Don't trust his pledge to turn Canada into an energy superpower
Terry Newman
Mar 21, 2025
This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised a crowd in Edmonton that he would speed up pipeline-project approvals, reducing the waiting period from five to two years. But Carney has also told us he wants to keep an emissions cap on the oil and gas industry and industrial carbon tax, both of which are likely to deter potential investors in Canada’s energy projects. He’s also conceded that various competing interests would have to be consulted before any natural resource projects will be able to get off the ground, while failing to communicate any assurances he could get the job done to reassure investors.
For all of Carney’s supposed superior knowledge of the world and markets, the art of provincial negotiations and incentives for private investment in natural resources appears to have already escaped his grasp. There’s evidence to suggest this is because, at heart, Carney is likely to be a fully fledged ESG prime minister (ESG being short for environmental, social, and governance principles being imposed on business).
In his speech after winning the Liberal leadership, Carney said he had a plan: “A plan, a plan, a plan … that makes us an energy superpower in both clean and conventional energy … a plan that creates one Canadian economy, not 13, because in Canada, we are stronger when we are united.”
Unfortunately, everything Carney’s said and done up until this point suggests not only that he’d fail to unite Canadian provinces to create this energy super-economy, but that’s he’s not actually interested in doing so in the first place.
The Liberal party may have a new face, but Carney’s insistence on keeping an emissions cap and industrial carbon tax in place — both products of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government — doesn’t invoke much confidence in his energy superpower plan.
Since the Liberals came to power in 2015, they implemented the Impact Assessment Act, which slowed approvals, the federal industrial carbon pricing system (2018) and the oil and gas emissions cap (slated for 2026) — all with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector to net zero by 2050.
While these measures did not immediately come into effect when they won power, the Liberals had signalled their intent to radically increase environmental regulations and create emission-reduction targets as early as their 2015 platform. This, no doubt, fuelled apprehension among investors.
Since 2015, many projects have been stalled or cancelled, including the Northern Gateway Pipeline (cancelled by government in 2016, citing a federal ban on tanker traffic and Indigenous opposition); the Energy East Pipeline (cancelled by the company in 2017, citing regulatory hurdles and low oil prices); Pacific NorthWest LNG (cancelled in 2017 due to market conditions and regulatory delays); the MacKenzie Valley Pipeline (cancelled in 2017 due to low gas prices and regulatory uncertainty); Énergie Saguenay LNG (cancelled in 2021, rejected by Quebec government over emissions concerns, not challenged by the federal government); Bay du Nord Offshore Oil (shelved in 2022, citing high costs and regulatory uncertainty); Teck Frontier Mine (cancelled in 2020, amid climate policy debates); and the Keystone XL Pipeline (cancelled 2021, due to failure to secure a U.S. permit and Canadian regulatory costs).
It looks like the mere anticipation of these policies was disastrous for energy projects in Canada.
While Carney has reduced (not cancelled) the consumer carbon tax to zero for the time being, it’s not clear why Canadians should be reassured that the same Liberal government with a new face and these old restrictions is suddenly going to turn Canada into an energy superpower.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recently vowed to scrap the industrial carbon tax, choosing instead to reward companies that lower emissions with tax credits.
The only thing that’s changed about the Liberal party is the addition of Carney, and his record suggests that he will be driven by climate policy, at least as much as the Liberals have been, and potentially much more so. He was, not so long ago, the United Nations’ special envoy on climate action and finance and he founded and co-chaired the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), resigning on Jan. 15, the day before he threw his hat into the Liberal leadership race.
Carney’s commitment to his quest to reduce global emissions has come under suspicion in the United States. Carney and one of his GFANZ’s executives were interviewed for several hours last year about their communications with Wall Street leaders, including Blackrock, by the Republican-led House committee, which was investigating collusion in ESG investing, which the committee has referred to as a “climate cartel.”
Despite Carney’s promise to unify the provinces and get energy projects moving, he has not invoked much confidence in his ability to resolve long-standing conflicts between provincial governments and the interests of some Indigenous groups and environmental activists.
In a French interview with Radio-Canada on Feb. 17, Carney answered “jamais” (never) three times when asked whether he would ever impose a pipeline on Quebec without its approval. When speaking to a different crowd in Kelowna, B.C., in English, he said he would use emergency powers to push through energy projects to overcome provincial roadblocks. His campaign apologized, saying they needed to “tighten” their messaging after many criticized him for talking out of different sides of his mouth depending on what language he was speaking.
Likewise, at a news conference in London on Monday, when Carney was asked about getting pipelines built, he deflected his responsibility in leading the charge, responding, “It’s not up to me alone — it’s a collective effort with provinces and industry.” He also said, “We’ll use all available tools, but it’s about working with provinces and First Nations.”
These roadblocks long predate Carney’s ascension, and he has yet to explain how the Liberal government suddenly has either the ability or desire to address them.
And how is Carney faring with uniting the provinces? He recently met with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Their meeting likely did not invoke much confidence for Albertans interested in seeing energy projects realized. Smith released a detailed statement and a list of demands to be met in six months, making it clear she would no longer tolerate how Alberta has been treated by the Liberals over the last decade. Carney’s statement on the same meeting responded to none of these demands. It was the kind of boilerplate comms we’ve come to expect from the Liberals, high on platitudes and devoid of specifics.
Where’s the evidence Carney will be less stringent on energy projects and, therefore, better for the Canadian economy than his predecessor? If anything, especially given his longstanding ESG obsessions, all evidence appears to point to the contrary — that Mark Carney could be even more dedicated to strangling Canada’s resource economy than Trudeau.
These roadblocks long predate Carney’s ascension, and he has yet to explain how the Liberal government suddenly has either the ability or desire to address them.
And how is Carney faring with uniting the provinces? He recently met with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Their meeting likely did not invoke much confidence for Albertans interested in seeing energy projects realized. Smith released a detailed statement and a list of demands to be met in six months, making it clear she would no longer tolerate how Alberta has been treated by the Liberals over the last decade. Carney’s statement on the same meeting responded to none of these demands. It was the kind of boilerplate comms we’ve come to expect from the Liberals, high on platitudes and devoid of specifics.
Where’s the evidence Carney will be less stringent on energy projects and, therefore, better for the Canadian economy than his predecessor? If anything, especially given his longstanding ESG obsessions, all evidence appears to point to the contrary — that Mark Carney could be even more dedicated to strangling Canada’s resource economy than Trudeau.
nationalpost.com
Terry Newman
Mar 21, 2025
This week, Prime Minister Mark Carney promised a crowd in Edmonton that he would speed up pipeline-project approvals, reducing the waiting period from five to two years. But Carney has also told us he wants to keep an emissions cap on the oil and gas industry and industrial carbon tax, both of which are likely to deter potential investors in Canada’s energy projects. He’s also conceded that various competing interests would have to be consulted before any natural resource projects will be able to get off the ground, while failing to communicate any assurances he could get the job done to reassure investors.
For all of Carney’s supposed superior knowledge of the world and markets, the art of provincial negotiations and incentives for private investment in natural resources appears to have already escaped his grasp. There’s evidence to suggest this is because, at heart, Carney is likely to be a fully fledged ESG prime minister (ESG being short for environmental, social, and governance principles being imposed on business).
In his speech after winning the Liberal leadership, Carney said he had a plan: “A plan, a plan, a plan … that makes us an energy superpower in both clean and conventional energy … a plan that creates one Canadian economy, not 13, because in Canada, we are stronger when we are united.”
Unfortunately, everything Carney’s said and done up until this point suggests not only that he’d fail to unite Canadian provinces to create this energy super-economy, but that’s he’s not actually interested in doing so in the first place.
The Liberal party may have a new face, but Carney’s insistence on keeping an emissions cap and industrial carbon tax in place — both products of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government — doesn’t invoke much confidence in his energy superpower plan.
Since the Liberals came to power in 2015, they implemented the Impact Assessment Act, which slowed approvals, the federal industrial carbon pricing system (2018) and the oil and gas emissions cap (slated for 2026) — all with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector to net zero by 2050.
While these measures did not immediately come into effect when they won power, the Liberals had signalled their intent to radically increase environmental regulations and create emission-reduction targets as early as their 2015 platform. This, no doubt, fuelled apprehension among investors.
Since 2015, many projects have been stalled or cancelled, including the Northern Gateway Pipeline (cancelled by government in 2016, citing a federal ban on tanker traffic and Indigenous opposition); the Energy East Pipeline (cancelled by the company in 2017, citing regulatory hurdles and low oil prices); Pacific NorthWest LNG (cancelled in 2017 due to market conditions and regulatory delays); the MacKenzie Valley Pipeline (cancelled in 2017 due to low gas prices and regulatory uncertainty); Énergie Saguenay LNG (cancelled in 2021, rejected by Quebec government over emissions concerns, not challenged by the federal government); Bay du Nord Offshore Oil (shelved in 2022, citing high costs and regulatory uncertainty); Teck Frontier Mine (cancelled in 2020, amid climate policy debates); and the Keystone XL Pipeline (cancelled 2021, due to failure to secure a U.S. permit and Canadian regulatory costs).
It looks like the mere anticipation of these policies was disastrous for energy projects in Canada.
While Carney has reduced (not cancelled) the consumer carbon tax to zero for the time being, it’s not clear why Canadians should be reassured that the same Liberal government with a new face and these old restrictions is suddenly going to turn Canada into an energy superpower.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recently vowed to scrap the industrial carbon tax, choosing instead to reward companies that lower emissions with tax credits.
The only thing that’s changed about the Liberal party is the addition of Carney, and his record suggests that he will be driven by climate policy, at least as much as the Liberals have been, and potentially much more so. He was, not so long ago, the United Nations’ special envoy on climate action and finance and he founded and co-chaired the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), resigning on Jan. 15, the day before he threw his hat into the Liberal leadership race.
Carney’s commitment to his quest to reduce global emissions has come under suspicion in the United States. Carney and one of his GFANZ’s executives were interviewed for several hours last year about their communications with Wall Street leaders, including Blackrock, by the Republican-led House committee, which was investigating collusion in ESG investing, which the committee has referred to as a “climate cartel.”
Despite Carney’s promise to unify the provinces and get energy projects moving, he has not invoked much confidence in his ability to resolve long-standing conflicts between provincial governments and the interests of some Indigenous groups and environmental activists.
In a French interview with Radio-Canada on Feb. 17, Carney answered “jamais” (never) three times when asked whether he would ever impose a pipeline on Quebec without its approval. When speaking to a different crowd in Kelowna, B.C., in English, he said he would use emergency powers to push through energy projects to overcome provincial roadblocks. His campaign apologized, saying they needed to “tighten” their messaging after many criticized him for talking out of different sides of his mouth depending on what language he was speaking.
Likewise, at a news conference in London on Monday, when Carney was asked about getting pipelines built, he deflected his responsibility in leading the charge, responding, “It’s not up to me alone — it’s a collective effort with provinces and industry.” He also said, “We’ll use all available tools, but it’s about working with provinces and First Nations.”
These roadblocks long predate Carney’s ascension, and he has yet to explain how the Liberal government suddenly has either the ability or desire to address them.
And how is Carney faring with uniting the provinces? He recently met with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Their meeting likely did not invoke much confidence for Albertans interested in seeing energy projects realized. Smith released a detailed statement and a list of demands to be met in six months, making it clear she would no longer tolerate how Alberta has been treated by the Liberals over the last decade. Carney’s statement on the same meeting responded to none of these demands. It was the kind of boilerplate comms we’ve come to expect from the Liberals, high on platitudes and devoid of specifics.
Where’s the evidence Carney will be less stringent on energy projects and, therefore, better for the Canadian economy than his predecessor? If anything, especially given his longstanding ESG obsessions, all evidence appears to point to the contrary — that Mark Carney could be even more dedicated to strangling Canada’s resource economy than Trudeau.
These roadblocks long predate Carney’s ascension, and he has yet to explain how the Liberal government suddenly has either the ability or desire to address them.
And how is Carney faring with uniting the provinces? He recently met with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Their meeting likely did not invoke much confidence for Albertans interested in seeing energy projects realized. Smith released a detailed statement and a list of demands to be met in six months, making it clear she would no longer tolerate how Alberta has been treated by the Liberals over the last decade. Carney’s statement on the same meeting responded to none of these demands. It was the kind of boilerplate comms we’ve come to expect from the Liberals, high on platitudes and devoid of specifics.
Where’s the evidence Carney will be less stringent on energy projects and, therefore, better for the Canadian economy than his predecessor? If anything, especially given his longstanding ESG obsessions, all evidence appears to point to the contrary — that Mark Carney could be even more dedicated to strangling Canada’s resource economy than Trudeau.
Terry Newman: Mark Carney's climate obsessions will put Trudeau to shame
Don't trust his pledge to turn Canada into an energy superpower
nationalpost.com
