CALGARY — The chief executive of TC Energy believes Canada is losing out on billions in global energy investments because investors no longer see the country as competitive.Speaking at a recent event, François Poirier, CEO of TC Energy, said Canada has “fallen behind” global competitors because of climate policies and regulatory delays which have failed to attract foreign capital..“Capital goes where it’s welcome, and for too long it had not felt welcome here,” Poirier said.“Canada is no longer competing only within its borders, or even just across North America. We are competing with the world under a very different set of expectations.”Poirier pointed to rapid energy development in other countries as evidence that Canada is struggling to remain competitive.“In 2025, the United States sanctioned $56 billion of LNG-related projects,” he said.“Canada made no sanctions in the same period.”.He contrasted Canada’s red tape with his company’s experience on the Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico, saying he saw “firsthand” how hard that country was working to attract investment.“We began construction on our project eight months after filing for our permits,” Poirier said.“In under three years from the filing, we put a seven hundred-kilometre sub-sea pipeline into service with comprehensive environmental approval.”Poirier added that President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government was aggressively pushing foreign investment through a national “Plan 2030” strategy, which has reportedly set a goal of attracting $300 billion in investment.Similar concerns about Canada’s lack of competitiveness on the global stage have also been previously raised by Jon McKenzie, CEO of Cenovus Energy, who said the conversation around oil and gas development in the country has been myopically focused on the climate agenda and climate policy while ignoring the broader economic benefits generated by the sector.Many players in the energy sector have raised the same concerns in recent weeks as Alberta and Ottawa continue negotiations over the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy..Last week, Premier Danielle Smith said she was feeling “far more confident” about reaching a deal on a new one-million-barrel-per-day BC coast pipeline with Prime Minister Mark Carney.Smith said discussions between Alberta and the federal government are continuing, though key disagreements remain unresolved.One contentious point is the timeline for implementing a proposed $130- per-tonne industrial carbon tax.The original deadline for meeting the conditions laid out in the MOU between the two governments was set for April 1, but that deadline has since been extended to July 1.
