HAMILTON, Ontario — Canada’s Minister of Transport and Internal Trade, Chrystia Freeland, says the nation’s rail and shipbuilding interests agree they should use as much Canadian-made steel and aluminum as possible as part of their manufacturing efforts.
Freeland convened a “Made in Canada” summit meeting in Hamilton on Tuesday including rail manufacturers, shipbuilders, and steel companies [see “Canadian government sets summit …,” Trains.com, Aug. 29, 2025]. Afterward, she told the CBC that the meeting was about putting those manufacturers “together with the steel industry, putting them together with the aluminum industry, to be sure that as you’re building Canadian, we are using Canadian steel, we are using Canadian aluminum. She called the meeting “productive” but did not share details on what was accomplished.
In a statement issued after the meetings, Freeland said, ““We had frank and focused discussions about how to use more Canadian steel and aluminum in ferry and rail construction, how to overcome barriers to building in Canada, and what targeted actions governments can take to support industry and build a reliable domestic market.
“This kind of collaboration helps foster a more self-sufficient and stronger industrial base, building on the momentum of the One Canadian Economy Act, which dismantled interprovincial trade barriers and is already fast-tracking the infrastructure we need.”
What was she supposed to say, that the summit was a failure and risk the wrath of her government. Just saying, she did what Ministers do, tout their own economy. And if Canadians want to pay for higher priced domestic steel and aluminum, then that is their business and responsibility…