Oilpatch execs give Carney 'incomplete' grade on first six months as prime minister

OTTAWA — Canada’s top oil and gas executives are giving Prime Minister Mark Carney partial marks on his first six months in office, acknowledging baby steps but stressing he has a long way to go to fulfill his vision of making Canada an energy superpower.

“Maybe the grade I’d give Mr. Carney would be ‘incomplete’,” Suncor CEO Rich Kruger told the National Post.

“The actions taken to date have been necessary but insufficient,” he added.

Kruger was one of 95 energy sector leaders who co-signed an open letter to Carney this week calling on him to reverse several of the anti-oil and gas policies implemented by predecessor Justin Trudeau.

The letter thanked Carney for matching his “positive change of tone” on oil and gas with meaningful actions like launching the Major Projects Office, but warned that his ambitious energy agenda was in jeopardy absent more sweeping reforms.

“Canada still lacks the clear, competitive and durable fiscal and regulatory policies required to achieve the so-called ‘Grand Bargain.’ That bargain being significant emissions reductions, expanded market access and material upstream production growth,” read the letter.

One vision of this “grand bargain” frequently touted by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is linking the construction of a new West Coast bitumen pipeline to large-scale decarbonization efforts like the oilsands-based Pathways project.

Pathways Alliance CEO Kendall Dilling was notably one of the letter’s signatories.

The letter is the third sent to Ottawa by oil and gas executives since March, reiterating prior calls to scrap the federal Impact Assessment Act, West Coast tanker ban, oil and gas emissions cap and federal industrial carbon levy.

The signatories also called on Carney to beef up Indigenous loan guarantees for resource projects.

François Poirier, CEO of TransCanada, said he’d advise Carney to take a “two-track” approach to revitalizing Canada’s energy sector.

“Track one is well underway, with the government fast-tracking projects deemed to be in the national interest, in close partnership with provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples and private investors,” said Poirier.

“Track two requires fixing the root cause of why Canada has fallen behind on all infrastructure projects; namely, our misaligned policy framework and regulatory overreach,” he added.

Carney, who took office in March, has promised to make Canada a clean and conventional energy superpower, and to build the strongest economy in the G7.

He’s recently been under pressure from both environmentalists and industry groups as he strives to strike the right balance between climate and economic goals. He’s reportedly upset some members of his own Liberal caucus by backing away from key environmental policies like the electric vehicle mandate and clean fuel regulation.

Carney is expected to roll out a new “climate competitiveness” strategy in the weeks to come.

National Post rmohamed@postmedia.com

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