WASHINGTON, DC - Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says Ottawa fails to “read the room” when talking to Americans about energy security..Kenney made the comments in an exclusive interview with the Western Standard in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, following his and federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson’s testimony at the US Senate committee on energy and natural resources..The hearing was about America’s energy crisis, and yet, Wilkinson failed to mention that Alberta has the third largest oil reserves on earth and is the major supplier of energy to the US, Kenney said..“Nowhere did (Wilkinson) say that,” he said. “And that was core, that was the main focus of the hearing.”.At a roundtable on Monday, Kenney told the media his main takeaway for US senators is that Alberta supplies most of their energy. In contrast, he said federal government typically talks about emissions reductions when speaking about energy, rather than championing Alberta’s clean oil..In his virtual testimony on Tuesday, Wilkinson spoke about Ottawa’s plan to meet its 2030 Paris climate targets by cutting emissions and increasing hydrogen exports..There was “almost zero about how Canada could increase exports to the US, which is the central focus of American politics right now,” Kenney said..During the hearing, the premier also disagreed with Wilkinson, who told senators unused pipeline capacity totals 400,000 barrels per day..Kenney said there’s 300,000 barrels daily unused capacity, which Alberta expects to fill this year due to increased production. Then crude by rail would allow for another 200,000 barrels per day, and technical improvements through pipeline optimization would allow for another 400,000 barrels per day..Kenney said he tries to avoid direct conflict with the federal government when he’s outside the country, saying “I don’t think we should air our dirty laundry in front of our neighbours.”.But Kenney said he wished Wilkinson had been “loud and proud” about Alberta’s energy industry, especially while Americans from “Main Street to the Pentagon” are concerned about $4 per gallon gas prices..Kenney returned to Calgary Tuesday night. He awaits the results of his leadership review which will be announced Wednesday between 4-6 p.m. MST.
