Trudeau’s ‘no business case’ for LNG now at odds with candidate’s push for his job
Shaun Polczer
10 Feb 2025
For years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has downplayed the role of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Canada’s energy future, with Trudeau himself infamously declaring in 2022 that there was “no business case” for exporting Canadian LNG.
Yet, as US president Donald Trump threatens new tariffs on Canadian products, including energy, Liberal leadership candidates and prominent cabinet ministers are now signalling a dramatic shift some critics say is long overdue while others shrug off as disingenuous and dishonest.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, in an interview aired Sunday, acknowledged the need for major infrastructure projects to ensure Canada’s resources reach global markets, including the possibility of an east-west pipeline.
“Things have changed, you cannot be in the past,” Champagne told CTV News. “And that may mean you need pipelines that go East-West.”
His remarks come as Japan and Taiwan, two key Asian allies, increasingly look to Alaska for long-term LNG supply deals — an opportunity Canada could have seized if not for years of regulatory hurdles and policy uncertainty that stifled investment.
The Trudeau government’s track record on energy has been one of roadblocks rather than development.
In 2016, it cancelled the Northern Gateway pipeline, which would have provided tidewater access for half a million barrels per day of Alberta’s oil. In 2019, Bill C-48 banned oil tankers from docking along BC’s northern coast, further limiting future energy exports.
Most notably, in 2017, TransCanada abandoned the Energy East pipeline after facing overwhelming regulatory uncertainty — an outcome the Liberals insisted was a “business decision.”
Now, facing economic and geopolitical pressures, the government appears to be reconsidering its stance.
The shift in tone is particularly notable in Quebec, where opposition to pipelines has long been fierce. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet last week reaffirmed his “fierce” opposition to new pipeline projects in the province, while Premier François Legault told reporters he remains “skeptical” about public support for Energy East.
In a surprising turn, Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette signalled that the province is open to revisiting the cancelled LNG-Québec project, which was scrapped in 2021 due to environmental concerns. “We are not opposed to energy projects that respect environmental criteria,” Charette said.
This comes as global demand for LNG continues to surge. Japan, South Korea, and Germany have all made long-term commitments to natural gas as a transition fuel.
The sudden support for LNG exports also comes amid Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland’s campaign to succeed Trudeau. In her newly released jobs and growth policy, Freeland pledged to “seize the opportunity to make Canada an energy superpower” and expand LNG exports.
Meanwhile, the US has emerged as a dominant LNG exporter, filling a gap Canada could have occupied.
Martha Hall Findlay, director of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, isn’t buying Freeland’s pitch. Hall Findlay, a former Liberal MP, pointed out that Freeland was a central figure in a government that spent nearly a decade stifling Canada’s energy sector.
“Should I just laugh?” she told The Canadian Press. “It would be funny if it weren’t just so frustrating.”
Even Liberal frontrunner Mark Carney has suggested scrapping carbon taxes, the centrepiece of Liberal climate policy.
www.westernstandard.news
Shaun Polczer
10 Feb 2025
For years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has downplayed the role of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Canada’s energy future, with Trudeau himself infamously declaring in 2022 that there was “no business case” for exporting Canadian LNG.
Yet, as US president Donald Trump threatens new tariffs on Canadian products, including energy, Liberal leadership candidates and prominent cabinet ministers are now signalling a dramatic shift some critics say is long overdue while others shrug off as disingenuous and dishonest.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, in an interview aired Sunday, acknowledged the need for major infrastructure projects to ensure Canada’s resources reach global markets, including the possibility of an east-west pipeline.
“Things have changed, you cannot be in the past,” Champagne told CTV News. “And that may mean you need pipelines that go East-West.”
His remarks come as Japan and Taiwan, two key Asian allies, increasingly look to Alaska for long-term LNG supply deals — an opportunity Canada could have seized if not for years of regulatory hurdles and policy uncertainty that stifled investment.
The Trudeau government’s track record on energy has been one of roadblocks rather than development.
In 2016, it cancelled the Northern Gateway pipeline, which would have provided tidewater access for half a million barrels per day of Alberta’s oil. In 2019, Bill C-48 banned oil tankers from docking along BC’s northern coast, further limiting future energy exports.
Most notably, in 2017, TransCanada abandoned the Energy East pipeline after facing overwhelming regulatory uncertainty — an outcome the Liberals insisted was a “business decision.”
Now, facing economic and geopolitical pressures, the government appears to be reconsidering its stance.
The shift in tone is particularly notable in Quebec, where opposition to pipelines has long been fierce. Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet last week reaffirmed his “fierce” opposition to new pipeline projects in the province, while Premier François Legault told reporters he remains “skeptical” about public support for Energy East.
In a surprising turn, Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette signalled that the province is open to revisiting the cancelled LNG-Québec project, which was scrapped in 2021 due to environmental concerns. “We are not opposed to energy projects that respect environmental criteria,” Charette said.
This comes as global demand for LNG continues to surge. Japan, South Korea, and Germany have all made long-term commitments to natural gas as a transition fuel.
The sudden support for LNG exports also comes amid Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland’s campaign to succeed Trudeau. In her newly released jobs and growth policy, Freeland pledged to “seize the opportunity to make Canada an energy superpower” and expand LNG exports.
Meanwhile, the US has emerged as a dominant LNG exporter, filling a gap Canada could have occupied.
Martha Hall Findlay, director of the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, isn’t buying Freeland’s pitch. Hall Findlay, a former Liberal MP, pointed out that Freeland was a central figure in a government that spent nearly a decade stifling Canada’s energy sector.
“Should I just laugh?” she told The Canadian Press. “It would be funny if it weren’t just so frustrating.”
Even Liberal frontrunner Mark Carney has suggested scrapping carbon taxes, the centrepiece of Liberal climate policy.
Liberals’ LNG flip-flop draws scrutiny — and ridicule — as allies look elsewhere
For years, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has downplayed the role of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Canada’s energy future, with Trudeau himself infamously declaring in 2022 that there was “no business case” for exporting Canadian LNG.
