Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial energy ministers have concluded an annual conference without pursuing a national energy strategy sought by Alberta Premier Alison Redford.
A statement by Joe Oliver, federal minister of natural resources, said the energy leaders agreed “to pursue collective action to strengthen Canada’s position as a global energy and mining leader.”
In months before the Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, meeting, Redford had visited counterparts from other provinces seeking support for formalization of a national energy strategy.
Her effort stumbled after British Columbia Premier Christy Clark voiced resistance to the Northern Gateway pipeline project proposed by Enbridge to move synthetic crude oil and diluted bitumen produced in Alberta to an export terminal at Kitimat, BC. Clark demanded a “fair share” of wealth from Alberta’s oil sands region, an idea Redford opposed.
At a Sept. 11 news conference in Charlottetown, Oliver said proposals he had heard for a national strategy encompassed nothing not already covered by federal and provincial policies.
