Every time Canada shows any interest in exporting energy, the world shows up. And as more than 100 international exhibitors descend on Calgary for the 2025 Global Energy Show that opens tomorrow, it's therefore discouraging that Prime Minister Mark Carney won't.It would have been a chance to clarify his intentions, something the Canadian energy industry needs, and frankly deserves.For, there are two questions upon which investors need confidence.First, is whether Canada’s interest is serious this time. After all, the memory is still fresh of former prime minister Trudeau sending the German chancellor packing when he asked to buy Canadian natural gas a few years ago. “No business case,” he was told, even though the Germans were desperate for an alternative to Russian supplies..HANNAFORD: US saw business case for selling gas to Germany right away, didn't they?.Second, which indigenous voices will Mr. Carney listen to?.It's a serious matter. The issues are linked and Carney's answer is the only one that really matters. On the one hand he has said — repeatedly, on the campaign trail and off it — that he wants to see Canada become an ‘energy superpower.’ But, he just can’t quite seem to say the word ‘pipeline,’ even though the world is in a buying mood for what pipelines carry.On the other hand, Mr. Carney can barely issue a press release that does not reference his commitment to reconciliation with indigenous peoples. Fine, no doubt. But 'indigenous opinion' is not monolithic and reconciliation means different things to different groups. So, will it be the Indian Industry voices to whom he listens, those that assert (wrongly) that indigenous peoples have an effective veto over development? .Attorney general walks back pipeline veto comment, apologizes to First Nations leaders .Or will it be those ambitious chiefs who tired of being poor, want to expedite and profit from energy development?It can’t be both..Certainly, recent announcements suggest the Western LNG industry is poised to move ahead fast, with substantial indigenous involvement and reward.As reported last month in the Western Standard, the French energy giant TotalEnergies signed a 20-year sales and purchase agreement for 2 million tonnes per annum from the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG project north of Prince Rupert. (This followed a similar deal with Shell.).Canadian LNG gains global momentum with TotalEnergies backing of third BC export project.And in an encouraging, pro-indigenous move, BC’s Environmental Assessment Office expedited the project by validating a 10-year-old right-of-way approval. This was applied for by a now-defunct pipeline proposal that was intended to bring natural gas to the coast from Hudson’s Hope in northern B.C. It could easily have lapsed. But, the Government of BC is allowing it to go forward, presumably because the project represents a ‘unique alliance among the Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG and Western LNG.’ As far as the Nisga'a are concerned, an escape from poverty is the kind of reconciliation that matters..So there is Carney's dilemma. It's pipelines or nothing. Nobody becomes an energy superpower on renewables. Thus the kind of reconciliation that does most good to Canada's indigenous peoples is at odds with the 'net-zero' ambitions Mr. Carney is famous for cherishing....Alberta to showcase global energy leadership at Calgary summit .The attached video is instructive. Speaking to the Western Standard, Scott Fong of Edmonton-based oilfield service provider KASI speaks for many, "We're waiting to see what happens in the coming months... certainly we have the resources and the technical abilities to become an energy superpower but we've been lacking the leadership at the federal level in policy making in making this thing happen. I'm not optimistic, I'm not pessimistic, I'm in a waiting mode to see what's going to happen here." .And if he could say one thing to the prime minister?"Pay attention to what's going on in Western Canada. You have a fiduciary duty to the entire country and we could all be living a lot better standard of living if we could develop our resources properly and generate the revenues from that."Hard to argue with that.Whatever Mr. Carney really intends, Calgary is this week hosting one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive energy industry gatherings. With leaders and delegates from more than 100 countries, including market rate-setter OPEC, his absence is a missed opportunity to do what only senior politicians can do — to create a confident atmosphere to do business.But, maybe that isn't the kind of energy superpower he is imagining.
