Canadian officials have held talks with senior Trump administration figures about reviving a portion of the cancelled Keystone XL oil pipeline, Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson confirmed Tuesday at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston.
As reported by BNN Bloomberg, Hodgson and Canada’s Ambassador to the United States, Mark Wiseman, met with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to discuss a proposal advanced by Canadian pipeline company South Bow and its American partner Bridger Pipeline. If approved, the project could increase Canadian crude exports to the United States by more than 12 per cent.
The Canadian government sees the pipeline as a strategic answer to American energy security concerns, particularly as disruptions tied to the war in Iran push oil prices higher. Hodgson pointed to a fundamental arithmetic underlying the pitch: the U.S. produces roughly 12 to 13 million barrels per day but consumes around 20 million, with Canada supplying approximately 63 per cent of the gap.
Hodgson noted that Canada wants to sell more energy overall, to both the United States and other customers:
“What we need to do, as the Prime Minister has said, is not sell less to the United States. We need to sell more to other people,” Hodgson said, signalling that Ottawa is simultaneously pursuing market diversification through a planned expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Pacific Coast.
Hodgson declined to say whether Wright or Burgum indicated support for the project or any intention to expedite the U.S. regulatory approvals it would require. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
The revival of Keystone XL is also winning support from the CEO of National Bank:
The talks arrive against a complicated backdrop. Trump’s tariffs and annexation rhetoric have damaged Canada-U.S. relations considerably, yet the roughly 4.4 million barrels per day that Canada currently ships south remain deeply embedded in American refinery supply chains, giving Ottawa tangible leverage as both sides navigate an uneasy economic relationship. That Ottawa is now actively working to convert that leverage into durable infrastructure, rather than leaving it on the table, signals a more pragmatic era in Canadian energy policy. For Canadians who have long watched resource wealth go underdeveloped, these talks are an indication the government is willing to use what the country actually has. For a country with Canada’s energy wealth and strategic position, that’s a positive trend, and one that must continue.
Spencer Fernando
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