New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt talks energy with Prime Minister Mark Carney
Posted Apr 20, 2026 2:00 am.
Last Updated Apr 20, 2026 12:26 pm.
OTTAWA — New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt says she came to Ottawa to advocate for her province’s energy sector and natural resources.
Ahead of a meeting on Monday with Prime Minister Mark Carney, Holt told reporters her province “has what the world needs.”
“We have the trade infrastructure to get those assets out to the world (that) wants this at a time when our allies are looking for new and different relationships,” Holt said before a closed-door meeting with Carney.
Last year, the federal government identified a proposed tungsten mine in Sisson Brook, N.B., as a project that could be fast-tracked through the approval process because of its potential benefit the national economy.
“When we meet, we make progress. We made progress on the Sisson Mine last time we talked,” Carney said alongside Holt.
The prime minister noted the two were meeting the same day the government removed the excise tax on fuel, a temporary measure aimed at cutting prices at the pump amid the Iran war. Prices across the Maritimes dropped by more than 10 cents overnight ahead of the fuel tax break. New Brunswick’s maximum price of regular self-serve gas was $1.72 per litre Monday.
Holt said she planned to press Carney for federal partnership on health-care funding and more defence investments. “New Brunswickers want to see access to health care in their province and they want to live an affordable life,” Holt said.
“I’m here to share those priorities with the prime minister and continue the work that we’ve done.”
While in Ottawa, Holt is planning to meet with New Brunswick MP Dominic LeBlanc, the minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade. She’s also scheduled sit-downs with the ministers of justice, defence and health. Holt also attended a Canadian Chamber of Commerce business summit on Monday with three other premiers during which they discussed interprovincial trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2026.
Eli Ridder, The Canadian Press
