Ottawa, ON – Today, the Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, sent a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney demanding the government immediately introduce and pass an Emergency Energy Supply Plan to respond to the growing global energy crisis sparked by the Middle East war:
Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to urge your government to immediately introduce and pass an Emergency Energy Supply Plan that responds to the growing global energy crisis sparked by the Middle East war. We must unblock our oil and gas to fuel our friends abroad and power our paycheques at home.
That is why I will be writing to the speaker today to request an emergency debate in the House of Commons on this critical issue. I encourage you to echo these calls and show up for the debate.
The world’s energy markets are entering a period of acute disruption. Conflict in the Middle East has already interrupted supply chains and shut down significant liquefaction capacity in Qatar, which produces roughly 20 per cent of the world’s liquefied natural gas. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed dramatically as threats to commercial vessels escalate.
These developments have driven oil and gas prices sharply upward. European natural gas prices have surged by roughly 50 per cent, while oil prices have soared almost 25 per cent since the war began to over $90 a barrel.
Qatar’s energy minister has warned it will get worse, telling the Financial Times that Gulf nations will be shutting down production “within days,” and that even if the war ended tomorrow, it would take the country “weeks to months” to restore normal energy deliveries. He further predicted oil prices surging to $150 a barrel and gas prices four times what they were before the conflict.
Europe spent the last several years attempting to reduce its reliance on Russian energy, with many countries turning to the Middle East to replace those supplies. Now that region has itself become increasingly unstable, leaving our allies urgently searching for secure sources of energy from friendly democratic countries.
Canada should be the answer.
Our country possesses vast reserves of oil and natural gas that could help stabilize global markets, support our allies and strengthen our own economy. Canadian energy could fuel our friends abroad, increase the buying power of paycheques at home, diversify our trade overseas and give us unbreakable leverage in an uncertain world.
It will also help deliver affordability here at home. Canadians have already seen their gas and energy prices surge over the past week. By creating new jobs and increasing the supply and availability of Canadian energy, we can help cushion the very real cost-of-living impacts that this conflict is reinforcing.
Yet at precisely the moment when global demand for our energy is rising, federal policies are discouraging investment and slowing production. One of Canada’s largest oil producers, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, recently announced that it is halting expansion plans in Canada. The company cited the industrial carbon tax and federal regulatory barriers as creating an “economic burden for a long-term growth investment” in energy projects.
Meanwhile, previous US action in Venezuela aimed at returning its oil to world markets continues to pose a specific threat and competitor to Canadian energy. Every barrel of Venezuelan oil processed by the Americans has displaced a barrel of Canadian oil. That is why the government must get out of the way so private investors can start building pipelines that will diversify away from one market.
Investment decisions are driven by math, not announcements. Political ceremonies and press releases cannot substitute for policies that allow projects to proceed.
You have not approved a single pipeline. Your Major Projects Office has not approved a single new project of any kind despite Parliament rushing you exceptional powers to do so almost a year ago. Canada now has the only shrinking economy in the G7. You have doubled the deficit.
You must now move from rhetoric to reality.
For all these reasons, I call on you to immediately implement an Emergency Energy Supply Plan designed to unlock Canadian energy production and deliver it to global markets quickly and responsibly.
This plan should include the following measures:
- Repealing Bill C-69, the anti-development law that has stalled major projects, and Bill C-48, which effectively bans the shipment of oil from parts of Canada’s coastline;
- Scrapping the industrial carbon tax, restoring competitiveness to Canada’s energy sector while lowering costs for Canadians;
- Pre-approving LNG plant sites on Canada’s East Coast, using the federal government’s constitutional authority and the powers available under recently passed legislation, such as Bill C-5; and
- Guaranteeing a maximum six-month approval timeline for major energy infrastructure projects.
Simply put, your government needs to get out of the way to let private sector projects proceed. Canada cannot control whether there is global conflict or geopolitical instability. But we can control whether we allow our own resources to reach the world.
If we remove the barriers that are holding back Canadian energy, we can help stabilize global supply, strengthen our economy and reinforce Canada’s role as a dependable partner to democratic nations.
In short, Canada can fuel our friends abroad and power paycheques at home.
I urge your government to act immediately.