Carney's Anti-Energy Policies Are As Dangerous To Canada As The Bloc

By Geoff Russ, Special to the National Citizens Coalition and the Energy Affordability Now campaign

Another month has brought yet another delay in the looming trade war between Canada and the United States. With potential 25 percent tariffs on most goods and 10 percent on energy, the economic and political damage could be huge. But Canada has a powerful advantage: its energy sector. Alberta boasts some of the world’s largest oil reserves, and British Columbia is fast becoming a liquefied natural gas (LNG) powerhouse.

No other asset matters more to Canadians right now. By building up our energy infrastructure and ramping up exports, we can protect our economy and come out stronger. Yet, some politicians, like Quebec’s Yves-Francois Blanchet and Mark Carney, are trying to stop us with lies, bad ideas, and red tape.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith calls energy Canada’s “secret weapon” in this fight, and she’s spot on. Every day, 4.3 million barrels of Alberta oil flow to the U.S., keeping American homes warm and businesses running. Canada is the U.S.’s top oil supplier, and their own reserves are drying up fast. This gives Canada real leverage; think of Russia’s hold over Europe with natural gas, but without the aggression.

We’re a democracy that doesn’t bully its neighbours, yet our energy is still a massive strength. Smith says we should double or even triple our production and exports. This trade war is the push we need to make it happen.

Not everyone agrees.

Yves-Francois Blanchet, the Bloc Québécois leader, falsely claims Europeans don’t want Canadian oil and gas. That’s nonsense. Leaders in Germany, Poland, and Japan have all said they’d buy our energy for its reliability and clean production. Blanchet, a separatist who wants to split Canada apart, rejected pipelines similar to Energy East that could have linked Alberta to New Brunswick. He’s proud of killing jobs and unity, but he’s really just hurting Canada on purpose.

Then there’s Mark Carney, all set to lead the Liberals, ducking questions about energy. His past shows he hates Canadian oil and gas projects, pushing them overseas while strangling them on the homefront with rules.

Under Carney, expect more of Trudeau’s anti-energy mess: The Northern Gateway dead, Energy East buried, and expanded LNG projects stalled. He is as big a threat as Blanchet, choking Canada’s potential with red tape.

The numbers prove energy’s power. In 2023, Alberta sent $153 billion in goods to the U.S., mostly oil. In Kitimat, Cedar LNG and Pembina Pipeline are set to bring in $370 million a year. The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, finished last year, has already made over $10 billion. In 2024, oil and gas brought Canada $176 billion, our most profitable sector by far. Energy isn’t just big; it’s our backbone.

Liberals might point to Trans Mountain and Cedar LNG as wins, but the last nine years have been closer to a lost decade. Of 18 proposed LNG sites in B.C., fewer than five are moving forward. Northern Gateway and Energy East were scrapped, and Trans Mountain only survived because taxpayers bailed it out after Trudeau’s rules scared off private money.

The Liberals can’t be trusted on energy, not by industry, not by workers. Carney’s worse; he’s attacked oil and gas harder in private business than Trudeau has in office. If he takes over, Canada’s energy security will tank.

Western Canada has carried the load for too long, supplying energy to Canada and beyond. Now, Atlantic provinces like Nova Scotia and Newfoundland want in. Leaders like Danielle Smith get it, energy can save us. But poking Alberta in the eye, as Blanchet does, or suffocating projects like Carney plans with more carbon pricing and arbitrary rules, risks ripping Canada apart when we need unity most.

Blanchet’s a separatist, but Carney’s vendetta against oil could do just as much damage.

Canada’s goal should be simple: economic strength through energy. Cut the red tape, build pipelines and LNG plants, and sell to the world. Europe wants our oil, Asia needs our gas, and we can deliver.

This trade war is a chance to grow, not shrink. Leaders who block that, like Blanchet and Carney, don’t just weaken us; they betray us. Energy is our ace. Let’s play it.

Geoff Russ is a policy manager in the resource sector and contributor to several national publications across Canada, the United States, and Australia. Read his work in the National Post, the Spectator Australia, and Modern Age.

There's no solving for Canada's cost of living crisis -- or tariff crisis -- without growing Canada's resource economy, and restrictions on our energy sector have proven themselves to be just another tax on working families. Help us advocate on your behalf, and on behalf of our Great Canadian energy producers and innovators.

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