PM Carney has released another one of his ‘forward guidance’ videos, this one specifically on the energy sector. It’s very interesting. 17 minutes or so. Typing as I go:
He very specifically gives a nod to Albertan objections to the National Energy Program, phrased as he was living in Alberta at the time.
He touches on the history of hydroelectric in Ontario and Quebec and even evokes Quebec’s ‘Maitres chez nous’ (masters of. our own home) approach to hydroelectric. He also talks about energy as something that should be unifying Canada.
He’s explicitly supportive of Canada’s conventional energy sector. “Nobody knows how long the global economy will rely on conventional energy, but while it does, as much of that energy as possible should come from Canada”.
He’s explicitly highlighting how expanding our oil markets outside of the U.S. will improve prices and options.
He noted our numerous LNG projects, and how Canadian LNG will help build resilience in foreign partners.
He turns to electricity costs and broader economic electrification. “We need affordable home grown energy, and a lot of it”. He reiterates the previous announced National Electricity Strategy and Nuclear Energy Strategy, and plans to double the power grid.
He talks about reforming permitting and approvals.
He turns back to oil and gas, that reopening flow through the Strait of Hormuz is easy, but rebuilding supply trust will be hard, and that Canada’s ideally positioned to take advantage of this.
He speaks to the world as it is now, not in 2015, and that events have surpassed Canada’s climate strategy. Climate change is still a crisis, but the previous approaches don’t suit the times. “We can’t afford to restrain the growth of an important part of our energy mix, oil and gas, to meet a short term goal”. He explicitly says emissions will be higher over the next few years, and links this back to affordability and our need to work with partners to better diversify our economic relationships.
