Alberta Liberal MP Corey Hogan says the Keystone XL pipeline is being used as leverage in the federal government’s ongoing trade talks with the U.S.
“I can tell you that Keystone XL and the energy security it would provide the United States has always been one of the cards that Canada has in our deck as we start thinking about trade deals with the United States,” Hogan said in an interview with CTV’s Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Tuesday.
Hogan, who works as the parliamentary secretary to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, would not confirm a report from Reuters on Tuesday that said U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is working with Canada on permits required for a proposed revival of the project.
“As we start thinking about some of the exposed industries and some of those that are really being hit hard by tariffs, we’ve got to have things to negotiate with, and energy is one of those things,” Hogan said when asked directly about the report.
He later added it would be “foolish” for the federal government not to “think about the opportunities” the pipeline project might provide.
Hodgson, meanwhile, has been in Houston, Texas for CERAWeek, an annual conference for the energy industry, as he works to expand Canadian oil exports to non-U.S. markets.
During a speech on Monday, Hodgson did not mention Keystone XL, but said Canada “will step up again and write a new chapter in our shared energy story with the U.S.”
According to Reuters, Hodgson also later said he discussed the proposed project with Canada’s new Ambassador to the U.S. Mark Wiseman, along with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum during a meeting in Houston on Monday.
The Keystone XL pipeline is a proposed expansion project that would carry Canadian crude exports to the U.S. Gulf Coast and could increase those exports to the U.S. by more than 12 per cent if it goes ahead.
Former U.S. president Joe Biden cancelled the project in 2021. But Canadian company South Bow, which took over in 2024, is working to restore parts of the cancelled pipeline.
Back in October, Prime Minister Mark Carney raised the prospect of reviving the pipeline to Trump during a visit to the White House.
Canada, meanwhile, has been in a trade war with the U.S. for more than a year and is preparing for a scheduled review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement later this year.
While the U.S. and Mexico have already begun preliminary talks over the agreement, few details have been provided on the status of negotiations between Canada and the U.S.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer recently told Fox Business that Canada is lagging behind Mexico when it comes to trade discussions.
“We’re having talks separately with Canada, but we’ve moved along with Mexico,” Greer said last week. “Canada is behind on this.”
With files from Reuters
