As the world once again fights over oil, we’re reminded of Canada’s self-imposed lost decade at the hands of Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.

True, the reasoning behind the current bombardment of Iran is cloaked in an excuse of stopping that country from acquiring nuclear weapons. But did North Korea receive such treatment as it successfully developed such weaponry? Or did the U.S. snatch one of the Castro brothers from a Havana secure house as they recently did with Venezuela’s ruler?

Having large oil reserves is both a blessing and a curse. As we’ve witnessed with Alberta’s latest budget, being a resource-dependent economy is akin to bull riding — hang on and it’s wonderful, but rest assured you’ll get thrown for a loop sooner or later.

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Still, Trudeau wasn’t intent on doing Alberta any favours when his government did everything in its power to hobble our entire energy industry, which, despite its challenges, remains the most important economic powerhouse in Canada. Nothing comes close to filling the national coffers like oil and gas exports.

Just how damaging that lost decade was to both our province and country remains on display to this day, as it finally dawns on Ottawa that this country is slowly but surely going broke, as our overreliance on the United States comes home to roost with a vengeance.

Just last week, after travelling halfway across the world from Australia — 25,750 kilometres to be exact — the Maran Gas Hector tanker docked at Saint John in New Brunswick to offload its cargo of liquefied natural gas, the first of such shipments to arrive at the shores of Eastern Canada. (The Aussies are particularly aggressive in finding new markets for their gas.)

This comes as Qatar, one of the world’s biggest producers of LNG, was forced to halt production because of Iranian drone attacks, resulting in yet another price spike as Europe consumes record amounts of the fuel these days.

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Not surprisingly, the U.S. has been quick to send supplies across the Atlantic to take advantage of that hefty premium, a price that stands in stark comparison to the low amount paid for natural gas consumed here in North America.

And thanks to Trudeau, that’s where Alberta’s gas invariably ends up. The many billions of dollars left on the table because of this are a national disgrace.

Some might recall Trudeau’s meeting with German chancellor Olaf Scholz in the summer of 2022, as Europe searched desperately for natural gas supplies to fill the vacuum that sanctions on Russia had brought about.

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This urgent appeal raised barely a shrug from Canada’s prime minister, who waved any such notion aside with an arrogance he apparently inherited from his father.

“There has never been a strong business case because of the distance from the gas fields, because of the need to transport that gas over long distances,” he announced at a Montreal news conference, as the nonplussed Scholz looked on.

Obviously, such distances don’t bother the Americans that much, nor the Australians, as we witnessed last week.

Still, it’s better late than never. So, will Prime Minister Mark Carney actually follow through on his pledge to finally fast-track such development of our energy industry?

The Grits are certainly talking big. Energy Minister Tim Hodgson is bragging that Canada will become one of the world’s biggest suppliers of LNG, exporting up to 100 million tonnes a year.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is giving Ottawa the benefit of the doubt — for now, at least. Because, while we’re late to the LNG party, there’s still huge demand for the fuel, especially given the effects of the current war exploding across the Middle East.

Plus, there’s one other development that could ensure the Liberals follow through on these grandiose promises.

Marinvest Energy is keen on building such a plant, along with a pipeline. It would be based in Baie-Comeau, Que.

Yes, that should do it.

Chris Nelson is a regular columnist.

© Calgary Herald