Carney allegedly withdrew Keystone XL offer during US trade talks

CALGARY — Prime Minister Mark Carney allegedly withdrew an offer to revive the Keystone XL pipeline during the final hours of failed trade negotiations with the United States.According to the New York Times, Carney told US President Donald Trump that the terms on offer weren’t good enough to revive the proposed project.Canadian negotiators reportedly sought a better deal for automobiles, electric vehicles and metal products, while their American counterparts pushed Canada to align its steel tariffs on other countries with Washington’s policies.Carney raised the possibility of reviving the pipeline during his first White House visit last year and reportedly brought it up again during a phone call with Trump earlier this week.A former official briefed on the talks said the president was “thrilled” by the possibility..WIECHNIK: Trump revives Keystone XL — Canada should build it and the West Coast pipeline.It has been no secret that Keystone XL has long been a pet project for Trump.“The great Keystone XL Pipeline, long ago killed by Sleepy Joe Biden, may be awoken from the grave!” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday, in which he also claimed that the US and Canada had reached a "deal."Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has repeatedly expressed support for reviving Keystone XL.In September 2024, Smith said she would “love to see a restart of some kind of project on Keystone XL,” suggesting proponents could revisit its route or twin an existing pipeline corridor, something she renewed after Trump publicly endorsed reviving the project in February 2025.Matina Stevis-Gridneff, one of the reporters who authored the Times story, told CBC on Tuesday that American officials said Canada pulled its offer to cooperate on Keystone XL before the negotiations ended..“When I asked my Canadian sources about this, they told me, well, the prime minister said that under a great trade deal — for the right deal — the prime minister told the president he would be prepared to talk again about Keystone XL and how to revive it,” she said.“But the deal we had at the table on Friday was not that deal. And so the prime minister took that away.”Asked about Keystone XL and possible the Prairie Connector pipelines being part of trade talks at a press conference on Tuesday, Minister of Finance Francois-Phillippe Champagne was mum on the topic.“Plan A has always been to build our natural resources. Plan A has always been to build our critical minerals. Plan A has always been to increase our infrastructure. Plan A has always been to diversify our trade,” Champagne said in response..“The world energy architecture is being redesigned and Canada will be at the centre of that new energy architecture. So it's not surprising if you see Canada talking about additional investment to bring our resources to market.”The suggestion that Canada could revive its side of Keystone XL has also been questioned because the project already received its principal Canadian approval in 2010 and roughly 150 kilometres of pipe had already been installed before the project was cancelled.Some commentators, such as Ellen R. Wald, a senior fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, said the political discussion around Keystone XL didn’t reflect the commercial reality currently facing the project..“I’m sorry to say, but at this point the Keystone XL pipeline is dead,” Wald wrote on X.“This is a pointless talking point.”She noted that Canada has already expanded its ability to reach international markets through the Trans Mountain pipeline, which carries Alberta oil to the West Coast.“Canada already built the Trans Mountain pipeline to the west coast, which is functioning well and profitable now,” Wald said.Calgary-based South Bow plans to build a trans-border pipeline called Prairie Connector using existing infrastructure from Keystone XL. South Bow — which spun off from Keystone’s original proponent, TC Energy — has previously stated it would decide by mid-2027 whether it will proceed with the proposed 550,000-barrel-a-day pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta, to Guernsey, Wyoming..Keystone XL was designed to transport approximately 830,000 barrels of oil per day along a direct route between Hardisty, Alberta, and Steele City, Nebraska, carrying Alberta crude oil toward US Gulf Coast refineries.The project was first proposed in 2008 by TC Energy.In 2010, Canadian regulators approved the project, but then-US President Barack Obama later rejected it amid environmental opposition.Trump revived the project after taking office in 2017, but it continued to face challenges.In 2020, construction finally began before Biden revoked the project’s presidential permit in January 2021. TC Energy formally terminated the project later that year.

Carney allegedly withdrew Keystone XL offer during US trade talks

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