To further strengthen the close relationship between Canada and the U.S., Prime Minister Trudeau and President Biden advanced work to strengthen trade ties, create good jobs, grow the middle class, drive economic growth that benefits everyone on both sides of the border and increase collaboration on defence and security, climate action and nature protection, and immigration. To demonstrate their progress, the leaders issued a joint statement capturing commitments under seven priority areas to:

• Catalyze clean energy and create good jobs;
• Strengthen resilience of critical mineral and semiconductor supply chains;
• Protecting our shared waters and the Arctic;
• Advancing diversity and inclusion;
• Bolster global alliances;
• Invest in our collective defence and security; and
• Manage migration collaboratively.

Catalyze Clean Energy and Create Good Jobs

Energy Transformation Task Force

As highly integrated economies, Canada and the United States must work together to support cross-border economic growth and strengthen our clean energy future. To accelerate cooperation on critical clean opportunities and supply chains, Prime Minister Trudeau and President Biden agreed to launch a one-year Energy Transformation Task Force, chaired by one representative from the White House and the Deputy Prime Minister. The Task Force will focus on securing and strengthening renewable energy and electric vehicle supply chains, critical minerals and rare earths, grid integration and resilience, advanced and conventional nuclear energy, among other areas that advance our collective energy security. The Task Force will drive economic growth, with new, good-paying jobs for Canadian and American workers and health and economic benefits for communities on both sides of the border.

Green Steel and Aluminum

Recognizing the economic importance of bilateral trade in steel and aluminum, which in 2021 had a total value of $34.3 billion, Canada and the U.S. will work together to promote North American trade of these and other low-emissions goods. This includes sharing information on carbon intensity data, such as on traded goods, and working together to better understand and promote common approaches that reduce carbon leakage. 

Nuclear Energy

Canada and the United States reaffirm the importance of working together to support like–minded countries that choose to pursue the peaceful use of nuclear energy. To that end, Canada will join the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) program, providing funding and in-kind support, to build capacity in partner countries as they develop their nuclear energy programs to support clean energy goals under the highest international standards for nuclear safety, security, waste management, and non-proliferation. The United States and Canada will also coordinate efforts to develop secure and reliable North American nuclear fuel supply chains and build broader partnerships with longstanding allies and partners, both of which will help to ensure access to low enriched uranium and High-Assay Low Enriched Uranium.

ZEV Standards, Charging, and Refueling Infrastructure

Canada and the United States will leverage existing collaboration on charging and hydrogen refueling infrastructure to support greater access to zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) infrastructure, including in underserved communities, by working to harmonize charging standards and develop cross-border alternative fuel corridors. Canada will also continue to develop and align binational codes and standards for ZEVs and support infrastructure to ensure the safe deployment of ZEVs in both countries. This collaboration will help to move people and goods in cleaner and more efficient ways.

Working Together to Deliver Clean Air

Canada and the U.S. are undertaking a joint technical review and assessment to examine whether the Canada-U.S. Air Quality Agreement (AQA), entered into in 1991, is meeting its environmental objectives as well as its sufficiency in addressing transboundary air pollution. The agreement includes commitments by both countries to address acid rain and ground-level ozone. The review will also examine pollutants/issues not currently addressed by the AQA, such as particulate matter (PM2.5). Under the agreement, the United States and Canada also cooperate on science and research topics such as wildfires, ammonia, and methane as an ozone precursor.

Cross Border Talent

Canada and the United States are committed to identifying opportunities between the two countries to promote training and work opportunities in priority areas such as the skilled trades and clean energy sector, and to bringing together the private sector, unions, state and provincial governments, and training institutions to grow the pool of talent needed for critical supply chains in their respective economies.

Artemis Crew Selection

Canada announced that a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut will take part in the Artemis II mission. The historic mission is the first crewed test flight of the Artemis program, a multi-mission campaign set to create a sustainable lunar presence and pave the way for human exploration of Mars. This will be the first crewed mission to the Moon since the Apollo era and will make Canada the second country to send an astronaut around the Moon. NASA and CSA will announce the names of the crew on April 3, 2023.

International Space Station and Lunar Gateway

Prime Minister Trudeau agreed to extend Canada’s commitment to the International Space Station (ISS) and support science on the Lunar Gateway. Canada is a global leader and major contributor in space. As the space sector grows exponentially, our strong and ongoing participation not only supports well paying jobs in Canada, but our ability to make revolutionary technological and scientific discoveries that improve lives here on Earth. Strategic investments have supported and will continue to support technology development for deep space exploration and allow Canadian researchers to access the unique space environment to conduct a variety of studies that will enhance our ability to live longer and healthier lives on Earth. Canada has been a proud partner in the ISS since the program’s inception in 1986, and furthered its commitment with the Lunar Gateway in 2019. Our country’s continued participation in ISS and Lunar Gateway cement Canada’s global leadership in robotics in space and on Earth.

Strengthening Resilience of Critical Minerals and Semiconductor Supply Chains

Responsible and Sustainable Critical Minerals Value Chains

Canada and the U.S. have made landmark investments in critical minerals development, and battery and electric vehicle manufacturing to further incentivize and link with upstream production and recycling to create value-added products and opportunities on both sides of the border. Both countries are poised to do much more through funding and initiatives that were announced over the last year, including through Canada’s Critical Mineral Strategy and the United States Defence Production Act Title III program. Through the Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals Collaboration, Canada and the United States are committed to enhance cooperation to build an integrated, responsible, and sustainable North American battery ecosystem and invest in projects that benefit both countries and further promote an integrated approach to supply chain development. Prime Minister Trudeau and President Biden further committed to conduct a joint analysis on current capacity, gaps, major investments and expected needs along the Canada-U.S. critical minerals value chain, and to enhancing partnerships with Indigenous, Tribal and local communities as part of this process. The Canadian Critical Minerals Infrastructure Fund will make $1.5 billion available will support clean energy and transportation infrastructure projects necessary to accelerate critical minerals production and an additional $1.5 billion through the Strategic Innovation Fund to support advanced manufacturing, processing, and recycling. 

Canada-U.S. Northeast Semiconductor Manufacturing Corridor

Canada has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with IBM to expand domestic research, development and manufacturing opportunities through a cross-border semiconductor manufacturing corridor. This collaboration with IBM will allow Canada to play a greater role in the North American semiconductor supply chain by developing new and expanded advanced packaging capabilities, strengthening research and development and innovation, advancing skills and talent development and fostering cross-border collaboration in North America’s northeast region. Working with IBM, Canada will secure good jobs, strengthen our economy and position Canada as a leader in semiconductor advanced packaging manufacturing.   

The Government of Canada’s commitment of up to $250 million for projects in this sector will foster economic and national security, increase talent and skills training opportunities, stimulate innovation, and create well-paying jobs and prosperity. A strong Canadian semiconductor industry will allow for more resilient supply chains, and advance goals towards emissions reductions as semiconductors are essential for clean technologies and consumer goods such as electric vehicles.

Protecting our Shared Waters and the Arctic

Protecting the Arctic Together with Indigenous Peoples

Recognizing the vulnerability of the unique, shared Arctic ecosystem, Canada and the United States committed to advancing conservation, environmental protection and resilience in partnership and consultation with the Indigenous Peoples and local populations. The leaders recognized the need to conserve and protect Arctic ecosystems and reduce localized emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and black carbon in the Arctic to complement our global climate change mitigation efforts. The two countries will collaborate to prepare for, prevent, and respond to oil spills and other environmental disasters in the Arctic. 

Great Lakes Protection and Restoration

Canada and the U.S. share the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem, a system that supports communities, livelihoods, local economies, and biodiversity on both sides of the border. The United States welcomed Canada’s announcement of a new, historic  investment of $420 million over 10 years as part of the Freshwater Action Plan dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes specifically. The Great Lakes, which account for almost 20 percent of the world’s surface fresh water, are healthier today because of over 50 years of Canada-U.S. collaboration under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Canada’s new investment will continue the protection and restoration of this source of drinking water for 40 million people means cleaning-up the water quality and restoring healthy ecosystems in specific Areas of Concern, stopping the spread of harmful algae blooms and addressing pollution like harmful chemicals, engaging Indigenous Peoples and increasing public engagement. Canada and the United States’ shared commitment on the Great Lakes builds on other shared work to protect nature. The United States supported the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Agreement, signed at the UN’s COP15 co-hosted by Canada, that set out a goal of protecting 30 percent of lands and waters and halting the loss of biodiversity by 2030. Both countries acknowledge the essential role of Indigenous Peoples in realizing domestic nature protection targets.

Bolster Global Alliances

Ukraine Support

Since Russia’s full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Government of Canada has responded by committing over $5.4 billion in multifaceted support to Ukraine and Ukrainians. This includes:

• Over $1 billion in military support
• Over $2.5 billion in financial assistance
• $320 million in humanitarian assistance
• $96 million in development assistance
• Over $81 million in security and stabilization assistance.

Canada also announced two new immigration streams for Ukrainians coming to Canada: the Canada Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel and a special permanent residence stream for family reunification, with over $1 billion allocated to welcome those fleeing the war in Ukraine.

Haiti

Canada supports several international assistance projects in Haiti in health, education, governance, security, the fight against corruption and impunity, economic growth, and climate change. To date, Canada has committed over $98 million in international assistance this fiscal year (2022-2023). Canada will continue to invest in Haitian-led solutions to the crisis by committing up to $100 million in equipment and financial support for the Haitian National Police (HNP). Canada is also putting further pressure on those who support and benefit from violence and insecurity by imposing additional sanctions on 2 more members of the Haitian elite, bringing the total of individuals directly sanctioned by Canada to 19, in addition to having implemented the UN Security Council Sanction Regime. These sanctions will freeze the assets of former senator Nenel Cassy and businessman and former presidential candidate Steeve Khawly, and make them inadmissible to Canada.

Foreign Interference

Protecting our country against the threats posed by foreign interference is a responsibility that the Government of Canada takes very seriously. As part of the joint statement, Canada and the United States will continue to cooperate on countering foreign interference in our societies in a manner that reflects our shared democratic values.  In addition, Canada recently announced the launch of consultations to guide the creation of a Foreign Influence Transparency Registry in Canada in order to bolster Canada’s defences against malign foreign influence, improve transparency and accountability from people who advocate on behalf of a foreign government, and to better protect communities who are often targeted by attempts at foreign interference. The input received through this consultation will help develop new measures to protect Canada’s national security. This consultation will augment previous action taken by the Government of Canada to protect Canadians against foreign interference, including law enforcement investigations and initiatives; the recent introduction of Bill C-26 to bolster cybersecurity; Bill C-76 to address foreign funding in elections; new resources for the RCMP to fight financial crime; the nomination of a national counter foreign interference coordinator at Public Safety Canada. 

Indo-Pacific Strategy

Canada and the United States recognize that the Indo-Pacific region will play a significant and profound role in our countries’ future and held an inaugural dialogue on the Indo-Pacific on March 10. The Prime Minister welcomed the President’s support for Canada joining the Indo-Pacific Framework (IPEF) and the leaders committed to cooperate on promoting a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. As announced as part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canada is also addressing illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing through regional fisheries management organizations, and advance work on the deployment of Canada’s world-leading Dark Vessel Detection satellite program to high risk regions to detect, track and support the interception of illegal fishing activity.

Renewal of Operation NEON

Canada is committed to supporting the primacy of international law and United Nations Security Council Resolutions aimed at pressuring North Korea to abandon its weapons of mass destruction. That is why the Government of Canada has extended its Operation NEON mission until April 30th, 2026, to continue surveillance operations to monitor sanction evasion activities around the Korean peninsula. 

Invest in our Collective Defence and Security

NORAD Modernization Investments

The Government of Canada is ensuring the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces (DND/CAF) personnel have the capabilities they need to continue to meet the evolving security challenges faced by Canada and our NORAD partner, the United States. This includes modernizing Canada’s surveillance systems; modernizing our command, control and communications systems; modernizing Canada’s air weapons systems; investing in new infrastructure and support capabilities; and increased investment in science and technology.

The Defence of Canada Fighter Infrastructure (DCFI) project, announced by the Prime Minister today, will deliver a range of infrastructure elements to support Canada’s new fleet of F-35 fighter jets and Canada’s NORAD contributions. Through the DCFI project, National Defence will invest $7.3 billion to modernize, recapitalize, and build new infrastructure to support the arrival of our F-35 fighter jets and bolster Canada’s ability to project air power in defence of North America for the coming decades.

Canada’s Over the Horizon Radar (OTHR) initiatives will provide long-range surveillance of the northern approaches to Canada and North America by establishing a northward-aimed, high-frequency, over the horizon radar systems. Today, the Prime Minister announced that the area of installation of the Arctic OTHR will be in Southern Ontario where up to four areas will be required for the system’s transmitters and receivers. DND/CAF are currently assessing possible locations in Southern Ontario, including on and off DND lands. DND will engage with local communities as siting locations are refined and throughout the project, including with Indigenous communities. DND/CAF is also completing research and development into the separate Polar OTHR initiative, which will be located in the Canadian High Arctic, and further extend surveillance coverage for early threat identification and warning.

Today, DND also provided a detailed update with estimated timelines for a series of projects that are advancing under Canada’s $38.6 billion plan to modernize continental defence.

As part of Canada’s long-term commitment to modernizing defence, Canada recently announced a $1.4-billion infrastructure project to upgrade special operations forces’ facilities at the Dwyer Hill Training Centre in Ottawa. Approximately 2,000 jobs will be created throughout the project.

In addition, the Defence Capabilities Blueprint – a web-based searchable tool launched in May 2018 – has been updated with the latest information on all funded major capital equipment, information technology, and infrastructure investments over $5 million, and support contracts over $20 million. The Blueprint reflects DND’s investment planning function and focuses on planning and implementation for funded projects and allows industry to find information that can be used to make informed decisions about research and development and to develop strategic partnerships.

Joint Action on Opioids and Fentanyl

The opioid overdose crisis is having devastating health and economic consequences in our societies. We are united in our resolve to disrupt the cross-border movement of precursor chemicals used in illegal drug production and the distribution of synthetic opioids like fentanyl, while augmenting our public health response. Canada and the U.S. will expand multi-agency cooperation to improve intelligence sharing on cross-border fentanyl and precursor chemical trafficking to support interdictions and investigations and to bolster public health, safety and security cooperation under the U.S.-Canada Opioids Action Plan. Canada will join the United States as it builds a global coalition against synthetic drugs, underscoring U.S. and Canadian leadership in response to this shared security and public health challenge.  The United States and Canada reaffirm their commitment from the tenth North American Leaders’ Summit to work with Mexico trilaterally to defeat the synthetic opioid crisis.   

Working Together to Reduce Gun Violence

To keep our communities safe and secure, it is essential to reduce firearms violence on both sides of the border. In 2021, the Governments of Canada and the United States reiterated our commitment to advance our shared understanding of the threat posed by firearms violence and to work collaboratively, including sharing data, to reduce cross-border firearms smuggling and trafficking. Building on this work, through the Cross-Border Crime Forum, both countries are facilitating cooperation to reduce cross border smuggling, firearms violence as well as violent extremism, and child sex exploitation on both sides of the border.

Cyber

The Government of Canada will continue to work closely with our international partners, including the United States, on the pressing issue of cyber security, as well as finding new opportunities to partner with industry leaders to collaboratively find innovative ways to increase national resilience to cyber threats and improve the cybersecurity and resiliency of our critical infrastructure. This includes maintaining and refining the cooperative relationship between law enforcement, operational, and policy bodies in Canada and the U.S. through collaborative fora such as the U.S.-led Counter Ransomware Initiative to prevent and disrupt ransomware attacks that so frequently target the essential services upon which our citizens depend. Ongoing collaboration will also support Canada’s recent cyber security initiatives, including the introduction of Bill C-26, An Act Respecting Cyber Security, which would require designated operators in four federally regulated sectors – transportation, telecommunications, energy and finance – to take specific actions to protect their critical cyber systems, and help secure Canada’s critical infrastructure against fast evolving threats; would further protect Canada’s critical cyber systems and infrastructure; the ongoing renewal of the National Cyber Security Strategy, which will explore how Canada can continue to protect our national security and economy, deter cyber threat actors, and promote norms-based international behavior in cyberspace; and, the Public Safety-led Cyber Security Cooperation Program, which provides funding for academia, non-profit, and for-profit organizations to support projects that contribute to the National Cyber Security Strategy’s goals and help ensure security and prosperity in the digital age while positioning Canada as a global leader in cyber security.

Manage Migration Collaboratively

Managed Migration in the Americas

Canada and the United States share a strong interest in safe, fair and orderly migration, refugee protection, and border security. This includes a commitment to addressing the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement, while respecting the rights of those fleeing persecution. Building on this commitment, Canada and the United States announced an Additional Protocol that expands the Safe Third Country Agreement and applies across the entire land border, including internal waterways.

Application of the STCA across internal waterways and the entire land border will come into effect at 12:01 A.M (EDT) on Saturday, March 25, 2023. Moving forward, foreign nationals who cross anywhere along the Canada-U.S. border will not be eligible to make an asylum claim, unless they meet an STCA exception. Otherwise, they will be returned to either the U.S. or Canada to pursue their asylum claim, under the first safe country principle. 

Canada and the United States will continue to promote safe and legal immigration pathways, and to build capacity in the Americas. To bolster these efforts, Canada will welcome an additional 15,000 displaced people to continue expanding safe lawful pathways offered throughout the hemisphere as an alternative to irregular migration, with a pathway to economic opportunities.

The leaders recognized the challenges that the creation of the international border between the U.S. and Canada places on Indigenous communities. The leaders are committed to working together to address the impacts the shared border have on mobility, traditional practices, Indigenous language preservation, kinship, cultural ties, and economic opportunities for Indigenous Peoples. This includes a commitment to work in partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples in Canada and Tribal Nations and Alaska Native Villages in the United States, and, to find solutions to these longstanding border challenges.