Minister Wawzonek provided the following speech during Industry Days in Yellowknife.


Here with an opportunity

Change history

Build Canada

Build a positive and prosperous future for the north

First: tell you how this event came to be

SIESC was only established as of April 1 2025; before Fed election April 28

Ahead of the curve need to focus on strategic projects

With the current Federal gov under PM Carney came an immediate focus on the North; PM campaigned on the need to build the country into a true northern nation and meaningfully connect us from S2S2S

Building Canada Act with its focus on projects deemed in the national interest and the establishment of the MPO

That fall, SIESC team and I were in Toronto for infrastructure conf along several Indigenous leaders from NWT

…

We shouldn’t always have to travel south; let’s bring folks up to our own turf

give folks the opportunity to have a taste of the NWT

Also recall it was on that trip late fall, that team stopped in Calgary to meet with the then very new MPO  

Since then, 10 months: progress beyond 10 years – all three referred MPO, meet VPs

MVH: hwy half way with three ferries to proposal for single unified project; adjusting first 100km; community readiness WG ready to kick off and on track to become one of the first formally listed projects of national interest

AESC: TG/YKDFN came fwd and asked for to take the lead on ID’ing corridor to connect to Gray’s bay project; significant effort to jointly define a proposed corridor that balances protection of caribou habitat and provides access to mineral rich regions.

Taltson: busy with hydrology for the line, confirming entry points, defining line routing all while establishing groundwork for commercial relationships between

 

Change history

AESC

In the mid 1960s a road was started from Yellowknife as the first leg of a 'road to resources' with the original intention of encircling Great Slave Lake.

Ottawa abandoned the project after 70km ending it at Tibbit Lake. 

Maps and proposals with 30-odd routes

LASR: meetings with IGs; position was that the route GNWT landed on could not reasonably mitigate concerns for the land and caribou

 

MVH

The idea of an all-season highway through the Mackenzie Valley to the Arctic Coast has lingered since at least the late 1950s also conceived originally under the then Federal government’s “Roads to Resources” program

• 1972: Actual construction started northward from Fort Simpson.
• 1977: Work stopped about 18 km south of Wrigley, the same year as the release of the Berger inquiry.
• 1994: remaining 18-kilometer stretch connected as far as Wrigley – community was moved from the other side of the river to make trade easier for outsiders but the promises made in exchange including housing were left incomplete.

Taltson

• Dam Construction: Construction on the Twin Gorges dam site began in 1964, and the plant started producing electricity in 1965.
• The dam impacted the water system along the Taltson and in particular around Nonacho lake; impacting navigation sites and hunting routes. The community of Rocher River was flooded and had to be abandoned. Descendents from the community were displaced to Lutselke and Fort Resolution and describe their and their parents pain not being able to return to gravesites of family members; parents  and grandparents because they are lost under water.

 

 

Change history

Also in an important way: building big things cannot be something conceived of at a desk far away from the impacts they will have on the land or on people

It cannot be done to the people on whose lands these projects will cross

It should not be thought of as doing something for the north

Northerners need to see themselves in the future we are building. They need opportunities to participate, build careers, grow businesses and contribute to the communities where they live. This is why the economic benefits of infrastructure investment and the capacity to deliver that investment are so important.

And we need these grand visions of nation building to actually be delivered to completion

Change history: build big things with people and finish the job

 

Build Canada

Yesterday the PM delivered another installment of his Forward Guidance addresses via online video as counter tariff measures took effect

After 1867 confederation, They built an iron spine. Almost 5000 km of railroad track, from east to west, the Canadian Pacific Railway, stitched together our country and made our presence undeniable. 

Canada Strong isn’t about just withstanding this crisis, it’s about coming out of it stronger, more resilient, more independent than when we started.

 

Meanwhile, in the NWT, In 1867, the first Canadian residential school opened in the region in Fort Resolution… eventually the NWT had the highest proportion of students in residential schools compared to other area in Canada.[42]

While southern Canada was building its iron spine, the north got residential schools. And were among the last in Canada to shut their doors. The need to change history stands large. And I want to reiterate that here when we talk about building Canada because when folks from the south sometimes wonder at our political system and how it is different, more diffuse and the efforts we make to prioritize reconciliation, it is because of the history that this is such a crucial priority.

Direct link between the need to change history and the urgent need today to build a strong Canada

Back to building Canada in 2026.

Carney goes on:

The nation-building that Canadians pursued in the 19th and 20th centuries ran along a horizontal line. The railway and the Trans-Canada Highway that stitched us together from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Now we are developing around it, north and south. A new iron spine.

 

A couple of weeks ago, when Canada had to walk away from the trade talks with the US, all Premiers and then all Finance ministers were brought together immediately afterwards to hear the details of what had happened and also to discuss the coming response.

The chair of COF and At the same time, the chair of FMM

Responsibility; Obligation

Do not have much in the way to offer in terms of trade with the US

Have the opportunity to build this country

To invest in substantial domestic construction

And as we do so, to open opportunities for further investments in mineral and energy resources:

• • Significant: Gold, lithium, lead, zinc, copper, tungsten, bismuth, LNG

But also, geopolitics.

More than 70% of canada’s coast = arctic coastline

No major deep water ports

There is only one road

Consider this:

Canada has the longest coastline in the world.

Back to what I said before and our role as this country repositions itself as a nation that builds big things, a nation that builds its spine C2C2C and I say confidently that the whole of the north should national focus

No lack of geology, resources or opportunity (tourism, fish to fur, history, culture), there is a lack core, public infrastructure

We cannot fund it on the backs of 40-some residents of the NWT, including Elders/ children

Its time to Build Canada

 

Last: Build a transformative future for the north

Today is about what is coming – details about the NWT’s major projects, including defence and infrastructure investments

Tomorrow is about how we in the NWT can prepare and participate – building our workforce, strengthening Indigenous partnerships, preparing businesses for procurement, addressing housing, service and community pressures, and ensuring northern companies have the capacity to compete for and deliver this work.

What you are really hearing: I think there is an important distinction we need to make – we are building the infrastructure systems that will shape the Northwest Territories of the future, which means looking beyond individual projects and thinking about how our networks and infrastructure delivery and planning, at all scales and sizes, works together.

Each individual major project will have an impact on the NWT; simplistic terms GDP and a bump in revenues, strong labor market during construction and improved connectivity

Multiple projects rolling out: labor market impact extended over time – there is time for training to start today, for apprentices at one project to work at the next

There is a need for small scale to complement the big ones: housing, municipal services

 

What must we do now to ensure that we maximize this moment in history

When I say “we” I do not just mean the GNWT

The GNWT is a small government. Our annual budget is a blip on the national scale.

The population of the NWT wouldn’t fill rogers stadium in Toronto.

But we have governance systems that others jurisdictions ask about & proud of:

• • Consensus government; non-partisan electoral system
  • Implementation of the UNDRIP
  • Devolution lead to a co-management system LNR
  • 2020 signed agreement to establish COL to sit as G2G

Still figuring some of this out

We must marshal our unique systems to our benefit.

 

Meantioning labor market: Enough work during the construction phases of these projects for every ready, willing and able person

Definition of a labor force

But we should aim higher

We should aim to bring people back or into the labor force

We should aim to ensure that new graduates are ready for the labor force; not only for jobs during construction but opportunities that lay beyond

Get started today so that person is a foreman and then a project manager

we need business and industry with aligned principles and priorities, because we cannot do this work alone.

Have a vision of how to build not only projects but a future

 

In terms of workforce readiness, infrastructure investment only creates opportunity if northern businesses are in a position to participate in it.

Projects require contractors, engineers, tradespeople, professional services, food services and countless other businesses, and we want as much of that capacity as possible to exist here in the North.

But that capacity does not happen automatically, it requires preparation and analysis and on the ground programs. Businesses cannot wait until a tender is posted to begin thinking about whether they have all the components – from people to partnerships – needed to compete.

Opportunities will likely emerge in the near-term, with a number of smaller projects breaking ground already, as well as in the coming two, three or five years.

It may mean northern businesses working together in new ways so they can take on opportunities that would be difficult for one company to deliver on its own.

For Indigenous businesses and Indigenous governments, there are also important opportunities to ensure that development on traditional territories creates meaningful and lasting benefits.

That means strong partnerships, understanding where capacity exists and where it needs to be developed, and having early conversations, like the ones we’ll be having over our two days together.

 

Over these two days, we want to provide a window into the potential pipeline of work that is coming and give businesses an opportunity to hear directly from project proponents about where projects are in their development.

We want to provide information about procurement possibilities and create space for northern and Indigenous businesses to ask questions, raise concerns and better understand what they can do now to prepare for opportunities that may be ahead but also to tell us as GNWT what we need to consider to make the best of these opportunities.

We also need to hear from you. You understand the realities of doing business in the North, including the difficulties with scaling, workforce shortages, pressures associated with equipment, transportation, accommodations, and the places where government processes can be improved.

What can we do to make opportunities better? Make procurement more efficient while still accountable? Help us help you.

That feedback is important. If we want to build a northern economy capable of taking advantage of this investment, we need to understand what is standing in the way and where we and our partners can work together to address those challenges.

 

Last: transform the north, must Highlight the critical importance of community readiness.

We also need to recognize that opportunity brings challenge. Major investment and increased economic activity can create demands on communities and infrastructure, and we need to be planning for those issues alongside the opportunities.

More workers can mean increased demand for community systems and networks. More economic activity can put pressure on transportation networks, energy, and telecommunications, while also increasing competition for skilled workers. These are real considerations for northern communities, and they are an important part of ensuring that growth is planned and managed responsibly.

That conversation will be ongoing. It does not end when shovels go in the ground. But also cannot start only after a project is complete. It must be ongoing. And the solutions must come not only from the GNWT but all levels of government. But we are here to play our role and to support finding solutions that will transform the NWT.

Asking for trust:

Between governents, between different organzations/businesses

Our role is to bring those interests together, provide greater visibility where we can, and work with our partners to address the barriers that could prevent the North from fully participating in the opportunities ahead.

Work together, sometimes be patient, sometimes be vocal. But always, ready to work together towards a transformation that will lift this territory.

 

No single
project exists in isolation, and no single government, business or community
can deliver this future on its own.

But also think about what you need to do now to be ready for what may come next: what skills you need, what capacity you need, who you could partner with, what investments you may need to make, and where you need government or other partners to help address barriers.

 

To sum up, today is about what is coming. You will hear about the major projects, government priorities, defence and Arctic infrastructure, the economic outlook and the investment environment, as well as the opportunities emerging across the North.

Tomorrow we will dive into how we prepare. We will unpack workforce readiness and development, northern and Indigenous business capacity, accommodations and community pressures, Indigenous partnerships, and the practical steps required to turn potential opportunities into meaningful participation.

We have an opportunity to build not only the roads and energy infrastructure and other projects that will support the Northwest Territories, but also a stronger, more resilient and more prosperous northern economy.

Responsibility: to prepare thoughtfully and strategically, work together to address the challenges that will come, as they do for any major undertaking, and make sure that the benefits of this period of investment changes history, builds Canada and transforms.