OTTAWA — The heads of 38 of Canada’s biggest oil and gas companies are calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to unleash Canada’s energy potential.
The energy executives said in an open letter that Carney will need to get out of the way of resource development if he hopes to follow through on his campaign promise to make Canada the
fastest-growing economy in the G7
.
“As a major contributor to the Canadian economy, with significant untapped potential, the energy sector must play a pivotal role in your pursuit of this ambition,” read the letter.
“Growth in the Canadian oil and natural gas sector supports GDP growth, job creation, and tax revenue.”
The letter reiterated a list of recommendations
put forward to the federal party leaders
in March by some of the signees, including scrapping both the federal industrial carbon price and oil and gas emissions cap, as well capping project approval timelines at six months.
Some of these items reappeared on a
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith put forward just days later, in a pre-election ultimatum.
Smith said that whoever emerged as prime minister would need to meet these demands in their first six months, or face an “unprecedented national unity crisis.”
Strathcona Resources chair Adam Waterous, who co-signed both letters, said that Carney should also declare a national energy emergency, saying that it was to avoid legal delays.
“Declaring an energy emergency would insulate projects from some of the obstructive lawsuits we’ve seen in the past,” Waterous told the National Post.
Waterous said that he appreciated Smith’s support for the oil and gas sector but was focused on harnessing energy as an engine for Canada-wide prosperity.
He said that Central Canada’s auto and manufacturing sectors have the most to gain from Carney getting out of the way of oil and gas development.
“Across Europe, in places like the United Kingdom and Germany, we’ve seen high energy prices hollow out once-thriving manufacturing industries,” said Adam Waterous.
Waterous added that Carney can shield Canada’s auto sector from further tariffs if he plays the energy card effectively in his dealings with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“For all his unpredictability, Trump has
he wants to see Keystone XL built… he’s been asking for the same thing from us for nine years,” said Waterous.
“If we’re going to have to go and negotiate… to remove tariffs on auto, steel and aluminum, etcetera, it’s pretty clear what (Trump) wants in return.”
Waterous wouldn’t comment on the reaction to
in Alberta and said he couldn’t say where the province’s oil and gas industry would line up in a referendum on Albertan independence.
Smith announced on Tuesday that she would update Alberta’s election law to allow corporations and unions to donate to political groups, including
those campaigning in a referendum
.
She also said that she was dramatically
lowering the number of signatures
needed for citizen-led groups to put constitutional questions to a province-wide vote, opening the door to a potential grassroots push for a referendum on Alberta’s independence.
National Post
rmohamed@postmedia.com
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