pledged to commit up to $1 billion in government funding to build infrastructure in the area.

However, federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has taken a more circumspect tone, calling it “a particularly challenging area” in reference to the geography and the sentiment of some Indigenous communities in the area.

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“There is a lot of that area that is peat,” he said at a press conference in 2022. “And there are also several Indigenous nations that have raised concerns and certainly questions about development in that space. Both of those issues have to be addressed in any agreement.”

The federal government is in the midst of a larger study of the environmental impacts of the proposed roads and projects in the area. In January, it said it had finalized the terms of reference for a regional study.

Asked by a reporter if the minerals of the Ring of Fire should be processed in Greater Sudbury, Poilievre said “Sudbury is the hub” and the obvious place where the minerals of the Ring of Fire should be going, where workers can process them prepared for shipping around the world.

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“It’s going to be a really bright future for workers here in Sudbury, ” he said.

Related story: Wyloo Canada to build Ring of Fire facility in Sudbury

Related story: ‘We believe Canada needs more nickel,’ Wyloo boss says

Poilievre said development of the Ring of Fire “will make Canada very rich. It will galvanize Northern Ontario towns,” as well as making First Nation communities in the north better off.

“We’ve known about this project for a long time,” he said. “Why are there no shovels in the ground? …The Liberals have done everything they could to block the project. They have been sitting on the permits for five years.”

Poilievre said that after 10 years of stalled development, “the Ring of Fire is on the verge of collapse.”

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The Conservative leader also said that over the past decade, Canada’s economic growth has fallen behind its competitors around the globe and, in the process, helped to make the United States stronger.

Poilievre said his party understands that the wealth created by developing Canadian resources will benefit all Canadians and improve Canada’s economy at the same time.

“We will stand up for the economy and our people,” he said.

Turning to the Pioneer Construction employees standing behind him, Poilievre told them “you deserve a good life, a wonderful home in a wonderful community, protected by our brave troops.”

Poilievre said 10 years of Liberal governments have meant nothing but a steady drain on Canadians and a weakened economy, leading to the loss of half a trillion dollars in investment to the United States and “making us more dependent (on the U.S).”

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The Conservative leader noted that American President Donald Trump has just remarked that “having a Liberal prime minister would be easier to deal with.”

Poilievre said that’s not going to be the case if the Conservatives win the next federal election.

“I’m a strong leader,” he said. “I’m a tough guy to deal with … I will always put Canada first.”

Poilievre said new Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney moved his corporate head offices to New York City – Trump’s home city – which led to jobs being transferred to the United States.

Polilievre said that steps a Conservative government would take – such as promoting development, cracking down on crime through measures such as “jail, not bail”, and addressing the opioid crisis – will help make Canada “become a strong, self-reliant and sovereign nation” again.

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“Most of all, we will make Canada a place, a country, where anyone from anywhere can do anything,” he said.

Asked by a reporter if his admission that his political style is “too direct:” and “too blunt,” Poilievre said he has no plans to soften that style in the time leading up to the next federal election.

“I think we need a strong leader, a leader who will work on doing something,” he said.

Poilievre added that after a decade of Liberal governments in Ottawa, Canadians are now dealing with a higher cost of living and housing prices that make it nearly impossible to buy a home.

“I have been very blunt in speaking out about things and I have been very blunt about speaking of solutions: lower the taxes, so workers can keep more of their paycheques,” he said.

Poilievre said other steps his government would take – such as helping to build more homes and rebuilding the military – will help make Canadian streets safe for children again.

“That’s how we are going to rebuild our economy and put Canada first,” he said.

– with files from the National Post

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X: @HaroldCarmichae

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