Mark Carney prepares, slightly riskily given the absence of a lid, to blend a smoothie. He told the children that the broccoli contained in the smoothie would help them grow to be the size of Premier RJ Simpson, left. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
In pictures: Mark Carney returns to his birthplace, Fort Smith
Prime Minister Mark Carney spent Wednesday in Fort Smith, the NWT town in which he lived until the age of six and where his father was a school principal.
Carney began the day with a visit to Fort Smith’s community centre, where he briefly indulged in some baking and smoothie creation with town children, supervised by town staff Emily Colucci and Emily Prescott.
Carney said, with a smile, he had been “intimately involved” in the smoothies’ creation as they were handed out.
That part of the visit was designed to focus on food insecurity, the Office of the Prime Minister said. Carney was accompanied by NWT Premier RJ Simpson.
Carney then strolled the short distance, under a cloudless NWT summer sky, to Fort Smith pizzeria Berro’s for lunch.
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He entered a packed Berro’s to discover a photo on the wall of his last visit to the pizza place. This time, the restaurant had gone one better and renamed a pizza in his honour.
Carney’s trip continued on Wednesday afternoon, when he received a briefing inside Fort Smith’s Parks Canada building on the NWT’s recent severe wildfire seasons.
“Thank you for everything you’re doing,” the prime minister told territorial fire operations manager Richard Olsen and colleagues.
“Obviously, it’s critical for the people, for the land, for the caribou, for our future. We see it at the federal level. We see what you’re doing.”
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Carney said the federal government recognizes the effect of a changing climate on the severity of northern fire seasons, and was working on how more resources can be devoted to the problem.
“I’d better go in and learn a bit more,” he told reporters before ducking into a private meeting on the subject of fires.
After that meeting, Carney heads to Inuvik later on Wednesday, where he’s expected to make one evening appearance before a meeting with Inuit leaders on Thursday.
Here are some of our best shots from the Fort Smith leg of the trip.
Families await the prime minister inside Fort Smith’s community centre. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Fort Smith’s director of community services and acting senior administrator, Emily Colucci, prepares for the PM’s arrival with local youth. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Mark Carney and NWT Premier RJ Simpson join a baking session at Fort Smith’s community centre. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Carney preps ingredients for muffins with Fort Smith youth. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Carney in discussion with Fort Smith resident Jeremy Beamish about the condition of Joseph Burr Tyrrell School, where his father was once the principal. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
A Fort Smith family meets Carney. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The cameras following the prime minister. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Connie Benwell, centre, holds a placard urging the prime minister to scrap Bill C-5, the recently passed legislation that promotes nation-building projects. “It’s infringing on our treaty rights and not consulting with the Aboriginal people on major decisions,” Benwell told Cabin Radio. “We were here first. We were put here to look after our lands, look after our water. This is what we are doing and we will stand by it.” Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Carney and NWT MP Rebecca Alty, the Crown-Indigenous relations minister, walk past Fort Smith’s Northern Life Museum. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Carney and Alty stroll toward Berro’s in Fort Smith. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Berro’s had renamed its meatiest pizza the “Carney-vore.” After some discussion, Carney – who worried all the meat would send him to sleep – ordered it. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Carney places his order. “If you named a pizza after me, I’m going to have that,” he concluded. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Carney spots a photo of his last visit to Berro’s, Fort Smith’s pizza parlour. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Carney meets former NWT finance minister Michael Miltenberger. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Fort Smith residents joined the photographers in trying to get the perfect shot of Carney visiting Berro’s. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Carney poses for photos with Berro’s customers. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Mark Carney enters a fire management centre in Fort Smith. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
Richard Olsen, the NWT’s fire operations manager, gives Carney, Alty and Simpson a briefing on how the territory fights wildfires. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
The prime minister’s motorcade moves through Fort Smith. Ollie Williams/Cabin Radio
