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“I’ve never seen a country more united. I’m going to be flying out to see Premier Smith and we’re going to have a great conversation about building pipelines right across our great country,” he told reporters two weeks ago.

Because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war against Canada, the prime minister and premiers have been forced to work together to reduce interprovincial trade barriers and look to boost trade with Asia and Europe.

While any new westward oil pipeline appears to be a non-starter for British Columbia Premier David Eby — who wants to focus on “shovel-ready projects” rather than Smith’s longer-term schemes — Ford maintains momentum is building nationally for such infrastructure.

“I know one thing, we’re all onside going east. We’re going north,” the Ontarian said, referring to Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew’s push for a pipeline to tidewater in Churchill on Hudson Bay.

“That’s up to Premier Eby to decide if they’re going west or not. But we have to really diversify our trade as well,” said Ford, who wants Ontario’s steel industry, battered by Trump’s punishing tariffs, to benefit from the next generation of pipelines.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s controversial Bill C-5 — the One Canadian Economy Act, the federal counterpart to Ontario’s equally contentious Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act — empowers Ottawa to rush through major energy projects despite concerns from some Indigenous groups and environmentalists.

“Canada’s new government is breaking down trade barriers and building one strong economy — connected by Canadian projects, powered by Canadian energy, and crafted by Canadian workers,” Carney said Monday.

“Together, we can give ourselves more than any foreign nation can take away,” the prime minister added.

Federal Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, a close Ford ally, pointed out last week’s passage of Bill C-5 would “eliminate internal trade barriers and cut red tape for Canadian businesses.”

“We are moving quickly on commitments to improve labour mobility for workers across the country, implement mutual recognition agreements to gets goods and services moving, and removing duplication of requirements which for too long have created extra costs and delays for Canadian businesses and workers,” said Freeland.

“We will create one Canadian economy; one with more opportunities for Canadian businesses and Canadian workers, an economy that will put more money in the pocket of every Canadian.”

Freeland meets Tuesday in Quebec City with her provincial ministerial counterparts from across the country to discuss the next phase of red tape reduction.

Ford, for his part, has inked memorandums of understanding for Ontario to scrap interprovincial trade barriers with Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

That leaves British Columbia, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador yet to sign pacts with Queen’s Park.

As Ford gears up to host the premiers at their annual Council of the Federation summer confab in Huntsville later this month, there are hopes Ontario could soon reach agreements with those remaining three provinces.

Carney has said that eliminating protectionist internal barriers to trade could inject $200 billion annually into the Canadian economy.

According to Ottawa, in 2023, more than $530 billion of goods and services moved across provincial and territorial borders, which represented almost 20 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product.

Despite the rhetoric from political leaders, some trade barriers, such as supply management for dairy products that are subject to provincial quotas, will persist.

With files from Alex Ballingall