Apologies if this was already posted and I missed it. A rare rebuke by a current government of its predecessor government of the same party; this over Trudeau’s botched LNG export policy:
Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said his government is taking steps toward exporting natural gas to Europe, and criticized former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau…
financialpost.com
Carney's Energy Chief Rebukes Trudeau Over LNG Policy in Europe
Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said his government is taking steps toward exporting natural gas to Europe, and criticized former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not making the same effort.
Bloomberg News
Brian Platt
(Bloomberg) — Canadian Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said his government is taking steps toward exporting natural gas to Europe, and criticized former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not making the same effort.
Article content
“The new Canadian federal government has made a conscious choice to re-center energy and critical minerals in how we think about not only our domestic affairs, but Canada’s place in the world,” Hodgson said in the prepared text of remarks he will deliver at the country’s embassy in Berlin.
His speech comes on the same day Mark Carney wraps up a trip through Europe that included stops in Poland, Ukraine, Germany and Latvia. The Canadian prime minister is trying to shore up relationships with European allies and work on defense and trade agreements in the face of the global tariff war launched by the US.
Hodgson’s speech promoted cooperation between Germany and Canada, including on green hydrogen and critical minerals. But it emphasized Canadian natural gas as a low-risk source of energy.
“Unlike the previous Canadian government, which closed the door to LNG exports, Prime Minister Carney’s government has opened it,” said Hodgson, a rookie politician who previously worked with Carney at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “If the demand is here, and the infrastructure is built, Canada will deliver.”
The comments are the latest example of how Carney, despite coming from the same Liberal Party as Trudeau, has put a much stronger emphasis on conventional energy exports as a potential source of economic strength.
The idea of shipping liquefied natural gas from Canada’s east coast to European markets has lingered for years, but made little progress. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Germany searched for replacements for Russian gas and explored options with Trudeau’s government.
When then-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Canada that summer, Trudeau told reporters the business case for shipping gas to Europe has always been difficult due to the fact Canadian gas fields are mostly located in the west, far away from Atlantic Ocean ports.
Those comments have often been criticized in the years since — though Trudeau also said at the time he was willing to expedite the regulatory process, if a private sector company came forward with a project.
Hodgson said proposals for gas exports to Europe are still in early stages and “no route is mapped out for sure.”
“But any proponent who comes forward with a project that features good economics and buy-in from their province and Indigenous people, we will take a good look at,” he said.
Canada has an LNG terminal on its east coast owned by Spanish energy firm Repsol SA, but it currently imports gas for markets in eastern North America. The company explored expanding it into an export facility, but scrapped the idea in 2023 after determining the pipeline tolls would have made the gas too expensive.
Hodgson and Carney have indicated that another project is on their radar now: using the northern port of Churchill, Manitoba, to ship LNG and other commodities through Hudson Bay and the Arctic Ocean.
However, the port is small, remote and locked in by sea ice for much of the year. Upgrading it would require major investment in new infrastructure, as well as icebreakers to allow for a longer shipping season.
Hodgson told reporters in Germany this week that Churchill’s port is currently “underutilized” but represents a “tremendous opportunity.” Provincial leaders in western Canada are enthusiastic about the concept.
“There seems to be a desire on the part of Germany to buy our natural gas,” Hodgson said. “And we have a desire from proponents, a province and First Nations to develop that for German customers.”
Developing Churchill’s port could unlock exports of LNG and critical minerals, along with creating economic opportunity for Indigenous people and diversifying Canada’s trade networks, Carney told reporters during his Europe tour.
“All of those elements are going to make the country stronger, make us more resilient, make us more prosperous,” he said.
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Not unusual to see governments quietly shift policy, but an outright repudiation of what your own party was just doing months ago is, uh, uncommon. They’re saying very strong stuff here and the communicated intent for Churchill is very, very bold. Concrete action will be both necessary and very visible early on if this is to be viable.
♂
