For nearly a decade, former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government made every effort to stymie Canada’s oil and gas sector, insisting sacrificing growth in the sector was necessary for the sake of the environment.
Under the Trudeau regime, scores of laws were introduced that blockaded new pipelines and shut down coastal tanker activity, all of which made Canada more subservient to the U.S., because of the nation’s limited pipeline capacity.
Thankfully, there seems to be a new consensus in Ottawa that Canada’s energy sector is not the enemy. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Energy Minister Tim Hodgson seem to recognize Alberta’s oilsands will be a key driver of future Canadian prosperity, energy security, and even trade diversification.
Critics within Liberal ranks
Still, Carney’s new approach to Canada’s energy sector — a clear break from his predecessor’s — is not without its critics.
Former environment minister Steven Guilbeault resigned from cabinet and later Parliament to protest Carney’s departure from Trudeau-era climate policy. There remain many in the Liberal caucus who clapped like trained seals every time Trudeau denigrated Alberta’s energy sector in the House of Commons, so it remains to be seen whether this new approach is being imposed top-down by Carney himself, or if Liberals truly have had a change of heart. Regardless, a new study from the Canadian Climate Institute shows what energy sector proponents have been saying all along — Canada’s oil and gas sector is not the enemy, nor should it be the main target of environmentalists.