If Carney takes Canadian energy policy seriously so that Canada can compete with the potentially revived ace-driven U.S. energy sector, he must follow this latest tax reform and voice-promoting with real regulatory reforms. The Carney administration must repeal the anti-energy regulations implemented by the Trudeau administration.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled his new cabinet on Tuesday. There is still a lot of work to be done.
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Before his election victory, the Prime Minister drove away the widely used element in Canadian climate policy, the “consumer” carbon tax, which is directly levied by Canadians to consume energy (electricity, heating fuel, gasoline). Meanwhile, in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff war, the Prime Minister made a grand statement on the glory of energy in the future. “Canada has a huge opportunity to become the world’s leading energy superpower in both clean and traditional energy,” he said. “We will actively develop projects in national interest to protect Canada’s energy security, diversify our trade and enhance our long-term competitiveness while reducing emissions.”
Great plan. Then what is next?
Again, a lot. If Prime Minister Carney takes Canadian energy policy seriously so that Canada can compete with the potentially revived Trump-driven U.S. energy sector, he must follow this latest tax reform and voice-promoting with real regulatory reforms. In other words, the Carney administration must repeal the anti-energy regulations implemented by the Trudeau administration.
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First, on the chapter – Bill C-69, commonly known as “No Mor Pipelines Act”, created huge uncertainty by introducing vague evaluation criteria, including “gender impact” on major energy projects, including pipelines and LNG export facilities. If Ottawa simplifies the project review process, it can help Canada access more profitable markets for energy products outside the United States
Then comes Bill C-48 (commonly known as the “Trinks Injunction Act”), which changes the provisions for large vessels that travel oil to and from ports on the northern coast of British Columbia, effectively bans such cargo and limits the ability of Canadian companies to export to non-U.S. markets. Tanker ban should be obvious sails.
Next, Trudeau plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas industry (35% below 2019 levels by 2030), as well as key new regulations on methane emissions in the industry. These regulations may increase costs and reduce production. By removing them, Ottawa can increase the growing capacity of the Canadian energy sector and the U.S. energy sector.
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Finally, the Trudeau government’s clean electricity regulations could drive power speeds on the roof while ushering in an era of less reliable power supply, a slap in the hands of Canadian energy consumers. It would be effortless for the new Ottawa administration to end these misleading regulations.
Carney’s first show on the Canadian Energy Document looks good. The carbon tax is half dead (the remaining industrial tax). A new pro-energy remark has allowed Trudeau’s Canadian energy policy to replace Trudeau’s “stage” framework. But if Carney and his new cabinet earnestly focus on unlocking Canada’s energy potential, reducing their reliance on the U.S. market, reaching more profitable foreign markets, increasing production, and so on, they will be better off standing out on the regulatory reform agenda so that they don’t find themselves in trouble with the regulatory legacy of their predecessors.
Kenneth Green is a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute.
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