Canada’s reliance on U.S. pipelines and power grids has raised concerns about national energy security, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said Tuesday.
Speaking at an energy conference in Washington, D.C., Wilkinson noted that Canadians were unsettled by a recent threat of a 10% U.S. tariff on oil, natural gas, and hydroelectricity exports.
“Certainly in areas like oil we flow almost all of it this way,” Wilkinson said, emphasizing Canada’s lack of a national power grid and limited all-domestic transcontinental pipeline infrastructure.
“When all of a sudden Canada is treated more like an adversary than a partner it did shake every Canadian,” he said. “I think you saw that in some of the patriotic expressions that came out in the aftermath of the decision to impose tariffs.”
“Canadians don’t tend to wear their patriotism on their sleeves,” Wilkinson added. “We are probably less patriotic overtly than Americans, but you saw it very strongly in Canada.”
“I think we need to hopefully walk back from the brink and find pathways through which we can actually work together,” he said. “But I do think in Canada this has caused some reflection on whether perhaps in some areas we are too dependent on infrastructure in particular that flows only through the United States.”
Wilkinson did not address cabinet’s Bill C-69, an environmental assessment law critics dubbed the “no new pipelines bill.” The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2023 that the law overstepped federal authority by attempting to regulate the “health, social, gender and economic impacts” of energy projects.
“This scheme plainly overstepped the mark,” Chief Justice Richard Wagner wrote in a 5-2 decision.
Wilkinson’s comments come as Canada faces a looming March 4 deadline for potential U.S. energy tariffs under an Executive Order signed by President Donald Trump titled Progress On The Situation At Our Northern Border. A broader 25% tariff on other Canadian exports is also threatened unless the U.S. deems Canada’s actions on border-related issues satisfactory.
“If the Government of Canada fails to take sufficient steps to alleviate these crises the President shall take necessary steps to address the situation including by immediate implementation of the tariffs,” the Executive Order stated.
An earlier tariff threat set for Tuesday was postponed after Canada’s cabinet made concessions, including the appointment of a “fentanyl czar,” changes to Parliament’s terrorist list, and other “new commitments.”