Justin Trudeau, the Oil Man

Justin Trudeau, Oil Man

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Justin Trudeau, the Oil Man
Justin Trudeau addresses a progressive think tank in Washington, DC (photo: Chip Somodevllla/Getty)

To Justin Trudeau, it’s not that Keystone XL is a bad idea, it’s that Stephen Harper can’t sell it.

For many Canadians, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau represents a fresh-faced, progressive alternative to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative Government. And yet, in terms of energy policy, it’s increasingly clear that he and Harper differ little. Both support the development of the Tar Sands and are backing efforts to move bitumen to new customers in Asia. Both are championing the controversial, proposed Keystone XL pipeline to the US Gulf Coast.

Through a series of recent speeches advocating for Keystone and other projects, it appears the biggest distinction the Liberal leader offers between himself and his chief political rival is the manner in which he sells the Tar Sands.

Justin made Alberta his first destination after being minted as Liberal leader, suggesting at the time that Mr. Harper was doing a bad job of representing Kesytone and the Tar Sands.

Harper alienates both friend and foe

Mr. Trudeau echoed those sentiments in a speech last week (read in full here), on the eve of the Conservative Party convention, at Calgary’s Petroleum Club. There, he made the case to a room full of western energy power brokers that Mr. Harper’s political style is hamstringing their efforts. “Alberta’s interests have been compromised more than just about anyone else’s by Mr. Harper’s divisiveness,” he told them.

“It has made enemies of people who ought to be your friends, and turned what should have been a reasonable debate into an over-the-top rhetorical war. Most importantly, it has impeded progress.”

Mr. Trudeau’s comments follow those of Kinder Morgan Canada CEO Ian Anderson, also delivered at Calgary’s Petroleum Club a few weeks ago, criticizing Harper’s Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver for his heavy-handed tactics with pipeline critics. Anderson suggested the Harper Government’s approach has only made life more difficult for companies like his, which is seeking to build a controversial pipeline expansion to Vancouver.

Justifying Keystone

In his own speech to Canada’s oil men and women, Mr. Trudeau made no bones about his support for projects like Keystone:

[quote]Let me be clear: I support Keystone XL because, having examined the facts, and accepting the judgment of the National Energy Board, I believe it is in the national interest…On balance, it would create jobs and growth, strengthen our ties with the world’s most important market, and generate wealth…Most of all, it is in keeping with what I believe is a fundamental role of the Government of Canada: to open up markets abroad for Canadian resources, and to help create responsible and sustainable ways to get those resources to those markets.[/quote]

So it’s not the idea of Keystone or potential east and west-bound pipelines in Canada on which Justin disagrees with the PM. It is simply that Mr. Harper lacks the diplomatic chops, the soft touch required to peddle this economic vision to Canadians and the world.

“Whether it is the bullying around Keystone and Northern Gateway, their one-sided approach to regulation with C-38, or the demonization of people who care about the environment, the message from Mr. Harper and his government has been clear: this is a black and white, us vs. them world, and you are either with us or against us,” Trudeau told his Calgary audience.

Mr. Trudeau goes to Washington

Justin is shopping his message abroad as well. Two weeks ago, he was in Washington, DC, delivering a speech to a generally anti-Keystone crowd at the Centre for American Progress. “The challenge is to demonstrate that it can be done in the sense that we’re protecting our environment and making sure that we’re making the right gains toward sustainable energy sources in the long run,” Trudeau declared.

And there is evidence that his approach is gaining traction. According to the Toronto Star, Matt Brown, a senior fellow at the Centre – which has taken a position against Keystone –  observed later on Twitter, “many in the room had found the Liberal leader’s position ‘compelling’ and ‘balanced’.”

How Mr. Trudeau’s remarks struck Canada’s energy moguls is another question. But one thing is clear: this bunch has money and isn’t shy about getting involved in elections. In BC’s recent contest, they played both sides, funnelling millions to the Liberal and NDP campaigns.

If Justin Trudeau really does have their back…If he’s able to spin a kinder, gentler Tar Sands…If he’s able to persuade our southern neighbours in ways Mr. Harper can’t, all while the PM’s political woes mount…surely these Calgary nabobs will give serious thought to backing young Justin.

And – who knows – an honourary membership at the Petroleum Club.

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About Damien Gillis

Damien Gillis is a Vancouver-based documentary filmmaker with a focus on environmental and social justice issues - especially relating to water, energy, and saving Canada's wild salmon - working with many environmental organizations in BC and around the world. He is the co-founder, along with Rafe Mair, of The Common Sense Canadian, and a board member of both the BC Environmental Network and the Haig-Brown Institute.

17 thoughts on “Justin Trudeau, Oil Man

  1. Well Damien, I think you have ‘Coyned’ another good oil catch phrase as in ‘spin a Kinder’.

  2. Good for Justin. Discussing the need for a balanced approach to energy policy, acknowledging the need to also advance alternative energy while supporting the economic boon that is the Oil Sands.

    To my environmentalist friends. The Oil Sands are not going away. It’s not like ANY politician would be able to simply shut down or “wind down” the industry. This industry creates 1000s of jobs and boosts our economy, so it would be foolish to just demonize it and shoot ourselves in the foot. The technology has come a long way and as far as the tar sands themselves, it is beyond repair. Alberta decided to go full-boar on oil and now they’ll have to deal with the environmental impacts.
    The fact that his speech at the Centre for American Progress was well-received really says a lot.

    A Canadian approach is needed. Harper has been using a Republican approach, which probably would have worked with G.W. — IMHO

  3. Confused about energy and politicians? The media has never so far, come to grips with asking all political leaders clear and direct questions about where they stand on the major energy projects we see today. Take any project whether it be pipelines, mines, fracking wells, or tanker ports, the media seem to get lost in the confusion that they have created all by themselves through neglect. I mean, who wants to do that? There’s no glory in finding out facts is there?

    Who was the fool that said, “… he and Harper differ little.” It’s statements like this about energy that confuse and lack clarity. It is no great feat or effort to make clear everyone’s position on the major energy projects that are affecting millions of Canadians. Too bad the media just can’t get their act together. After all, there’s an election coming and some lackey should be able to clear this issue up once and for all. It’s important, and only a fool would think otherwise.

  4. The Trudeaus are Esso sons. Charlie Trudeau made so much money in the 20s, 30s, 40s that his great grandchildren don’t need to work.

  5. Are we doomed to repeat (American history) they replace Bush with the same policy coming from a different colored man. They expected change and got continuation.

    If Canada votes Justin, I wish there was a place I could immigrate to that I love as much as British Columbia.

    I hate voting in support of our own demise, but Canadians spend far too much time behind the boob tube, and not enough time on the important things that matter. It looks like no one learned the lesson of Hong Kong.

    Wipe out nature, then bring back a zoo to see what we lost forever.

  6. My heart hurts. Sad time in history when Canada has become about money instead of taking the higher ground and being about people and the planet. My whole life I felt so blessed to be born in this country believing we would lead the world towards a better tomorrow. Now I fear for OUR planet’s future. Time is NOW for renewable energies, time and science has proven that fossil fuels are destroying the future of OUR planet. PLEASE, PLEASE where are OUR leaders??

    1. Piere Trudeau was my first crush when I was 12. He was all that I thought was good in this world. Above all he loved the great beautiful outdoors. I was one of the lucky ones that got to go to his house in Ottawa for the day. He was truely a great Canadian.

    2. Jen..OUR Leader currently sits at the helm of the LPC. Elect him PM in 2015…he may not lead us to the land of milk and honey but at least we will be able to afford it. He is also concerned about the environment and the importance of balancing the needs of its use and its conservation.

  7. Pierre was Canada’s first and probably only real social democratic Prime Minister.

    His energy policy was a sort of Canada first thing. He reviewed foreign ownership with an eye toward capping it, while fostering PETRO Canada as a well to pump, all Canadian asset.

    He eschewed the foreign invasion of Alberta and elsewhere and worked to ensure that half of the oil field wealth and benefits remained within our borders while working to distribute the wealth across the nation.

    My how times have changed.

    Young Trudeau sees the oil on the wall. He recognizes that the transition from Petro Canada to Petro State, apparently means the death of the social democratic vision of a Nation building industry by, for and of Canadians.

    This is a direct result of collapsing progressive Canada and embracing the Harper state.

    This government has so altered the very fabric of the land that Canadian Liberalism, always the chameleon, is now a petro powered globalized neo liberalism which campaigns to the middle class while accepting the Harper fate of unbridled petro power.

    Trudeau envisions a seamless transition back to Liberal dominance Ottawa.

    Well, as Emma Goodman said, ” If elections changed anything they would be illegal.”

    Oddly however that only applies to the progressive majority, as the conservative minority quite often turns elections in to revolutions.

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