Québec City, Quebec, Canada – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro delivered remarks at the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers (GSGP) Leadership Summit, where he underscored the importance of strengthening economic, environmental, and cultural ties between Pennsylvania, its neighboring Great Lakes states, and Canada’s provinces. Governor Shapiro joined fellow U.S. governors and Canadian premiers to discuss regional collaboration on trade, tourism, and sustainable development.
See below for Governor Shapiro’s remarks to the Leadership Summit on October 5 as prepared for delivery:
Bonjour. Merci de me recevoir.
Premier Legault, thank you for welcoming us to Quebec this weekend.
I look forward to many meaningful conversations about how we can strengthen the ties between our states and provinces and deepen the work we already do together to benefit millions of Americans and Canadians.
Because while we all come from different states and provinces – with different languages and backgrounds – I know there is a lot more that we have in common and right now it is especially important to reaffirm those common bonds
We all care deeply about protecting the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence seaway – the largest system of surface freshwater in the world.
Each Governor and Premier works every day to create economic opportunity for our peoples, investing in innovation and attracting investment from across our two countries and around the world.
And we all share similar values – rooted in the ideals of freedom and the foundational principle that everyone should have the opportunity to chart your own course – values that have served as the foundation of our two countries for generations.
This organization provides us with the opportunity to strengthen those ties at a most important time and pursue our shared priorities for the benefit of all 111 million people we represent.
And this Summit brings together leaders from across the region – including our host, Premier Legault along with Premier Doug Ford and my good friends Governor Whitmer, Governor Hochul, and Governor Evers who join us here today – to solve problems and chart a course forward.
Working together, our states and provinces have made real progress.
I’m especially grateful to our chair, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, for her and her team’s hard work.
This organization has been a difference maker, leading the way in improving water quality in the Great Lakes region – and tackling invasive species like the Asian Carp.
It’s helped secure billions of dollars in federal funding to upgrade our maritime infrastructure and improve commerce.
And under Governor Tom Ridge, one of my predecessors in Pennsylvania, the GSGP opened shared trade offices around the world to help our companies export more of their goods abroad so they could create more jobs – and more opportunity – here at home.
That is the work I want us to continue –
Working together to grow our economies and create jobs, protect our natural environment, and as we say in Pennsylvania, get stuff done.
This is not a zero sum game – when we work together, each one of our states and provinces thrives.
This organization is particularly important for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Let me tell you why.
Canada is Pennsylvania’s largest trading partner.
We import $14 billion in goods from Canada each year – from medicines and pharmaceutical products that keep Pennsylvanians healthy to the iron and steel that power our manufacturing industry.
At the same time, we export $14 billion of goods to Canada each year.
That includes everything from agricultural and food products – like our world-famous Hershey’s chocolates – to the locomotives that power CN Rail’s freight trains.
By the way, those locomotives are made by one of our great companies – Wabtec – just a few blocks from the lakefront in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Top Canadian companies like the Brookfield Corporation and Bausch Health have invested heavily in our Commonwealth, too.
In fact, Canadian companies employ over 32,000 Pennsylvanians.
I’m proud that we have a very balanced economic relationship with Canada – one that is mutually beneficial.
We need more of that mutually beneficial trade, not less, and more of that mutual investment.
Because when we work together to grow our businesses, expand our economies, and invest in innovation – we create opportunity in Pennsylvania and in Canada alike.
That’s true in our tourism sector as well.
Canadians love to visit Pennsylvania.
Last year, more than half a million Canadians visited our Commonwealth – and your countrymen made up more than a third of all international visitors to Pennsylvania.
That’s a really special relationship – and one we want to continue to foster.
Last year, I spent two weeks traveling across Pennsylvania in an RV with my family to showcase everything our incredible state has to offer.
From charming small towns to beautiful hikes and vistas, from championship-winning sports teams to can’t-miss restaurants – Pennsylvania is the Great American Getaway.
And tourism is a major driver of our economy – contributing $84 billion each year and, supporting over 500,000 jobs.
Visitors to the Great Lakes region of Pennsylvania alone spent $2 billion in our Commonwealth last year.
I know for many Canadians, the United States doesn’t feel like a place that will welcome them right now.
I get that given the reckless and disrespectful rhetoric from the President.
But hear me loud and clear: no matter what happens at the federal level, Pennsylvania will welcome you.
We want you to visit!
Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn on the principles of tolerance and understanding.
In Pennsylvania, under my leadership, we’re committed to furthering Penn’s vision of a place that would be warm and welcoming to all – a place grounded in freedom of religion and expression, much like Canada.
I tell you this because I want you to know my values – and the values that serve as the foundation of Pennsylvania.
I know that as a result of President Trump’s approach to Canada, relations between our two nations are really strained right now.
I thought his rhetoric on making Canada the 51st state – and I want you to hear me on this – I thought that was extremely disrespectful.
I know it’s impacted the psyche of the nation. I know it’s caused many to wonder if that is how all Americans view this relationship.
That is not what I believe...
You fought in wars alongside the United States and you came to our aid in a moment of need after 9/11. You’ve been a most reliable friend.
You don’t deserve to be treated this way.
My fellow Governors and I respect Canada’s sovereignty, its history, and its people.
It’s because of that respect that I am here today.
And it’s because of that respect and this moment we find ourselves in that I want to strengthen our relationship, build new economic ties between us, and create greater opportunity for Pennsylvanians and Canadians alike.
I know the tariffs the Trump Administration has put in place are making that more challenging than ever.
And it’s not just on this side of the border.
I’ve heard it from Pennsylvanians too.
Earlier this year, I visited Metzler Forest Products in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. They told me about how tariffs make their equipment more expensive – and how this trade war the President started hurts their bottomline.
Canada is one of our largest markets for forest products.
In fact, in the first six months of 2024, Pennsylvania companies sold $92 million worth of forest products to Canadian customers.
But as a result of these tariffs, that’s down more than 30% in 2025 – to just $66 million in the first six months of this year.
That’s $30 million gone because the President decided to pick a needless fight with our closest ally.
And that’s just one example.
Pennsylvania companies in agriculture, manufacturing, and more are feeling it too.
I’m not against tariffs in all circumstances – but I believe they need to be used strategically, not haphazardly.
And they should not be used in ways that suppress the very trade opportunities that benefit workers and businesses on both sides of our border.
At the same time, the Trump Administration is proposing sweeping budget cuts this year that would put in jeopardy so much of the progress that this organization has made together to restore the clean, fresh water of the Great Lakes.
Let me give you just one example.
The Trump Administration is proposing to cut $3 billion in water infrastructure funding that our states receive annually from the federal government.
That’s money we use to reduce sedimentation and pollution in our waterways, replace lead pipes, and otherwise work to keep the water flowing into the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River watershed clean and pure.
I will continue to make clear to Pennsylvania’s Senators and Representatives in Congress the importance of this funding to the region.
Despite all the chaos at the federal level, I believe we have to find ways to collaborate and work together between our states and provinces, and this organization provides us with a valuable forum for just that
Success for our 10 states and provinces isn’t a zero sum game.
I’m cheering for Gretchen, Kathy, and Tony every single day, and I know they’re cheering for me.
We need to have that same comradery and collaboration with leaders in the Canadian provinces.
Because if Premier Ford and Premier Legault do well, Pennsylvania does well – and vice versa.
I think this organization can be a model for how to strengthen these relationships, especially at a time when the federal government is straining them.
We can be a model for how to protect Lake Erie, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence seaway…
How to strengthen our economy and your economy…
How to grow our businesses, create new jobs, and strengthen the partnerships that enable both of our countries to thrive.
Thank you again for welcoming me.
I look forward to having these conversations with all of you this weekend.
And I look forward to welcoming you in Erie at our next convening in 2027.
Thank you. Merci beaucoup.
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