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Lorne Gunter: Canada energy exports still crippled by lost Liberal decade

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Last month, federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson told the House of Commons natural resources committee that Canada could become “one of the largest suppliers of LNG in the world.”

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We already should be.

Granted, Hodgson made his observation before U.S. President Donald Trump started his war with Iran. And before the Iranian government shut off the Strait of Hormuz and locked in 20 per cent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies. And sent the prices of oil and natural gas soaring.

But recent events did not revealed this issue for the first time. They have only unscored how much Canada has missed out thanks to the lost Liberal decade in which the Trudeau government insisted there was “no business case” for building oil and LNG export infrastructure.

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You can argue that was then, this is now. It was former Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his “green” obsession behind the foolish decision not to build pipelines and export terminals criss-crossing the country.

Since Hodgson made his remarks about LNG, he has also promised Canada is willing to “do its part” to increase oil production and satisfy some of the supply shortages caused by the Strait of Hormuz closure.

Although Hodgson has not said what Canada’s “part” would be or how he would magically spring into action without the infrastructure that could have — should have — been built in the past 10 years.

In the past decade, while Canada was building just one LNG terminal near Kitimat, B.C., the Americans were building 12, seven of which are operational and five of which are near completion. Even if we build the two other most-likely LNG terminals, we will still have only one-tenth of the American capacity.

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The Liberals’ major projects office envisions Canada building another West Coast LNG terminal but without any timeline for when construction might begin, much less when it could be completed.

And neither Hodgson nor any other Liberal has even hinted at building terminals on the East Coast to take advantage of proximity to the enormous European gas market or constructing pipelines to feed Maritime terminals.

It’s this clear avoidance of Eastern export infrastructure that makes me truly dubious about the Liberals’ enthusiasm for making Canada a major player in LNG or expanding our ability to get our oil to market.

Why are the Liberals so silent about East Coast opportunities? Because any terminals built in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick would require Western oil or gas, and that would require a pipeline or two across Quebec which would jeopardize the Liberals’ 40-plus seats that province.

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Polls may show a majority of Quebecers are now in favour of pipelines, especially if those pipelines drop off some of what they’re carrying to be refined in Montreal or along the St. Lawrence River. At present, Quebec gets much of its oil from the United States via train or from Saudi Arabia and other foreign suppliers via ocean-going tanker.

But while most Quebecers now favour pipelines, the Liberal government of Prime Minister Mark Carney is as worried about the loss of Quebec seats as was the government of Justin Trudeau.

Quebec is driving the Liberal bus, as always.

In a chaotic world market, Canada could be a reliable, steady supplier, but only if it has the ability to ship supplies overseas, which it doesn’t at the moment. Other than the one West Coast pipeline being pitched by the Alberta government, where are the projects that would increase our export capacity?

Recent federal ads, that play ad nauseum on sports and other programs, say Canada will build big again. But where?

The last decade of Liberal government cost Canada roughly $400 billion in investment in oil and gas production and export.

Imagine how far along our country would be to becoming a major supplier of oil and LNG if that money had gone into conventional oil, oilsands and natural gas.

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