EXCLUSIVE: German Chancellor says no progress on getting Canadian LNG to Germany

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Berlin remains open to buying Canadian liquefied natural gas, calling it “highly welcome” as Germany works to permanently replace Russian energy.

Source: CPAC

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Berlin remains open to buying Canadian liquefied natural gas, calling it “highly welcome” as Germany works to permanently replace Russian energy. However, he admitted it’s unclear what cooperation with Ottawa would look like.

Speaking to True North at a press conference at COP30 in Belem on Friday, Merz said energy discussions with Carney’s government are “ongoing” but unfulfilled. When asked if German interest in Canadian LNG has advanced since Carney took office, Merz suggested Ottawa has yet to make any concrete moves.

“This is not yet decided,” Merz said when pressed on if Canadian LNG was coming to German markets. “Energy in general is an issue, but how far we can go in terms of, for example, LNG is not yet clear, but we are open to that.”

“You know that we are building up the infrastructure for that,” he added. “If we can find new partners on that, we will do that.”

Merz made the comments in reply to a question about Germany’s growing defence ties with Canada. He said he and Carney have developed a “very close” working relationship, dating back to their first meeting at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta.

Since then, the two leaders have met regularly, including during Carney’s official visit to Berlin, and plan to meet again at the upcoming G20 summit in South Africa.

“We are willing to deepen our cooperation economically, in defence, [and] in climate,” Merz said. “We are seeing enormous potential for closer cooperation, and Canada is interested in doing that more than ever.”

Despite describing Carney as a “very close” ally, Merz’s lukewarm remarks underscore the lack of progress on Canada–Germany energy cooperation, two years after Berlin first pleaded for Canadian LNG to replace Russian gas.

Germany’s federal government has already invested in LNG terminals on its northern coast to facilitate imports, and Merz emphasized that infrastructure expansion is underway.

While Merz did not make specific commitments regarding Canadian LNG, his comments signal Berlin’s hope that Ottawa can become a partner for energy security, though this has yet to materialize.

Carney’s government has indicated a desire to pivot more closely to European allies on both defence and economic policy as relations with the United States remain strained. The German chancellor said both governments are working on a “very, very close timetable to come closer together,” and described the broader Canada-Germany relationship as a long-standing political and economic partnership that is only expected to deepen in the months ahead.