Energy minister says world wants “access to Canadian” exports

Despite no substantive talk of building an oil pipeline for global export, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson says the world wants “access to Canadian conventional energy.”

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Despite no substantive talk of building an oil pipeline for global export, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson says the world wants “access to Canadian conventional energy.”

When asked if the Carney government would supply China’s growing interest in Canadian natural resource exports, Hodgson said global demand was increasing.

“I don’t need to go specifically to China, I can tell you in all of my visits, the answer is unequivocally that the world is looking to increase access to Canadian conventional energy,” Hodgson said during a press conference Thursday.

“The reality is we’re in a very geopolitical world right now where some countries are choosing to use access to conventional energy as a point of diplomatic coercion. As an alternative, they see Canada as a very reliable supplier. A supplier that uses best practices from an environment, and from a respect for Indigenous people’s perspective.”

Hodgson said Canada’s approach to its energy sector “resonates with many of our allies” and that he repeatedly hears interest from them about “our LNG (liquid natural gas) and our Canadian oil.”

However, a domestic debate exists between Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and British Columbia Premier David Eby regarding a potential West Coast export pipeline.

Earlier this month, Eby accused Smith of exploiting a pipeline proposal for political purposes, warning that Alberta’s push threatens billions in “real projects” underway in British Columbia.

When asked whether B.C. would have “veto power” over the ultimate decisions, Hodgson said the Canadian Energy Regulator would decide an interprovincial pipeline.

“That being said, we have been very clear that for projects of national interest, we expect proponents to work with the affected jurisdictions and the affected First Nations to get support from those entities,” Hodgson said. “I believe that’s what Alberta is in the process of doing.”

Hodgson was also questioned about discussions during the Carney government’s latest White House visit concerning potentially reviving South Bow Corporation’s Keystone XL pipeline.

According to the energy minister, the Trump administration is very interested in energy security.

“What we shared with the Americans is to the extent that they want to talk about a shared North American energy security, in conjunction with shared North American views in some of the other affected areas of our negotiations, we’d be very open to that,” Hodgson said.

“From a Canadian perspective, if that means sharing some of our oil, we’re not hung up on a particular route. If the Americans want to explore a particular route and it’s part of those larger discussions, we’re open to that.”