P.E.I. pitches 7 'nation-building' projects to Ottawa at first ministers' conference

P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz is pitching seven so-called "nation-building" projects at the first ministers' conference in Saskatoon on Monday.

Lantz is meeting with other provincial and territorial leaders and Prime Minister Mark Carney for the first time since the April 28 federal election.

Carney told CBC's Power & Politics last week that "major projects" are the top priority of the meeting. He described them as "nation-building projects" that will unite the country, diversify the economy, boost exports and move the economy forward. Each province was asked to bring a list of ideas.

At the top of Lantz's list is a regional project to increase electrical capacity on the Island.

"This concept that we're bringing forward here in Saskatoon would strengthen the transmission across Atlantic Canada, and connect the region to the national grid, open up regional generation opportunities," Lantz told CBC's Island Morning on Sunday.

"It would trigger billions of dollars, not just in infrastructure investment, but also economic development opportunities. We're running up against capacity issues in Prince Edward Island, and it could be difficult to develop any large industrial or agricultural enterprises here in the province, unless we really deal with our energy future and secure our energy future."

Power reliability has been a major topic this year on the Island after the City of Summerside, which operates its own utility, faced a series of power disruptions this winter.

Summerside Electric generates about 60 per cent of its electricity through renewable sources like solar and wind, but it still relies on Maritime Electric's transmission grid for power that the smaller utility buys from New Brunswick. 

A failure at Maritime Electric's Sherbrooke substation, located just north of the city, led to significant power challenges in February. As a result, residents were asked to conserve electricity and a mobile transformer had to be brought in from Newfoundland to stabilize the system.

Lantz noted P.E.I. depends on New Brunswick for additional electricity, delivered through underwater cables. He said the province may need to look at other solutions, for example another undersea cable to Nova Scotia, as part of the energy pitch.

Ahead of the first ministers' meeting, P.E.I. and Ontario signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Sunday to cut down on trade barriers and ease the flow of trade and labour across the two provincial borders.

Lantz said it came together as a direct result of P.E.I. Interprovincial Trade and Mobility Act.

"We're the second province in the country to pass [an] internal trade and labour mobility act in the legislature this spring, and so we are in a position to start making deals with other provinces. Ontario has been very active in that front," he said.

The MOU says the two provinces agree on six points, including encouraging other provinces to join P.E.I. and Ontario in their agreement, looking for ways to align regulated professions and creating a direct-to-consumer alcohol sales agreement, among other priorities.