GREEN: Next PM should swiftly dismantle Trudeau’s anti-energy agenda

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Justin Trudeau's impending departure from office could mark the beginning of the end of a 10-year war in Canada's energy sector and, indeed, Canada's economy.

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Canada is the world's fourth largest oil producer, currently supplying 6% of global production. Canada is the fifth largest producer of natural gas, providing 5% of global demand. The energy sector (oil, gas, electricity) accounts for more than 10% of Canada's total gross domestic product (GDP). In 2023, the latest year of available data, the energy sector supported, directly and indirectly, almost 700,000 jobs, or 3.5% of all jobs in Canada. And Canadian energy exports, totaling $200 billion, accounted for 28% of all Canadian exports.

But as vast and vital as Canada's energy sector is to our well-being, Prime Minister Trudeau has worked tirelessly to contain, limit, reduce and ultimately “take out” Canada. Here are some of the highlights of his war on Canada's energy sector.

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In 2017, Trudeau introduced Bill C-48, which restricts oil tankers off Canada's west coast and limits the Canadian oil sector's ability to meet and export product to new markets, keeping Canada's energy resources on the discount market in the US. Also in 2017, much to the ire of many Albertans, Trudeau announced his intention to phase out oil refineries, the bedrock of Alberta's prosperity.

In 2018, Trudeau introduced Bill C-69, which strengthened Canada's environmental assessment process for large infrastructure projects and made the government permitting process for large energy projects more costly, time-consuming and arbitrary, thereby increasing uncertainty throughout the energy sector. And he introduced a carbon tax despite intense opposition from Canada's energy sector and energy-producing provinces.

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In 2020, Trudeau unleashed his broadest and most intense regulatory crusade against Canada's energy sector, introducing Bill C-12, which turned Canada's efforts to rely on energy production and consumption rather than being pulled out of thin air by natural processes and the ecosystem. This will require significantly reduced production and consumption of fossil fuels in Canada, with implications for energy sector productivity and employment potential heading into 2050.

In 2023, Trudeau attacked the use of fossil fuels in the transportation sector, mandating that all new vehicle sales be electric vehicles by 2035. And he released a draft “Clean Electricity Rule” to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation by 2050.

During his time as Prime Minister, Trudeau attacked Canada's energy sector, with Lyceumist language and onerous regulations designed to essentially displace Canada's major provider of economic productivity and employment, much to the detriment of Canadians.

Hopefully the next Prime Minister will reject Trudeau's anti-energy agenda and has the will and ability to reverse the many destructive laws and regulations that the Trudeau government has inflicted on a vital sector of the Canadian economy.

Kenneth Green is a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute.

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