Thank you everyone. It’s great to be back in Calgary on this perfect spring day. Thank you for being here today. It’s infrastructure week across Canada, and our ministers have spread out around the country to talk about the importance of investing in infrastructure in order to build strong communities.

I always love getting back to Calgary, and it’s great to be joined by friends and partners like Minister Sohi and Mayor Nenshi, leaders who understand that an integrated, efficient city needs world‑class transit. You know, in years past, our predecessors at the federal level liked to make all these infrastructure announcements without funding plans or cost proposals. There was a lot of excitement without the follow-through. Well, I’m here to say that our government is ready to back up our promises with concrete action and a plan for delivery.

Approved by city council last June, the Green Line is an essential next step in the Calgary LRT system. People will get from point A to point B faster. Folks will save money on transportation costs, and our environment will benefit from fewer cars on the road. In fact, stage one of the Green Line will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30,000 tonnes annually by 2028 and reduce fuel consumption by 22 million litres a year.

The Green Line just makes sense for a forward-thinking, innovative city like Calgary. And I’m here today to announce that the federal government will be investing up to $1.53 billion in this important project. Working with our provincial and municipal partners, we’ll get the Green Line LRT built. During the design and construction phase we’ll create 20,000 new, good, well-paying middle class jobs. And once completed, the Green Line will mean an additional 400 long-term jobs for people working in operations and maintenance.

My dear friends, today is great day for the city, and for sustainable and well‑thought‑out infrastructure across the country. By investing in public transit, we are proudly supporting workers and families, and we are building communities for the future.

This is a reminder again of what happens when different orders of government come together to respond to the needs of citizens. It’s always tempting to take pot-shots at different levels of government, but actually working together to collaborate and remember that we’re serving the same citizens, making sure that we’re delivering for them the investments in growth, in meaningful help that actually matters in their daily lives, that’s what governments need to be there for, and that’s why it’s always such a tremendous pleasure to be able to be here with my friend Naheed to announce how we’re investing in the future of Calgary and of our country.

It’s a great pleasure to be here. Thank you everyone.