It’s like a big neon sign flashing on top of Trump Tower: the U.S. president still wants Keystone XL to be built.

On Tuesday night, U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media his government reached a new trade deal with Canada – shortly before new 50 per cent American tariffs were set to hit some Canadian exports. He also took the time to mention that the Keystone XL pipeline project “may be awoken from the grave!”

This is not a surprise. But if the talk helps to unlock a trade deal, so much the better.

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“It’s something that we know that the president wants because, one, it’s access to continued oil, which is critical to the U.S. economy. And two, it’s a legacy project for him,” said Gitane De Silva, who previously served as Alberta’s senior representative to the U.S. and later became CEO of the Canada Energy Regulator.

“If he could get this built, that would be, I think, a big political win,” added James Coleman, a law professor at the University of Minnesota who specializes in North American energy infrastructure.

Shortly before the new American tariffs — targeting almost $29 billion of select Canadian products — were set to go into effect on Wednesday, the president announced he was pausing the levies for three days. This was “based on the fact that Canada and the U.S.A., subject to finalization of documents, have a deal,” he wrote.

On Wednesday, both countries indicated an agreement had largely been reached, subject to necessary documents being finalized, although details were not yet........

© Calgary Herald