Energy Magazine Category: Political

You’ve described energy as one of Canada’s strongest strategic assets. In a more uncertain global environment, how can Canada leverage its energy and mineral resources to forge new partnerships worldwide?

Energy and natural resources are some of Canada’s strongest cards in the volatile global environment we find ourselves in. At a time when countries are strengthening their supply chains, energy security, and economic sovereignty, Canada offers stability, high environmental standards, a world-class labour force and a trusted rule‑of‑law system.

That combination makes us an attractive partner for allies looking to diversify away from unreliable and coercive energy suppliers. Whether it’s natural gas, uranium, critical minerals, or clean electricity, Canada can help meet global demand while strengthening long‑term partnerships based on trust and mutual benefit.

We are already seeing this play out through new trade agreements and energy partnerships, For example, the 56 new deals and partnerships signed under the Critical Minerals Production Alliance signals to the world that Canada is a leader in bringing new projects to market, countering market manipulation by non-market actors, and strengthening global supply chains. Our goal is not to simply export volumes—it is to do so through strategic relationships with democratic allies that support shared prosperity, resilience, and security for decades to come.

Projects like the Sunrise Expansion are being framed as both economic and nation-building investments. What role does natural gas infrastructure play in strengthening Canada’s energy security and keeping energy affordable for Canadians?

“Natural gas infrastructure plays a fundamental role in Canada’s energy system. It keeps homes heated, businesses operating, and electricity grids reliable—especially during peak demand and extreme weather.”

The Sunrise Expansion Program is a great example of a project that reinforces our energy security while keeping energy affordable for Canadians. The expansion project will strengthen energy security by moving reliable, Canadian‑produced gas to where it is needed most, reducing bottlenecks and dependence on external supply. This will enable us to heat more homes, businesses, hospitals and schools in B.C., in addition to providing gas for electric power generation and industrial and manufacturing processes. This expansion ensures British Columbia has enough gas supply as LNG export facilities like Woodfibre LNG – which will be the first net-zero LNG facility in the world – come online.

Sunrise is also a critical economic investment. It will add more than $3 billion to Canada’s GDP and generate over $700 million in tax revenue for new roads, hospitals and schools in B.C. At peak construction, it will create 2,500 jobs, including for local Indigenous communities, with whom Enbridge has been working on this project.

Natural gas infrastructure like Sunrise supports our nation‑building goals. It enables industrial development, supports jobs across the country, and underpins exports that strengthen Canada’s economic position. These are long‑lived assets that serve both today’s needs and tomorrow’s ambitions as Canada builds a more competitive, secure, and integrated energy system.

As Canada looks to attract investment in data centres and AI-driven industries, how is the government working to unlock the necessary energy infrastructure, and what role does natural gas play in Canada’s AI future?

Canada’s AI and data‑centre ambitions depend on one thing above all else: reliable, affordable power at scale. The reality is that clean electricity capacity cannot be expanded overnight. To keep up with demand, Canada will need to double its electrical grid by 2050. As we build out renewables, transmission, and nuclear, natural gas will play a critical bridging role—supporting system reliability, firm power, and grid stability.

The recent National Electricity Strategy the federal government tabled is focussed on how we can build out electrical infrastructure faster and more predictably, while keeping energy affordable for Canadians.

In the strategy, it lays out the critical role natural gas will play to support this transition while maintaining competitiveness. It will allow for Canada to attract investment today—particularly in energy‑intensive sectors like AI—while we continue to lower emissions through efficiency improvements, carbon capture, and electrification. Getting this balance right ensures Canada remains an attractive destination for the industries shaping the next generation of economic growth, and ensures that Canadians can keep the lights on.

Canada has world-class natural gas resources that account for 40% of our energy needs. We have heard clearly the role your government sees Canadian gas playing in the global LNG market. But could you help us understand how natural gas in the domestic context fits into your government’s long-term energy plans?

Canada is the world’s fifth largest natural gas producer, and our natural gas deposits are among the largest and most productive in the world. We have 4 trillion cubic metres of marketable natural gas resources, which could last 300 years, at the current rate of production.

So, it should be no surprise that natural gas is already a cornerstone of Canada’s energy system, and it will remain so for some time. It heats homes, powers industry, supports electricity generation, and provides system flexibility that keeps energy affordable and reliable.

By the early 2030s, Canada is poised to become one of the world’s top LNG exporters, supported by new export capacity, and a federal commitment to move key projects like LNG Canada Phase 2 and Ksi Lisims LNG quickly and responsibly through the Major Projects Office. Our goal is to grow production to 50 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in the 2030s and 100 MTPA in the 2040s, and we are on the right track.

Domestically, gas supports economic growth and energy security. Internationally, Canadian LNG can displace higher‑emission fuels abroad while strengthening relationships with allies. In the long term, our objective is not to eliminate energy sources overnight, but to steadily reduce carbon intensity while maintaining competitiveness. That means using natural gas more efficiently, leveraging technologies like carbon capture and methane reduction, and pairing gas with growing clean electricity capacity. Natural gas will play a part in a critical and responsibly done transition that meets demand while lowering emissions over time.

“Domestically, gas supports economic growth and energy security.”

Your government has brought a very different approach to energy. What has been the biggest surprise in your role as you have travelled the country meeting with the industry and Canadians more generally?

As Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, I am sometimes told that I am, in a way, the Minister of “national unity”. As I’ve traveled around our regionally diverse country, what has surprised me most is how aligned people actually are. Across Canada—whether I am speaking with workers, Indigenous leaders, industry, or community members—I consistently hear the same thing: Canadians want projects built responsibly, predictably, and in a way that delivers real benefits to communities across this country.

There is far less appetite for endless delay or abstract debate than people assume. The trade war the Americans declared on us was a major wake-up call and a reminder that we have to give ourselves more than anyone can take away. Canadians understand more than ever that energy and natural resources are fundamental to our economy, our security, and our standard of living. They also expect high environmental and safety standards.

Our government was elected to do just that—by providing clarity, certainty, and accountability—Canada can build again in a way that earns public confidence and delivers lasting prosperity for generations to come.

You bring a deep understanding of capital markets and the conditions necessary to make projects financeable. What messages do you have for proponents in Canada as they work to frame their projects within your government’s priorities?

Between 2006 and 2021, Canada’s regulatory requirements rose by 37%—an increase that is estimated to have lowered GDP growth by 1.7 percentage points and employment growth by 1.3 percentage points in the business sector. As someone who spent my career in the private sector, I understand the detriment to Canada’s economy and Canadians’ quality of life those numbers represent. My message is that over the past year, this government has signaled to proponents: we are open for business, and we are serious about getting projects built, and we need to put our heads down together, and get to work.

With this government’s mandate to “Build Canada”, investors will have opportunities to allocate tens of billions of dollars of private capital towards projects that are highly economic and have low geopolitical risk. Designation through the Major Projects Office will accelerate these projects, and provide funding levers like the Canadian Infrastructure Bank, Strategic Innovation Fund, Canada Growth Fund, Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program, among others, to crowd in private capital.

Like I’ve mentioned, the Prime Minister has set an ambitious goal of catalyzing $500 billion in private investment by 2030, to position Canada as a global energy superpower and the strongest economy in the G7. My job as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, is to make sure that when investors commit capital here, they can do it with confidence, and that the answer to “can we get this built?” is a clear and resounding “yes”. If we get that right, we won’t just compete in the global economy — Canada will lead it.

A decade from now, how do you hope Canadians will look back on your role in helping to “build Canada strong” through energy and natural resources?

In ten years from now, I hope Canadians can look back on this time as an era where “Canada got back into the business of building again” – where more mines started producing, more energy got to reach our allies, and the major projects we set in motion came online on time and on track, and on budget. Where we met the ambitious targets we set out for ourselves. That includes the Prime Minister’s call to action to double non-U.S. trade and unlock up to $500 billion in private sector investment by 2035. To me, success in the next decade would look like hitting those targets—and demonstrating that Canada is one of the most attractive places in the world to invest, build, and grow for decades to come.

“I hope Canadians can look back on this time as an era where “Canada got back into the business of building again” – where more mines started producing, more energy got to reach our allies, and the major projects we set in motion came online on time and on track, and on budget.”

And that is exactly what we are focused on through the Major Projects Office and the full suite of tools we have put in place—from investment tax credits to regulatory alignment and strategic public financing. We are creating a new framework that lays out the conditions for capital to move quickly, for projects to get approved efficiently, and for resources to get to markets where there is demand. Ultimately, building Canada strong to me is about creating prosperity and security in a sustainable way for Canadians to enjoy for generations to come.

The Canadian Gas Association (CGA) invited Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston to take part in a written interview to discuss the province’s evolving energy landscape. Premier Houston shared his perspectives on natural gas development, energy affordability, and Nova Scotia’s long-term approach to economic and resource competitiveness.

Affordability is top of mind for many Nova Scotians. How could developing more of the province’s own natural gas help keep costs stable over the long term?

Right now, all the natural gas we use in Nova Scotia is extracted elsewhere and sold to us from the United States. This is despite us having enough natural gas to power Nova Scotia for thousands of years and to meet all of Canada’s demand for over 30 years. That’s like if we stopped harvesting blueberries in Nova Scotia and imported all of our blueberries from the United States at a premium. It doesn’t make sense. Producing and using the natural gas that Nova Scotia is blessed to have will provide us with an abundance of supply to stabilize prices and will reduce transportation and other costs.

The natural gas system in Nova Scotia is relatively new. What can the province do to support the expansion of the system to new industrial, Indigenous and rural communities?

Natural gas may be relatively new, but Nova Scotia once had a thriving offshore oil industry. Under Premier John Hamm in the late 90s and early 2000s it brought in over $4 billion in direct royalties to the Province that was used to pay doctors and nurses and invest in roads – all things we desperately need today. But it also did more than that. It created thousands of jobs that supported families. With Nova Natural Gas, we can do it again.

You recently launched a public awareness campaign, “Nova Natural Oil and Gas.” What are the biggest misconceptions you want to clear up, and why is public understanding so important right now?

For too long, Nova Scotia has had a culture of saying ‘no’ to taking advantage of our natural resources. This has led to investors having low confidence in their ability to get projects off the ground here and skepticism from the public towards entire industries that lazy government policies had put blanket bans on in the past. Our goal is to be a contributor to the country, so we no longer have to rely on the wealth of other provinces. By showing the benefits to Nova Scotians, we hope the public will be supportive of our province having the same economic opportunities that other provinces do.

You’ve made it clear that Nova Scotia is “open for business.” What are energy investors telling you they need, and how is your government working to give them the confidence to invest here?

I recently took on the mantle of Minister of Energy to send a message that unlocking Nova Scotia’s energy potential is a top priority. As Premier, I understand why investors didn’t have confidence in natural resources back when governments were afraid to even have these conversations. Our government has improved permitting processes, given approvals for new mining projects and expansions and I have personally been traveling to meet with industry representatives to tell them face-to-face that the opportunities in Nova Scotia are real.

Moving energy projects forward often requires strong federal–provincial cooperation. Where do you most need alignment from Ottawa to help Nova Scotia advance its plans?

The Prime Minister wants Canada to be an energy superpower. Nova Scotia can not only contribute, but between wind energy, tidal energy and natural gas we can be our own energy superpower within an energy superpower. The Prime Minister can support us to make this happen with support from its nation-building projects resources for Wind West, providing Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credits and confirming access to the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s low-interest financing.

(Premier, Prime Minister Discuss Next Steps for Wind West | Government of Nova Scotia News Releases)

We have seen the benefits of a clear policy on natural gas, including in Ontario where a Natural Gas Policy Statement was recently released. Are there any plans to have a similar statement for Nova Scotia?

Our government has laid out clear terms and conditions through an open and transparent call for bids through the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator. The call was issued on July 7th with a deadline of April 28, 2026.

European leaders are increasingly expressing a desire for Canadian natural gas. Can you see a future with an LNG export terminal for Europe operating out of Nova Scotia?

Absolutely. It’s estimated we have enough natural gas offshore to power Nova Scotia for thousands of years. That’s natural gas that can lower prices here at home with lots left over to export to our friends in other parts of Canada, our allies in Europe, and around the world. Making Nova Scotia an energy exporter would bring good jobs and economic benefits to our province.

At CGA’s flagship event, the Energy Nexus and Annual Technical Conference in October, Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Electrification, the honourable Stephen Lecce, delivered a keynote address emphasizing the critical role natural gas plays in meeting the province’s energy needs. Minister Lecce highlighted how natural gas ensures reliability and affordability for Ontarians, whether it is heating homes during cold winters, supporting food security through agricultural operations, or contributing to electricity generation. His remarks underscored the importance of natural gas as a cornerstone of Ontario’s energy mix, vital for maintaining economic stability and enhancing the quality of life for Canadians.

Watch full speech:

Some excerpts from the speech:

….We understand the value of natural gas and we also recognize that there was a decision made some months ago, the Ontario Energy Board made a determination that essentially asked families to pay, residential customers or small businesses, to pay 100% of costs of new natural gas connections upfront, something that we have previously paid over 40 years and the government acted swiftly with the overwhelming commitments to not impose thousands of dollars, like we’re talking about $44,000 increase for your child that’s trying to purchase a home…,it’s our problem as a country if we stand idle and allow these sorts of stealth taxes to be imposed on homes in Ontario for our kids and new Canadians and anyone who aspires for home ownership.

…. And the overarching priority for our government is affordability, keeping in mind in 2018….we were elected on a mandate of affordability. This is a big priority for the families we serve, for industry and small businesses, and it’s a priority for our premier and for our government today.

So, we are proud of the work you’re doing, we’re proud of the workforce that actually delivers this to our families and to our business, and I just want to reaffirm to you our commitment to work with this sector, as we continue to deliver affordable, reliable energy for the people of Ontario.

Timothy Egan, President and CEO, of the Canadian Gas Association, had an opportunity to speak with Alberta’s Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Minister Rebecca Schulz, to discuss the value and impact of the natural gas industry in Alberta, in Canada and the world.

Timothy Egan: As Environment Minister, can you give us a sense of how natural gas plays for your environmental agenda in Alberta?

Minister Schulz: I think where we may differ, especially from other governments, like our federal government, is that we’re really focused on practical ways to reduce global emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.

And when we’re talking about neutrality, I think we also define it differently than some other governments, especially our federal government. This agenda isn’t about reaching absolute zero, it’s about how we help to meet those energy demands that are expected to rise by up to 30% between now and 2040.

We know that fossil fuel production will continue for decades, even with renewables and all the investments we’ve been seeing in that industry in Alberta. This is really about looking at how Albertan natural gas and natural gas from elsewhere in Canada could be part of that overall solution for global emissions. I think that’s where our approach is unique. It’s focused on innovation. It’s not focused on ideology.

We’re investing in many programs that reduce emissions and still manage to keep our energy sector growing and thriving, and frankly we’ve been doing a great job on that front.

We’ve been providing leadership. I often talk about methane emissions reduction, where we’ve reduced emissions by 45% since 2014.

We’ve got 11 and a half million tons of CO2 stored safely and permanently underground through carbon sequestration.

Natural gas has largely replaced coal as the primary source of electricity in the province.

We here in Alberta expect to be off coal years ahead of schedule. Of course there were costs to that, but natural gas has really replaced coal on that front, and we’re going to continue to look at how we can reduce methane emissions further.

We’ve launched our Alberta Security Infrastructure Program (ASIP) to support CCUS, and we’re looking at ways we can reduce emissions sector by sector and, of course, natural gas is part of that – especially when we look at reducing global emissions and doing it quickly by reducing coal use globally. Coal is responsible for over 40% of all energy sector CO2 emissions and global coal use last year reached historically high levels.

We often talk about India and China opening new coal-powered plants and burning more coal than ever before. Of course, natural gas produces far less emissions than burning coal, and Canada produces the world’s cleanest LNG. That’s really where we see our opportunity because emissions don’t have boundaries, they don’t stop at the border. This is a global issue.

It’s why we’ve looked at Article 6 under the Paris Agreement and asked the Government of Canada to assist us to find a way to ensure that the Canadian natural gas sector can provide that energy. I think that’s a significant opportunity, not just for Alberta, but also for Canada.

All the companies that belong here and are operating here in Alberta, and all those workers in these industries, we know that we could help. We believe we could help reduce net global emissions by as much as 221 million tons.

I think that’s a huge opportunity and could be a major win for us here, both on the economic and the environmental side.

Timothy Egan: So, you noted how this is not only an Alberta opportunity, but it’s a national opportunity. How do your colleagues, Environment Ministers across the country react to this? What role do you think they see natural gas playing in their jurisdictions and nationally?

Minister Schulz: I think most of my colleagues are practical. I think they see, obviously, that we need to reduce emissions and we need to keep the lights on.

We need to be able to reduce emissions and keep life affordable. The availability of affordable, reliable, safe and secure energy continues to be a big topic of conversation amongst Canadians across the country.

I think that my counterparts are seeing that. When we look at Alberta specifically, we need to make sure we have enough natural gas supply and generation to power homes and businesses.

The changes being proposed by the federal government under the Clean Electricity Regulations obviously put us at risk. We saw that in January, where our electricity grid was at significant risk in an extreme cold spell. Renewable electricity – which we have in abundance in Alberta – wasn’t able to meet the demand. Dispatchable natural gas was essential: it kept us from freezing. The clean electricity regulations are all about getting rid of natural gas for power generation.

And we’re not alone in our need for natural gas. Other provinces also rely significantly on it, and other energy sources threatened by the Clean Electricity Regulations, as are other people we have heard from across the country. We have a cold climate right across our country, and I think increasingly we’re seeing other provincial governments and their citizens right across our country say, let’s put ideology aside. Let’s be practical.

We see it in the carbon tax where seven premiers and 70% of Canadians now oppose it.

We will, I believe, see that in respect to natural gas where the federal government has seen strong opposition to their electricity regulations because of how they target natural gas. We would ask Canadians to continue to make sure that their voices are heard, for industry to make sure their voices are heard so that we can push the federal government to work with us on realistic solutions.

It all comes down to keeping energy reliable, affordable, safe and secure, which matters more and more every day to people across our country.

Timothy Egan: What are your priorities on the international stage?

Minister Schulz: We’ve made it clear, both me and our Premier Danielle Smith, how important it is to defend and champion our energy industry. And it’s not just to communicate, it’s to champion and advocate for the tremendous innovation that is happening right here in Alberta, especially when it comes to emissions reduction.

Oftentimes, when we travel around the world, we have a lot of people say, you know what, we didn’t know that you were doing that in Alberta. And I think that’s exactly why we must be at COP 29 to show the world that Alberta will continue to be a leader in emissions reduction and be a powerhouse when it comes to innovation and energy leadership that can help reduce global emissions and drive some of these technological advancements we want to see around the world.

And I have heard several provinces saying that there is so much more opportunity if we can work together: not just in one region of the province, but right across the country from Alberta to Saskatchewan, all the way to BC and Newfoundland.

Timothy Egan: Well, Minister, that kind of leadership is a positive sign for us and very motivating for our industry. What words of advice do you have as we continue our work in developing and transporting and distributing natural gas to Canadians?

Minister Schulz: I would just say to keep advocating and keep innovating. I believe that our energy industry is better than anyone when it comes to innovation.

When we look at our upstream oil and gas producers, they’re among the nation’s leaders when it comes to clean tech investment. In Canada, total production from the conventional sector has grown by 21%, while carbon dioxide equivalent emissions have gone down by 24% over the last 10 years. Natural gas production grew by 35%. We’ve lowered CO2 equivalent emissions by 22%.

These are wins, and we need to celebrate them. We know our industry is not only reducing emissions but also maximizing water efficiency and reducing its footprint when it comes to land.

I would just say continue to innovate, integrate emissions reduction into your planning and operations, and continue to invest in research and development, whether that be CCUS, methane emissions strategies or whatever else.

On that last point about methane emission reductions, it is almost as if it isn’t a big deal because we have been doing it for so long – the technology that gets us to near zero or almost zero methane emissions on a site has often been in place on that site for 10-12 years. Here, with the Alberta government, we will continue to tell that story because the world absolutely needs responsibly produced oil and natural gas, and the world wants to see emissions reduction. So, we need to continue to show that we can and will do both.

Timothy Egan: A last question: Can you comment at all on the hydrogen opportunity and how that might play into your view of Alberta’s leadership and Canada’s leadership on environment and energy?

Minister Schulz: Absolutely. The premier has talked a lot about hydrogen, and I think it brings attention to the fact that natural gas is also a feedstock for other products.

I think of this as well when we talk about things like plastics that are so dependent on hydrocarbon feedstocks – it is the same point for, hydrogen, ammonia and, petrochemicals. On hydrogen, we are looking to integrate clean hydrogen at scale, whether that be for transportation, heat, power generation and renewable energy storage, industrial use and export markets.

Of course, there have been lots of conversations with countries around the world about what that’s going to look like and what the worldwide market is estimated to be worth when it comes to hydrogen; we are talking about our natural gas reserves and renewable energy sources, our pipeline network, our infrastructure, and how they all play a role in Canada and in supporting the world’s hydrogen needs.

Our industry here in Alberta is growing pretty quickly. A 1.3 billion net zero hydrogen energy complex is being built just outside of Edmonton to produce clean hydrogen from natural gas.

Dow Chemicals made a pretty big announcement as well: investing 8.8 billion to build a net zero petrochemical complex in Fort Saskatchewan.

I think, of course, when we look at that project, why one of the top chemical producers in the world, a company that can put its capital anywhere, chose Alberta. I think part of it is our government’s efforts to reduce red tape and to bring additional investment here. But of course, it also comes from having access to natural gas in our natural geology.

So, whether we’re talking about hydrogen, or petrochemicals and plastics, we have a huge amount of opportunity and that’s driven by the availability of natural gas, which just reinforces the importance of this sector.

Timothy Egan: Thank you so much for taking the time to join us today. Again, we’ve been delighted by how you, the Premier, and your colleagues around the cabinet table have seized on the natural gas file as an opportunity for the world and for Canada. We stand ready and able to continue to work with you as much as possible.

Timothy Egan, President and CEO, of the Canadian Gas Association had an opportunity to speak with the Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith to discuss avenues which will allow governments and the industry to work together and deliver a secure energy future.

The interview has been slightly edited for conciseness and clarity.

Tim: It’s a cool day here in Edmonton and we like to say it’s a great day for natural gas when it’s like this.  Alberta natural gas helps us across the country, especially on cold days, and for that we are grateful, Premier Smith. But reflecting on that brings to mind several things in the global and domestic energy conversation, and we appreciate your time to discuss them today.

Recent world events have demonstrated more clearly than ever the importance of energy security, and I think that’s effecting a change in the conversation about energy around the world. I wondered if you might give us your thoughts on what that means for Canada, and what that means for Alberta?

Premier Smith: Well, I think one of the things that it does do is it allows us to create a broader conversation. I think for a long time the conversation just focused around emissions reduction, which is important. Part of the reason we put forward a plan to be carbon neutral by 2050 is we want to show the world that, yeah, we want to take leadership on the environment too.

But you also can do the other things that we need to do, which is provide energy security and energy affordability. And all three of those things are vitally important. So I think that the fact that we now have instability around the world, particularly in Europe, is that it has caused people to broaden their view of what constitutes green energy. I think the paradigm used to be wind, solar and batteries, and now we have begun to see with green bonds in Europe that include nuclear and natural gas.

And there’s good reason for that, because natural gas does have a lower emissions profile than a lot of the fuels that it would be displacing. So I think that by taking the approach that natural gas is part of the future energy mix  we can reduce global emissions by displacing coal and wood and other higher emitting products. I think that’s a very positive message that now finally people are beginning to see is genuine.

Tim: Just expand a bit on what you’re saying about natural gas. Natural gas has come front and center in that global energy conversation. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there was a desperate concern across Europe about a shortage of gas supply. And we had Europeans knocking on our doors here in Canada talking about what more we could do with natural gas.

The world seems to want natural gas from Canada. What more do we need to do to get our gas offshore?

Premier Smith: Well, we need to tell those who need it that there is a business case for it. And I’ll be meeting with the representative from Germany because I think they were given the wrong impression when they first came to Canada. We’re actively talking with the partners in LNG Canada – countries like Japan and Korea and Malaysia – about their understanding of how important natural gas is going to be to their future economies.

I’ve spoken as well with the members of different LNG business alliances around the world who are very worried that if Canada doesn’t do its part to get a clean, secure supply of natural gas to the world, they’re going to have to expand coal, which goes in the opposite direction of where we’re trying to head. So I think that the Canadian story is a really important one, and it’s my job to make sure people understand that we’re here and we’re ready to help.

I’m delighted to see Coastal Gaslink is finished. It is being filled as we speak. LNG Canada will come on stream, as I understand it, in 2025. They’re working towards making a final investment decision. There’s additional support that can be made for a couple of other Indigenous-led projects in British Columbia. And as long as we can work to help make the case that reducing emissions abroad is a way that we can achieve global goals, I think that will get British Columbians, Albertans and Canadians alike, understanding that this is an important part of the future energy mix.

Tim: What more can we do within industry and how can we work better with government? Historically, there seems to have been an almost confrontational approach, often between industry and government on energy, particularly at the federal level. Do you have any advice for what more we can do together to improve the situation and seize those opportunities you’re talking about?

Premier Smith: Well, I have to tell you, I think ironically, Michael Moore and his Planet of the Humans film of a few years ago really blew apart the paradigm that the federal government had been operating on. There’s a lot of environmentalists who took a position that wind, solar and batteries were the solution. And what that documentary showed is that part of the reason why wind and solar have been able to expand is because natural gas has been the backup.

So when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining, gas-powered plants are there to come on. But in addition to that, you can’t make a solar panel out of a solar panel, and you can’t make a wind turbine out of a wind turbine. All of that requires enormous energy involving heavy equipment and the industrial processes that require the use of hydrocarbon fuels – I think realization of these things has begun to change the approach.

“So when the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining, gas-powered plants are there to come on.”

And it’s very important that we get through to people on this because the federal government is proceeding on a paradigm that still goes back to that, that very old thinking. And it’s the reason why they think everything can be electrified. They talk about electricity being expanded for future growth, but also all of our home heating on electrical. This is why they’re so obsessed with heat pumps, whether they work or not, in -25°.

And they’re also talking about transportation all being on the electricity grid. Well, we just have a story today in Edmonton that there are electric buses are broken down and they the company that sold them to them is probably going bankrupt because they just don’t work very well in -30 weather. So we have to inject a dose of reality in this.

In our province, we have always had parallel systems. We’ve had an electrical grid and we’ve had a natural gas grid. And our electrical grid is also fed principally by natural gas. And so we have understood that having that kind of backup so that you can both systems is something that does provide the energy security. So we are we’re fighting very hard against the federal government, against this paradigm that they have because we think it will lead to instability in the grid, it will lead to lack of reliability, it will lead to unaffordability, and it’s just not going to achieve the global goals.

So I think that there’s a lot of work that we need to do in presenting natural gas as a part of the emissions reduction paradigm. I don’t think that we’ve fully succeeded because the voices of the extremists on this issue, unfortunately, have carried the day for a number of years. But what I’m beginning to see is that there’s more and more reason  being injected into the debate, whether it’s Bjorn Lomborg or whether it’s Michael Shellenberger or whether it’s other environmentalists who are quite concerned about emissions, but nonetheless understand that everything needs to be done in balance.

Tim: Last question Premier: one group of Canadians who are very concerned about the environmental issues is the Indigenous community. You made reference to the fact that several the LNG projects now have an Indigenous element. Do you want to just comment on the on the economic reconciliation opportunity as represented by that and what it means for Alberta?

Premier Smith: My Indigenous Relations Minister Rick Wilson calls it “reconcili-action” because while there have been a lot of words spoken – and words are important – if we’re going to make a meaningful difference in the lives of First Nations, they need their own source of revenue. They need to be able to have a long-term secure revenue stream that allows them to spend money on their priorities, to build out their communities on all of the key infrastructure they need, but also to provide good paying jobs and an instruction to people who want to start businesses and work in those businesses.

The nature of the ownership structure in First Nations doesn’t allow them to go to the bank and be able to take out a loan to make a major investment in a project. And so the simple solution was, well, let’s be the entity that provides the loan guarantee.

So we created a $1 billion loan guarantee fund that allows us to indemnify on the purchase of some of these projects. And the process that we go through is very rigorous. So I anticipate very, very low incidence of default, but it allows for them to create long term revenue streams. So we already have, I think, seven projects, a couple more coming on stream next year, which will generate 23 million a year in revenues for over 30 indigenous nations.

And over the lifetime of those projects alone, $1.2 billion revenues. For them. It is game changing. And we were so excited about the enthusiasm for these projects. We kept on getting suggestions about what else we could do. So we’ve increased the loan guarantee amount to 2 billion this year. It’ll go up to 3 billion next year.

And my view is I would love to see every major infrastructure project, whether it’s an oil pipeline or a gas pipeline or a power plant – all of those should have some indigenous equity ownership in it so those communities can enjoy the long term revenue stream associated with the development. So that I think is being led by First Nations leadership, which I love to see.

Look at the LNG projects in British Columbia being led by First Nations, having their own environmental approval processes and being advocates at various LNG conferences. That to me is so exciting that we have those who care deeply about the environment, care deeply about their people and the affordability question, but also understand that these kinds of investments offer a solution without having to compromise on either of those.

And we’re going to continue to support that kind of action.

Tim: Well, we think that’s a solution. That’s a good news story for all Canadians, just as natural gas is. So, we thank you for your time today and thank you and your fellow Albertans for that natural gas. This Ontarian uses it to heat my home and I appreciate it very much.

Premier Smith: I’m so glad that you do. We’re happy to keep you warm.

Tim: Thanks again Premier Smith.

We are delighted to include below an op-ed from Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson. His schedule didn’t permit a face-to-face interview as we have done with his predecessors, but the Minister touched on a number of key issues that we wanted to explore in an interview, particularly the growing public concern of energy affordability, and the desire of Canadians to help Europe with energy security. Natural gas is key to addressing both public issues: Canada’s gas sector is uniquely qualified to keep energy affordable and help our allies — a win for all, and key to our economic well-being and global security. We look forward to working with the Minister and his colleagues on both of these.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine represents a violation of international law, an unprovoked attack against a peaceful people, and an assault on the international, rules-based order.

Canada stands in steadfast support of the Ukrainian people and our European friends and allies.

Several weeks ago, our government moved to ban imports of Russian oil, gas, and petroleum products. The US and the UK have since taken similar steps.

Putin’s invasion has driven up gas prices around the world, and these events have raised serious questions about energy security in Europe.

Here at home, our government is engaging the Competition Bureau to prevent price gouging. And the issue of affordability remains a central concern for the federal government. We will continue to work to make life more affordable — as we have over the last few years through programs like the Canada Child Benefit, low-cost childcare, and the Climate Action Incentive that puts more money back in people’s pockets.

And on the world stage, we’ll keep doing our part too.

Europe’s short-term focus is on eliminating their reliance on Russian gas through LNG imports that will displace Russian oil and gas, while its medium-term focus is on shifting as rapidly as possible to renewables and hydrogen.

European leaders have asked us to explore how Canada can help with both, and Canadians want to ensure we are doing what we can to assist Ukraine and Europe. So how can Canada help?

Canada is uniquely positioned to contribute to building a clean energy economy in the long term. We are already leaders in non-emitting technologies, and we have the raw resources required to build them.

Clean hydrogen is a fuel that Europe is particularly interested in. Canada is one of the top hydrogen producers in the world, and we are building on our existing strengths, with multiple billion-dollar hydrogen projects already underway across the country.

Just last week I attended a meeting with my counterparts at the International Energy Agency (IEA) to discuss how we could work together to ensure availability of critical minerals required for the energy transition.

The EU is Canada’s second largest export market for clean technologies. There are significant opportunities to build on this and create sustainable jobs in Canada in the process.

But we’re also looking at what we can do to assist our European friends in the short term.

There is currently much discussion around LNG — not just as a transitional fuel for the ongoing energy transition, but as a direct replacement for Russian gas in the immediate-term.

In order for such Canadian LNG exports to make sense in that context, we would need to demonstrate an ability to satisfy Europe’s short-term requirements. That is, we would need to get LNG to Europe while Europe still wants it, and we would need to do so in the context of delivering on Canada’s climate commitments.

Canada presently has no large-scale LNG facilities on our east coast. New infrastructure would therefore be required — and it would need to fit into European timelines for transitioning from LNG to non-polluting hydrogen.

Moreover, any such exports from Canada would need to demonstrate compatibility with critical climate objectives.

“There is currently much discussion around LNG — not just as a transitional fuel for the ongoing energy transition, but as a direct replacement for Russian gas in the immediate-term.”

In general, if LNG is to help enable the energy transition, its use must be directly tied to the displacement of higher-emitting fuels like coal or existing natural gas usage. We cannot say we are building an LNG facility and simply assume that it will displace hydrocarbon fuels.

As noted, the emissions associated with such exports would also need to fit within Canada’s emissions reduction targets, meaning emissions associated with a production facility would need to be very low. To avoid the risk of such facilities becoming stranded assets, such facilities would ideally be able to convert to the production of ultra-low-carbon hydrogen in the long term.

European leaders have been clear. They don’t just want to reduce their reliance on Russian oil and gas — they want to reduce reliance on oil and gas altogether.

As the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stated earlier this month, “it is our switch to renewables and hydrogen that will make us truly independent. We have to accelerate the green transition.”

Europe is doubling down on energy independence from Russia and on accelerating the transition to a low-carbon future. Canada is here to do anything it reasonably can to help.

This interview has been transcribed and edited for length and clarity.

Timothy M. Egan, President and CEO, Canadian Gas Association: My first question is on the topic none of us seem able to stop talking about — COVID-19 and lockdowns. How is Fort St. John weathering things?

Her Worship Lori Ackerman, Mayor of Fort St. John, BC: I think our community has kept a good handle on the situation. Our public services have been looking after our vulnerable populations and making sure we are protecting our health care workers — keeping all safe during the pandemic. In the city, we’ve developed our protocols [and] we’ve been managing our operations according to those protocols. When the public health orders shift and change, we shift and change, and we’ve been able to adapt. There have been interruptions with activities at some of our facilities but we moved forward last year with all of our capital projects and we will do so again in 2021.

I think what has been beneficial for me is I have been involved in emergency management for well over 20 years. I was involved with it when I worked with the Salvation Army, and it really gave me an awareness of how the process works, knowing the benefit of remaining calm, knowing the processes that have to be gone through.

Egan: That’s great. It speaks to your municipal motto “the energetic city.” And on the topic of energy, I know you have a strong personal commitment to the value proposition of energy resources. Can you talk a little bit about what the “energetic city” slogan means for natural resource development in Fort St. John…and…how natural gas plays in all of that?

Mayor Ackerman: Well, first of all, I think that you know the energetic city was really about the energy that was around the community and the fact that we have access to just about every source of energy, except tidal, being quite a bit inland from the coast of British Columbia. But you know we’ve got a phenomenal community here. We are a young community — our average age is about 31 and a half — a lot of people come up here to kickstart their careers. These people bring remarkable ideas! I think per capita, we probably have more environmental companies here than there are down in Vancouver. Our outdoors [are] not only where our resources are but that’s where our community recreates and so when you want to talk about environmentalists, it’s the pipeliners, it’s the welders, it’s all of those guys and gals that are out there on the rigs…they’re the environmentalists. They’re making sure that their backyard is not going to be dirty and they have ownership in it because they live here.

On natural gas, we have a significant opportunity. The LNG Canada — upstream to downstream — is completely contained within the Province of British Columbia. We have a world-class regulator in the BC Oil and Gas Commission that has been able to marry projects like this with BC’s high environmental standards. We’re moving forward.

A few other things about energy — we were Clean Energy BC’s Community of the Year in 2017 and that was due to a couple of projects that we did. One was Canada’s most northern single-family passive house. Another was our micro-hydro project. We are up on a plateau above the Peace River [and] we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for high lift pumps bringing that water up, but as we process it, we put the water back down into the river in a better state than we got it. We understood that there was a significant elevation drop there, so we tightened up the line and put an inline turbine in there and wow — we’re making energy! So we’re firm believers that the best form of energy that you can get is what you can conserve, so we have a policy as well that every time we look at [building] or renovating a building…we look through the lens of: what can we do to make it better?

“[W]e’re firm believers that the best form of energy that you can get is what you can conserve…” |

Egan: You’ve talked about LNG, passive solar, micro-hydro — different pathways — and I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but you seem to be saying that you want to look at them all. Often, the municipal conversation in Canada seems to be saying “no, we need to choose one and it’s electricity…” How do you respond to that?

Mayor Ackerman: I remember hearing there was a city in Canada that said that they were just not going to allow any more natural gas in their community, and I smiled and said “well they don’t really have that authority” I can’t go down and tell the hospital or the school district or any other business how they are going to run their business. In fact, I have a natural gas stove and I’m never giving it up!

I guess people really have to understand the infrastructure — I can go over and hit the light switch, I can hit the thermostat, plug in things — [but] most people are not aware of the significant infrastructure that is behind that light switch, thermostat, or plug-in and what it would take to shift. Unless you’re planning on taking over the entire upstream midstream downstream of this source — your businesses [and] your residents have already made a decision on what energy source they want.

Egan: When you think about the municipal conversation on energy it’s often dominated by the views of large urban centres. Cities like yours are not heard. Yet, in many respects you’re handling all the same issues and under more difficult circumstances. I was intrigued by your point about how you know the people of your community are very much environmentalists because they’re that much closer to the physical environment around them. Is there a role you can play to deepen the understanding of the bigger cities about the realities of the energy conversation?

Mayor Ackerman: Quite a few years ago we started an energy literacy campaign. We invite people up and take them out, show them the rigs, show them how everything works so that they completely understood everything that we are dealing with. We take them to the passive house, show them the inline turbine, and take them to the college that has an entire rig set up there that actually can operate to train people… They see the pigs¹ (pipeline inspection gear) because that’s something that I understand…and anyone in the industry understands, but these folks have been driving past these pigging stations along the highway without knowing what they are…but when they understand what the pig is and the different types of pigs and what they do, they then understand the integrity of the pipeline and why there’s so much investment put into ensuring that integrity is maintained at all times. We’ve been trying for a long time to have our voices heard. I can tell you that the bullying that happens on social media after something like that — it’s only for the strong of heart to take on those conversations. I have had a few people tell me that I would never win my next election because they were going to tell my entire community that I support the oil and gas industry. You know, I learned a long time ago that there’s always twenty per cent totally in favour, twenty per cent totally against, and sixty per cent — the middle — saying “could you get out of my way, I’m trying to get to work.” I’m a firm believer that the last thing you should think about when you get up in the morning is government. We should not be front of mind and when government is injecting decisions in how we live our daily lives then I think that it’s a little overbearing. People need to understand how statutory decision-making works. They need to understand that we do have institutions in Canada that have significant science-based decision-making. Certainly I’ve gone toe-to-toe with companies that want to build or do whatever in my region — and we’ve got some significant investment in ESG (environmental social and governance) — as a result of engaging in a proactive and productive way. I just think that a lot of communities need to understand that the bullying against those of us who support oil and gas needs to end: communities need to speak out and get engaged.

Egan: You talk about the bullying, and you talk about being prepared to stand up to those who have ideas that are inconsistent with what you’re trying to do in your own community. What advice do you have for the energy industry to engage with municipalities, particularly in the context of some pretty aggressive energy goals from governments like those in Victoria and Ottawa?

Mayor Ackerman: First of all, they need to understand the jurisdiction of the regulator, because depending on the project it will either be the Canadian energy regulator or in our case, the BC Oil and Gas Commission. In every province it has a different name. We have an official community plan and it clearly lays out our vision for our community going into the future — it was prepared with significant public participation. Once in place, it’s my job — with my colleagues on council — to put it into effect, consistent with the regulatory regime. So, my recommendation is to understand the regulator’s requirements and the hoops that you need to jump through and then understand the official community plans of the jurisdiction. And then work within those and engage locally to work to show you’re enhancing things in some way, shape or form and leaving the community better off.

Egan: And what do you say to provincial and federal governments when they engage with you? Sometimes they set plans in the abstract. You, as local government, can’t act in the abstract: you’re much closer to the day-to-day for people. So, what advice do you have for other levels of government?

Mayor Ackerman: It’s usually the “dirt ministries” (government ministries that deal with land and resources) that come and see us. They’ll talk about a variety of different things but if they don’t understand our official community plan, then they have no idea what our intentions are. I don’t want them to consult with me, I want them to engage with me. The definition of consulting is just listening to what I’m saying and not providing feedback. Let’s not have that — engage with me and let’s have this conversation about what works and what doesn’t. My go-to default conflict management style is collaboration so I will spend countless hours and energy to make something work and I understand the need for collaboration on a lot of projects. Other levels of government need to as well.

Egan: In the last couple of months a number of things have happened that have made people reflect on energy in a different way. We just saw a pretty scary situation in Texas where a whole energy system was threatened by a severe weather event. Northern communities have a pretty good sense of the importance of reliability and resiliency — do you feel that there’s enough of an appreciation in the national conversation on energy and environment on these issues?

Mayor Ackerman: My stepson, lives in Lubbock, Texas, and so we’ve been down there a few times. One of the conversations I had down there was around the Canadian safety standards and technology they were looking to implement — we are light years ahead of some of the stuff that they were doing. I think that a lot of the infrastructure that we have in Canada is not appreciated — I think that people really need to understand their vulnerabilities. Nobody in Texas believed that ever would have happened to them but the reality is it did. In Canada, we have probably the best standards globally when it comes to infrastructure in a northern country. I think that there is a lack of awareness, a lack of respect, for our Canadian resources and how we’ve developed them here. I don’t think that’s intentional: people are just not thinking about the work that my residents and residents across other provinces do day in and day out to make sure that absolutely every source of energy is arriving to the consumer safely.

“I think that a lot of the infrastructure that we have in Canada is not appreciated — I think that people really need to understand their vulnerabilities.”

Egan: On the topic of appreciation, Canada is blessed with incredibly affordable energy. Do you think that there’s a deep enough appreciation of how important affordable energy is in the minds of your provincial and federal colleagues when they think about some of their energy and environmental plans?

Mayor Ackerman: In a nutshell, no. I don’t think that they understand it because I don’t think they’ve looked at what it will take to put the infrastructure in to support their ideals. I’m not saying that those shouldn’t be goals, but I can tell you there are neighbourhoods in this province that could not support more than two electric vehicles per neighbourhood because of the aged infrastructure in our electrical system. That’s a significant upgrade that’s going to be needed by that particular utility company in order to achieve that goal. I get that that’s a political decision, it’s an ideal that they’re going for, but I just don’t think there’s a total understanding of it and so I’ve often said to people “look I don’t care what you say on the campaign trail but when [you] get into that chair you’re now a decision maker, you are governing for your entire jurisdiction.” What happens is they focus on their constituents because they want to get re-elected and so they think in four-year chunks or whatever the election cycle seems to be, so nothing ever really gets done.

Egan: I hope we can get lockdowns lifted soon so more Canadians can get up to the beautiful part of the world around Fort St. John and hopefully listen to some of the insights of people like you about how to get things done. Thank you for speaking with us today and we appreciate your time and your perspective on the natural gas industry.

This interview has been transcribed and edited for length and clarity.

Timothy M. Egan, President and CEO, Canadian Gas Association: In Canada, natural gas meets approximately 35 per cent of the country’s energy needs and is the most affordable and fastest-growing energy end use. We have industrial, commercial and residential customers coming to us all the time asking how to get natural gas, if they don’t get it already, and some of your colleagues on the backbench saying to us, ‘What do we do to get [natural] gas into our ridings if we don’t already have it?’

In the context of COVID, our response is: what’s best for us to do to help generate the economic recovery quickly? That applies today as much as it does in October. What are your thoughts on that? What do you recommend to us in the downstream [natural] gas industry to help with the recovery?

Hon. Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Natural Resources: The most important message as we go through this period of transition – one of the things we’ve seen with COVID is – it seems to be in the business world and in the political world – really accelerating trends and exacerbating differences and inequities. It’s causing all of us – both in the energy industry and more largely in society – to confront things much more quickly than we thought we would have to. There are some things that don’t change. There will be no economic recovery without our oil and gas sector. And, that is a point that I was making in February and is a point that I make with even more vigour now. We are the fourth largest producer of gas in the world. We are the sixth largest exporter of natural gas. Energy is our family business, it’s what we do. It supports hundreds of thousands of jobs in this country. And, it is an export that is poised for more growth. We’re at $6.1 billion in exports in 2018. We’re poised to become one the world’s cleanest producers to supply both domestic and global markets for natural gas. It provides affordable power and heat to communities right across our country. So, we need this industry to power our economy and we need our economy powered in order to lower our emissions and do the things that we know that we will need to do for the future.

You don’t transition an economy by pulling the plug out on it. We have to be methodical about this, but we understand the urgency of it. And, it’s an urgency that…is not only just about the climate anymore or combating climate change – it is where investments are going, it is how things are moving. I get my information on renewables, increasingly, not from renewables trade magazines but from the Economist and the Financial Times. This is going mainstream business now. This year is the first year that investments in renewables are beating out non-renewables. One thing that I know is that natural gas particularly is going to be an essential part of the mix.

I spend a lot of the time with Fatih Birol and the International Energy Agency…and they’re forecasting that natural gas – the global demand – is going to continue to grow for decades to come, even as those renewable sources of energy increase their market shares. So, gas is in prime position to lead the clean energy transformation – you’ve got cleantech investments coming from the oil and gas sector at about a billion dollars a year in this country, that’s 75 per cent of the total coming from oil and gas. Per barrel emissions reductions – 30 per cent over the past 20 years – we know we’ve got to do better, but that is considerable. That is thanks, in part, to the electrification of natural gas production which we’ve seen and which we want to increase, as well as liquefied natural gas products on the West Coast. I think there is similar potential for the East Coast.

I was reading the Financial Times a couple of weeks ago – like I said – increasingly you are seeing these articles and these editorials coming from them, a very pro-business periodical…they said that resisting the pathway towards renewables has been recognized as both futile and bad business. For anybody in the energy market, it’s something you have to look at, it’s something you have to take into account. Natural gas is poised to do that. We, as a major player but also a smart player, can foresee the products that people need and we see where investment is going and we know how to follow the money.

I remember when I was at Globe – the cleantech conference in Vancouver, largest in North America – and I said that to them, ‘We’re the sixth biggest producers of natural gas, fourth of oil in the world, we’re not reaching net-zero without our oil and gas sector in this country, we’re not reaching it.’ The road to net-zero in Canada goes though Alberta, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador and BC. The next day, as it happened by coincidence, I was co-hosting an innovation summit in Calgary with Sonya Savage (Alberta’s Minister of Energy), it was then that the decision on BlackRock had come down, and since then we have seen Deutsche Bank and other players, and it was kind hitting them that Canada’s energy industry was in some people’s crosshairs. My answer to them was that a prosperous oil and gas sector in Canada needs net-zero. My message was it’s not about just the environment anymore and the noble cause of combatting climate change – it is a noble cause – this is becoming a strategic economic imperative. This has become a competitive imperative for our country because it is where the money’s going. Our great concern is that for money managers around the world and for investors, whether they’re in New York or London or Zurich, they look for boxes to check. The picture I paint is a…portfolio manager sitting on the end of the boardroom table and looking down at his juniors and saying ‘What are we doing about climate change?’ And one puts up his hand and says ‘We’re not investing in Canadian energy.’ [It’s a] box to check. That is dangerous, and that cannot happen, but it is happening so we have to combat that. I say, look on the other side of the ledger, the box to check, in terms of – is this jurisdiction doing something about climate change – is [it] becoming net-zero?

They’re looking for jurisdictions that have committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. I’m here in Newfoundland and Labrador, a month and a half ago, the legislature here unanimously passed a commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050. We are one of the three major oil and gas producing provinces in the country. That was a big deal. They see which way things are going and they’re moving. And that’s what we’ve got to do.

Egan: Minister, you called it, yourself, a “moon shot.” It’s an aggressive target that your government set. I take your point that there are other players who are calling for it, and yet you consistently, as you just have, make the point that the oil and gas sector needs to be working with them to pursue any targets that you do set. But there are lots who are keen on those targets who say that they cannot be pursued with this sector and I’d say frankly, there are lots who are supporters of yours and your government’s views – what do you say to them when they are looking at passing municipal bans on natural gas or doing other things like that? What’s your response to them?

Minister O’Regan: I’m here on a very nice day actually, 25 degrees and sunny, which doesn’t happen very often here in St. John’s. I’m zooming to you from the furthest eastern point of North America. A rock literally in the middle of the North Atlantic. I grew up here and I grew up in a community in Labrador, a fly-in-fly-out community in the North. You grow up in a community like this, you don’t have time, you can’t afford idealism. I deal with the world, people here deal with the world, as it is.

The fact of the matter is we are the fourth-biggest producer of oil in the world. We are a major producer of natural gas. On the flip side of the ledger we are the second-biggest hydro-electric producers in the world too. We’re tier-one nuclear. We have a mix here, but the point being, that there are too many people unfortunately in this country – if you don’t have the proximity that I do or people that let’s say in Alberta and Saskatchewan do – to the number one wealth creator in this country.

If I cross the street and look out at the harbor in St. John’s I see supply ships going out to those rigs all the time. I’m reminded of it every day. This is real. And what I say to those people – who you point out, say ‘you just [have] to turn it all off’ – I say that’s not dealing with reality. I’m ambitious. I’m an environmentalist. I believe in lowering emissions. I believe in net-zero by 2050 and because I believe it and I’m real about it, this is reality. This is what change looks like. It’s making tough decisions.

You can’t indulge in just snappy speeches anymore that say we’re saying no to that and yes to this. Nope. That’s not how we get there. And it is particularly not how you get there in a democracy. You grow up in a marginal province – I grew up in Labrador too which is like the margin of the margin – and government is sometimes a faraway thing that is not in keeping with the reality as you see it on the ground. You don’t feel included. Labrador, for instance for years – some still don’t – doesn’t feel part of this province. St. John’s is like the other, similarly, this province doesn’t always feel like it is represented in Ottawa. [It] feels like it’s not heard. If we do not include people in lowering emissions, it will not happen because they will choose another government that will include them. Where they do feel included and that government maybe, either represents the status quo or may not be as ambitious as we are. Or worse, will pull things back as we’ve seen in the United States, in the Trump administration, when you look at the climate goals that the Obama administration put in. That is the fact of a democracy. People need to feel included in this change. I don’t even like saying transition because frankly, look, especially [with] COVID right now, people are dealing with enough change in the economy and enough churn, particularly in its industry. With COVID, the last thing that they want to hear is about more change, or transition. I keep my eye on the prize which is lowering emissions and how do we do that? … In some spaces it is already starting to right itself but I think that’s what we have got to do…The…things that I keep repeating [are]: that we’ve got to be smart – in that we’ve got to use that ingenuity – frankly, that we used in order to get oil out of sand in the oil sands for instance. That is remarkable! That was an incredible feat and suddenly we find ourselves here a top five energy player in the world…Everybody is looking at us for those reasons.

I’m very proud of where we are. I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to do. I’m very proud of the fact that we’re such a large player in gas and in oil. My argument now is that that ingenuity we had before to get to where we are – we’ve got to use that as well now in order to lower our emissions. It’s because we did this, [that] I think we can do that. I really do. We need to be very thorough as well. We can’t overlook stuff and I think one of the biggest things we overlook, and I’m really hot on this is and come back to my message on inclusivity – is efficiencies. Home efficiencies like retrofitting your home, retrofitting buildings, new building codes. That is almost our first fuel, as we’re looking at fuels that we can use…We can reach one-quarter to one-third of our Paris Accord targets through efficiencies, which is remarkable. And, as I said before, we’ve got to be thoughtful. We’ve got to make sure people are included. We’ve been doing good work here. On ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) we’re ranked at the top with Yale. We’re seeing Europeans, particularly Total, I think most recently, coming out of the oil sands. A lot of them, I believe are going by information that just looks at – in the case of oil – is just looking at emissions per barrel and isn’t looking at what we’ve been able to do to lower those emissions over the past 20 years which has been remarkable. We need to build on that. I think that’s where we are.

“It’s not about the source of emissions, it’s about just lowering emissions. We’ve got to get out of this targeting industries. Our goal here is just to lower emissions. That’s our goal. Not lower their emissions, and their emissions, and their emissions. We’ve just got to lower emissions and that’s a very important point when you talk about net-zero by 2050. The important word to remember there is ‘net’.”

Egan: I share your reservations about the word transition because it does suggest, I think, what some of those who are keen to stop using fuels altogether, want to suggest.

Minister O’Regan: And I would actually build on it Tim, and something that Jonathan Wilkinson (Minister of Environment and Climate Change) actually brought up to me is that it’s not about the source of emissions, it’s about just lowering emissions. We’ve got to get out of this targeting industries. Our goal here is just to lower emissions. That’s our goal. Not lower their emissions, and their emissions, and their emissions. We’ve just got to lower emissions and that’s a very important point when you talk about net-zero by 2050. The important word to remember there is ‘net’. There will still be emissions and there will be other things that will offset those inevitable emissions. We’ll still emit, we’ve just got to emit a heck of a lot less in order to reach 2050 and in order to reach the goals we have set for 2030 as well.

Egan: Your department recently set up a Clean Fuels Branch. We were quite interested in this. We started to talk to some of your officials about it because it identifies renewable natural gases, it identifies hydrogen and we were thrilled by that. Minister, you noted electrification earlier. As you no doubt know, electrification is at times quite troubling for us, if it’s suggesting getting off of our infrastructure. We want to make sure there’s a competitive market and not picking favourites, and your Clean Fuels Branch has identified renewable natural gas as high on the priorities and we love that. If you say, okay you’ve got these targets if you can recognize that they can be pursued in a variety of ways including true gaseous fuels – I wonder if you might talk a little bit about what your thinking is on RNG and hydrogen and where you see them playing in the mix going forward.

Minister O’Regan: One of the things we want to do, I think right off the bat, is build on your Natural Gas Innovation Fund. I think that is very important in all of this – the funding that you’re helping to invest in cleantech right across the natural gas supply chain. I think it’s going to be game-changing in areas like methane reduction and sustainable production. The help that you’re providing producers and distributors to improve environmental performance, to maintain that competitive edge. I think that we have a strong relationship with you addressing all of those challenges through the Memorandum of Understanding that we have together. The creation of the new Clean Fuels Branch is within my department’s Low-Carbon Energy Sector [Group]. It’s kind of the next step in the progression of our relationship. The Branch builds on other existing work that we have: the National Hydrogen Strategy, out this Fall, our Emissions Reductions Fund, to Environment Canada and their development of the Clean Fuels Standard. The idea here, I think, is to specialize but not be myopic. There [are] certain areas where we know we’ve really got to drill down but at the same time we’ve got to make sure that everybody’s working together. You can’t do one at the expense of the other. As I said, we’ve got a huge competitive advantage with natural gas. We want to keep it and it will be integral to lowering emissions broadly but also the other things we are doing, whether it be in methane or in the clean fuels standard.

Egan: Just down a little bit deeper on hydrogen, you noted the strategy coming out this Fall. I know you’re in the midst of consultation on it so I appreciate that you don’t have a final view on some of the aspects of it. We see ourselves as front and centre of that strategy because that’s about… fundamentally …moving a gas through a pipe and that’s what we’re really good at. In fact, as you know, natural gas 100 years ago had a significant component of hydrogen in it because it was town gas largely derived from coal. So, we feel we have a certain history and familiarity with hydrogen already. Can you tell us a little bit more where you want to go with that hydrogen strategy? Given that some provinces have already started to speak out on it quite strongly, like Alberta, and [other] provinces across the country are looking at it. Any thoughts you want to share on it?

“One of the things we want to do, I think right off the bat, is build on your Natural Gas Innovation Fund. I think that is very important in all of this – the funding that you’re helping to invest in cleantech right across the natural gas supply chain.”

Minister O’Regan: We have a great history in hydrogen dating back about 100 years in Canada. Some of us are old enough – me – I remember riding a hydrogen bus at Expo 86’ in Vancouver. And there were a fleet of hydrogen buses as well at the Vancouver Olympics. It’s a technology that’s been waiting for its moment. I think the moment has come and I think that we’re well positioned for it. We have expertise in batteries, we have expertise in transportation. I was speaking with the Danish Ambassador to Canada and she just brought up the fact that Ballard out of BC is powering buses at the University of Copenhagen. Companies like Ballard, the top 11 hydrogen companies, the benchmark companies, they’ve seen an increase of 300 per cent in share prices on average over the past year. If you ask me what success looks like, it would be obviously a globally competitive industry. It would be vehicles – a massive increase, particularly in 18-wheelers transportation – those vehicles where electrification is not as easy. For small cars, for passenger cars – it’s easier, [but] for 18-wheelers we’re looking at hydrogen. We want to get very aggressive on research and development in steel and domestic heating as well.

Ten years ago, for instance, if you looked at off-shore wind, it was impossibly expensive. I think that ESG has had a big effect on that and the transparency that Canada has and the European market has, has opened the books. You’re seeing Europe now, they want 40GW of hydrogen power by 2030. They’re looking at green hydrogen made without fossil fuels and they’re up roughly €40 billion which is a huge amount of money – €9 billion from Germany alone. That’s good news for Canada. It will certainly cause us to be more ambitious, and I think that that’s a good thing on hydrogen…We have competitive advantage here. It expands the market. It will expand the demand. As you said, that strategy is coming out in the Fall and we’re going to keep working with partners like your membership on how we make sure we’ve got a solid regulatory framework. I have to say, as much we give red tape a bad name…we do regulatory fairly well. I think particularly in nuclear. It’s actually our competitive edge, the fact that our regulatory is so good and so trusted that the world looks up to it. We want to do the same thing with hydrogen.

Egan: You mentioned in [our] conversation the IEA, you mentioned the G20, the Danish conversations, a host of other international dimensions – I’m going to turn the conversation a bit to the international. My side of the gas industry is focused largely on the domestic market, but not exclusively. Several of our members are looking at export opportunities or own international assets. One of the big export opportunities, one of my members FortisBC, is already an LNG exporter and is looking to expand that. LNG exports present an enormous opportunity for Canada in general. What more do you think we can do as an industry to build on that message?… I think there’s common interest and a common vison on the global LNG opportunity that we have… can you talk a bit about that?

Minister O’Regan: I think 40 to 47 per cent of Canada’s natural gas is exported and almost all of that of course is to the United States, it’s kind of the natural trajectory. At the same time, the natural gas imports from the United States into eastern Canada have been on the rise. I’m happy that I’ve got a good relationship with the Energy Secretary in the US. We were introduced and bonded because of a pandemic. You can imagine early on we wanted to ensure that as borders were closing and such, we needed to ensure that right off the bat that essential workers in the industry were able to go back and forth. You can’t take any of the stuff for granted. In Secretary Brouillette, you’ve got a guy who’s been around the block and he understands how the industry works. He understands how interwoven our economies are, particularly in energy so that’s been very helpful.

If you look at global forecasts for natural gas, natural gas is going to continue to grow in the decades ahead – especially as economies around the world move to reduce their dependency on higher-emitting fuels, such as coal. This is something that is going to be available to them. You’ve got $40 billion in the LNG Canada project, largest private sector investment in Canada’s history. It’s under construction, it’s on target, will begin exports to Asia by 2025. Suddenly that’s not so far away. Proponents of the industry are actively working to advance I think five or six other LNG projects right across the country. My department is looking at several of them. A lot of those under consideration [propose] electrification of operation in natural gas and LNG production to lower those emission, we’ll lower them by up to 90 per cent below our global competitors. We are going to produce some of the lowest-emitting LNG in the world. That’s how we’ll get to net-zero. That’s what investors want. If you look at things like AltaGas’ Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal that’s an example of diversification as well, and they’re exporting to Japan. That’s a great new market for us. We’ll take advantage of our Pacific Coast and I would like us to take advantage of our East Coast as well, and proximity to the European Union market. A market of over 500 million people that is going to demand… extremely tight regulations on lowering emitting fuels.

Egan: Well, Minister a good way to come around to a final question for you, you’ve been around for what – about a year?

Minister O’Regan: For me? I’ve been Minister now for what was it now…November.

Egan: Right. So, an uneventful nine months in global events. We’ve seen resource markets turned upside down by all of this. [Any] reflections on the role, on the portfolio, and its future for our country?

Minister O’Regan: I am definitely somebody who is where he’s from. That a huge part of who I am. When I was 13 my dad got a job in Labrador and we moved up there and Happy Valley-Goose Bay was a fly-in-fly-out community. It was also the first time I had ever met First Nations people and Indigenous people. The neighbouring community to Happy Valley-Goose Bay were the few places you could drive, [like] Sheshatshiu, I did not know that anybody could live in that way. The inequity between my community and their community was stark. On a kid, it has a huge impact. It drove what I did. I did my undergraduate in political science. I did my thesis on what happens when Indigenous people are confronted with development they don’t want. How they mobilize against it. I worked as executive assistant to the Minister Justice. I worked on two land claims tables, we called them at the time, worked for a year with the Premier as his policy advisor, Premier Brian Tobin, back then. I continued work at those tables with the Inuit, Innu of Labrador, work on an impacts benefits agreement for Voisey’s Bay. I went and did my graduate degree in Political Science and Philosophy. I did my dissertation in Indigenous participation in natural resource development. So here I am.

I enjoyed a good 15 years in journalism and in between and now I’m kind of back to where I began, to something I feel very passionately about. One of those people I got to know during my career in journalism was Jim Prentice. Jim’s book, Triple Crown, sits here on my desk. He became a friend of mine. We enjoyed talking to one another. Little known fact about Jim is that he was a huge fan of Canadian Idol. When I was at CTV… he would show up in the audience so we got to know each other. He’d come to the Junos, and of course CTV loved having a prominent Minister like Jim Prentice there. He’d come with his family and I always enjoyed talking to him. We had similar passions in our energy sector, coming from energy-producing provinces, in Indigenous issues and in justice for Indigenous peoples, to end the marginalization that they feel and that they live, in fact…and the environment. He was a pragmatic guy and a guy who achieved results. I had a great deal of time for him. His death was an awful thing but he stays with me in the book. The other thing that I think is really important too, I felt and really was emboldened by him, is the pride that we should feel in what we do. The pride that we should feel in being one of the great…natural gas producers of this world. One of the great hydro-electric producers of this world…I think the challenge of our time and what’s happening right now with the pandemic is that not only are you seeing an acceleration of trends that we can see happening in the energy industry. We’re also seeing an exacerbation of the inequalities that are within our society but also amongst countries.

What I’m heartened by is what we’ve seen in this country and how we’ve handled COVID-19. For the most part as hard as we are on ourselves – that seems to be the Canadian way – we’ve done a pretty good job. The collective will has been there to look after one another, by putting on a mask, by keeping social distance, everyday demonstrate that courtesy of looking after one another. We’ve got to move that over – that change – we’ve got to move that over. And move it over to places like doing what we know we need to do as proud, prominent global citizens. We’ve got to lower our emissions. It’s imperative that we do that for the sake of our planet and for the sake of future generations. We’ve got to look after one another within our country, the inequities that we see.

Most prominently for me, because I grew up in the way is between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities but we also know the Black Lives Matter movement happened here as well and for very good reason. For racialized people in this country the inequities are still too great…and who’s really feeling the brunt, most particularly you’re seeing this in the States but here as well, they feel the brunt of what’s with COVID-19. Our response to that has been so fantastic, I think. Not perfect but pretty good. We’ve got to move that over. We’ve got to transition that over to the other challenges that confront us right now. Not easy but we’ve done it. We’ve shown we can do it and I think there’s a willingness to take these challenges on.

Egan: Minister, we’ve taken a lot of your time and I really appreciate it. Any final words for our natural gas membership?

Minister O’Regan: Keep doing what you do. Be proud of what you do. And let’s lower some emissions.

Canada and the United States have enjoyed a unique relationship for many decades. This relationship goes beyond our shared border: it has been forged by similar values, common interests, deep often personal connections and powerful, multi-layered economic ties. The relationship between Canada and the U.S. is arguably one of the most stable and successful relationships between any two countries around the world. Together, we form the world’s largest trading partnership of goods and services.  Central to that trade is energy, and we are each other’s largest energy trading partner, with $106 billion in crude oil, $16.4 billion in natural gas, $25 billion in refined petroleum products and $3.4 billion in electricity being traded between Canada and the United States in 2018.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with the Canadian Ambassador to the United States, David MacNaughton, to get his thoughts on the Canada-U.S. energy relationship.  Here are some highlights from our conversation.

CGA: You have some challenging files as our Ambassador to the United States.  Can you discuss where the energy file fits within your priority list?

Ambassador MacNaughton: There’s no secret that for the last few years, I spent a significant amount of my time helping re-negotiate the NAFTA agreement, and energy was part of the discussion.  One of the main points we have emphasized in these discussions with U.S. officials is that Canada is a secure partner. Not just a secure partner in defense and intelligence but in energy: our relationships in the energy sector and with energy trade have made the U.S. more secure from a supply perspective, and from an economic perspective. In a world where key global energy suppliers are countries with very challenging political and economic environments, it is clear that Canada is a particularly valuable partner. Canada and the United States’ two-way energy trade was worth $162 billion in 2018, and there are opportunities to grow it. In fact, I recently had the opportunity to speak to a number of U.S. officials about this and how we can work to get more of Canada’s resources in the United States to help offset negative consequences from issues arising in other supply options.

CGA: Do you think there is an appreciation from government officials in Canada and the U.S. of just how much the energy sector operates as a continental one, not separately in either country?

Ambassador MacNaughton: There is an appreciation for this within the sector itself but I don’t think it is broadly understood by all politicians or by the public. This is partly because our systems are so reliable. We see very few issues with resources going back and forth between countries and so there is little thought around this for those not directly involved in the sector. I think raising the awareness on this matter is really important and more should be done. I remember just before the last U.S. election talking to a Senator who said that if the Republicans were elected, they would help support the Keystone pipeline project but that they would be requesting a piece of the action. I said, that’s fine, as long as we get a piece of the action from all the pipelines that move south to north. He was clearly surprised that there were pipelines moving south to north. As I have said, we have not been clear enough when talking about the continental resource development opportunity to outline the key benefits it offers Canada, the U.S., and Mexico as well.

CGA: The Trudeau Government has staked its claim on an aggressive environmental agenda, including a commitment to meeting the Paris Accord emission reduction targets. The Trump Administration has backed out of those targets. How does this affect your work in respect to the energy file?

Ambassador MacNaughton: It is clear that the two governments have different approaches on the emission control question. Although the U.S. federal government has backed out of the Paris Accord, nearly 50 per cent of state governments within the United States have indicated their support for Paris targets. This tells me that the U.S. federal government’s withdrawal from the Paris Accord is not the view of all Americans. I don’t believe we should be changing direction every time a new administration comes in; we need to look at the overall momentum and even if you have an administration that isn’t fully supportive of the Paris target, we should remain on course. We can’t lose sight of the bigger picture regardless of the approach taken by one administration or the next.  I was recently at CERAweek where this topic was brought up by some of the big U.S. oil and gas producers. Their view is that the U.S. should not roll back its regulation, but should in fact look for innovative ways to achieve further reductions. I think the industry has a good long-term view of things and I think we can’t be buffeted one way or the other by the approach of one federal administration or the next.

CGA: You noted industry’s emphasis on innovation in discussions at CERAweek. Innovation is a key file for the Trudeau Government, and one where there is arguably more alignment with the Trump Administration. Innovation is a significant priority for us in the gas industry. Is there an opportunity for us to work together (industry and government) in our advocacy for Canadian interests here, as a means to lower emissions irrespective of any particular international commitments? What suggestions would you have for us?

Ambassador MacNaughton: There is no question that the industry has done a fantastic job of investing in innovation. I think it is an area that we need to keep on developing by providing funding and support to help accelerate clean technologies. We also need to make sure that all levels – including federal and provincial/state governments, and the private sector – continue to work together to help bring innovative technologies to market. I believe one of the reasons for our success on the NAFTA re-negotiation was the phenomenal partnership between the federal and provincial governments and the private sector on both sides of the border. When we work together, we have the potential to make real change. The innovation file in the energy sector is definitely an area where all governments across the border can work with industry to advance collaboration and help address environmental and economic objectives.

CGA: You have noted many times that in spite of differences, the links between our countries are strong, and need to be built upon. One of the strongest of these is infrastructure, and in terms of energy infrastructure, nothing moves more energy back and forth than natural gas pipelines. What advice have you for our readers in the Canadian industry to build on this link?

Ambassador MacNaughton: Getting energy infrastructure built is one of the bigger challenges we currently face on both sides of the border. I believe there needs to be a serious conversation between all levels of government and the public sector to find a better way to move forward on energy projects. Your readers are probably aware of the barriers and challenges of building infrastructure in Canada but it is also happening in the United States. Many of the proposed pipeline projects across the U.S.  are currently being challenged legally, environmentally as well as by indigenous groups. This is really a dilemma for the entire industry. What we need to do is spend some time, both the public sector and the private sector, to look at best practices and engage with opposition groups in a meaningful way in order to come to an agreement to move ahead with necessary projects. The recently announced LNG Canada project in British Columbia is a good example of the public and private engagement I just mentioned, and hopefully, we can move forward with other projects such as this one not just for the sake of getting our resources flowing from coast to coast, but also to be able to send our energy resources to international markets.

CGA: Stepping back and thinking internationally, North America is incredibly blessed with natural gas resources and has an opportunity to keep energy affordable and clean on the continent, while delivering those benefits to the world. The global benefit could be environmental, economic and social. We in the industry are committed to pursuing this. What advice do you have for us, and how can we work with governments on this?

Ambassador MacNaughton: I couldn’t agree more. Having secure forms of energy is an enormous building block for economic development and getting people out of poverty in many regions of the world. In thinking about this, I believe there is an opportunity to work with large institutions like the World Bank and other aid programs to find ways to provide cleaner environmental solutions and more reliable energy systems in developing countries. Governments and the industry should be working together to find international opportunities where we can take private sector expertise, our energy resources, and concessional financing or aid programs to build resilient, clean energy systems around the world. Canada has a huge opportunity in that regard but again we need to have the public and the private sector and the international organizations working together.

CGA: Any final thoughts?

Ambassador MacNaughton: In working in this role for the past three years, I have noticed there is so much about our North American relationship, in particular the Canada-U.S. relationship that has worked so well. The opportunity to work together, particularly with the energy sector, is huge and it will benefit both our countries. It doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. From my experience, American officials, from the Department of Energy to the State Department and even the White House, have been very open to discussions of energy cooperation. That is because they understand that we manage the electric grid together, we have oil and gas pipelines going back and forth, and we have opportunities in terms of supporting LNG development. The future is extremely bright for our energy industry across Canada and the United States but we need to continue to collaborate as a whole, working on greater private and public cooperation make it all happen. There is always an open door here for your industry and I welcome ideas and look forward to working with you in the future.