Canada's energy future can't wait

Whether it's at the bargaining table or in the oil fields, Danielle Smith understands what Canada needs to escape the morass of a lost decade. Liberal ministers in cottage country should listen.

As Canadians attempt to make sense of the latest negotiation salvo from south of the border, the Liberal government’s continued inaction on the oil and gas sector remains nothing short of self-sabotage.

The looming threat of a 35% tariff on Canadian goods exported to the United States — our largest trading partner by a country mile — underscores the urgent need for bold, decisive action. Yet, while the stakes couldn’t be higher, Mark Carney and his insider interests seem content with proclamations over putting pen to paper, and waiting until fall to really kickstart Canada’s recovery after a lost Liberal decade. It’s time for Carney’s unearned summer vacation to end, and for the Liberals to truly get serious about unleashing Canada’s energy potential to secure our economic future.

Continued tariff threats, which have escalated from earlier warnings, are a direct challenge to Canada’s economic stability. As Alberta Premier Danielle Smith astutely noted in comments last Friday, “The threatened increase to U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods would be a tax on the American people. They would also hurt Canadian and American businesses and workers, and damage one of the most important trading and security alliances on earth.”

She’s absolutely right. These tariffs would not only strain the wallets of American consumers but also jeopardize the livelihoods of Canadians and the integrity of a trading partnership that has long been a cornerstone of North American prosperity.

Smith’s warning doesn’t stop there. She correctly points out that retaliatory tariffs, which the Liberals might be tempted to impose, would be a self-inflicted wound. “Retaliatory tariffs by the federal government to this escalation would constitute a tax on Canadian consumers and businesses and only weaken Canada’s economy further,” she said.

At a time of unprecedented costs, and with a missing-middle harmed so mightily after failed Liberal decision after failed Liberal decision, piling burdensome taxes on Canadians to counter U.S. tariffs would only deepen the economic pain, hitting consumers and businesses already struggling under the weight of inflation and regulatory overreach.

The real solution lies not in tit-for-tat trade wars, or haphazardly rallying around a flag that was torn asunder by the same forces now using it as a prop, but by first strengthening Canada’s economic resilience. For too long, Trudeau-era anti-resource development laws — such as Bills C-69 and C-48 — have shackled our oil and gas sector, stifling investment, killing jobs, and leaving us dangerously dependent on a single export market: the United States. Meanwhile, governments in B.C. and Quebec have thrown up as many obstructions to Canadian prosperity as any American negotiation tactic of late.

This self-inflicted vulnerability is now glaringly exposed as tariff threats continue.

Premier Smith’s call to action is a clarion one: “The federal government must also immediately drop the Trudeau-era anti-resource development laws holding our economy back and work at all haste to approve multiple pipelines, rail expansions, and transmission lines going west, east, and north to diversify and grow our export markets around the world.”

This isn’t just about dodging tariffs; it’s about seizing control of our economic destiny, and no longer working from a position of deliberate weakness.

Canada’s oil and gas sector is a global powerhouse, or at least it could be, if the Liberals and their anti-O&G allies would stop strangling it with red tape and ideological posturing. By repealing these disastrous laws and fast-tracking infrastructure like pipelines and rail expansions — without the need for a Bill C-5, which will pick more losers than winners — we can open new markets in Asia, Europe, and beyond, reducing our reliance on the U.S. and better shielding our economy from future trade disruptions. As Smith puts it, “We need to become an economically stronger and more independent country without further delay or excuse.”

The Liberals’ obsession with green, degrowth, net-zero dogma has left Canada vulnerable, forcing us to get cute with meek and meaningless elbow-related sloganeering and paper-tiger displays of TDS, while begging for scraps at the U.S. trade table. Meanwhile, our energy sector — the most ethical and efficient in the world — languishes under punitive regulations that do nothing but embolden our competitors and weaken our leverage. The time for half-measures, photo-op climate pledges, and “clean energy superpower” double-speak is over. The Liberals must heed Smith’s call to, “repeal these terrible laws that continue to weaken our economy, make us dependent on a single customer, and hold back the prosperity of our country.”

Ever-extending tariff threats are a wake-up call, and the Liberals can no longer afford to hit the snooze button during a summer siesta.

Mark Carney and his team need to get out of the hammock at Harrington Lake or Muskoka, roll up their sleeves, and unleash the full potential of Canada’s oil and gas sector. Our economic sovereignty, our workers, and our return to prosperity depend on it.

Alexander Brown is a director with the National Citizens Coalition, a guest columnist and commentator, and the writer and editor of the best-selling Acceptable Views newsletter.

A version of this column first appeared in the July 15 edition of the Western Standard.