Trudeau gov’t open to Keystone XL revival… after tariff spat resolved

“At the end of the day, there may be a conversation about [Keystone] XL,” says Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, “but it can’t be until the Americans … down tools with respect to tariffs.”

Alex Dhaliwal
  |   March 03, 2025   |   News   |   2 Comments

 

The Canadian Press / Adrian Wyld

The Trudeau Liberals are open to reviving Keystone XL, but not until the U.S. drops all tariff talk.

“At the end of the day, there may be a conversation about KXL, but it can’t be until the Americans actually decide that they’re going to down tools with respect to tariffs,” Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson told the Financial Post.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier called for its revival, though Minister Wilkinson says the remarks are “difficult to understand” given the 10% tariff on Canadian energy.

First developed by TC Energy, the 1,200-mile pipeline would have carried 830,000 barrels per day if built to completion, carrying Canadian crude to U.S. refineries, and then to the Gulf Coast for international shipping. 

TC Energy, an Alberta-based company, suspended construction ahead of Biden’s inauguration in 2019. Its cancellation cost tens of thousands of jobs on both sides of the border, prompting a lawsuit from 21 states.

Meanwhile, Trump appeared impatient a week ago, calling on TC Energy or a competitor company to “get it built — NOW!”

A prior Politico report said bringing back the pipeline was among the “list of things” Trump would accomplish, but has yet to act upon as of writing.

“We’re certainly open to talking about KXL,” Wilkinson said, “but it would need a proponent, which it doesn’t have right now, and it would need regulatory certainty in the United States.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, an oil and gas advocate, expressed optimism in its revival last December. “Hopefully we can find a mutually satisfactory way forward,” she told Fox Business.

“Do you think that President-elect Trump can exert enough pressure on Prime Minister Trudeau to make that happen?” asked the host. “There is a willing partner in Canada—not only Alberta but also our federal government,” replied Smith.

Trudeau, at the time of cancellation, expressed “disappointment” in the decision. “The U.S. decision to revoke the permit was unfair and inequitable,” reads a 2021 arbitration filing by TC Energy.

“America is our best friend and trading partner,” Smith said. “We benefit from more oil production. America benefits from more oil production.”

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  • Bernhard Jatzezck
    commented 2025-03-03 22:19:40 -0500
    Trump simply wanted tighter border controls, using tariffs as a way of prodding the Liberal government into dealing with the matter. Instead, like a fish story, it was magnified into an impending invasion and annexation by the U. S. and America gets blamed for it. Meanwhile the original issue remains as it was.
  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-03-03 19:32:08 -0500
    Can we believe anything the Liberals say? Like the Devil, lying is their native language.