Marco Navarro-Genie is vice-president of research at the Frontier Centre for Public PolicyAs Prime Minister Mark Carney recently met with U.S. President Donald Trump, one issue loomed over every handshake and headline — energy.Canada has a generational opportunity to emerge as the world’s most reliable democratic energy supplier. But instead of seizing the moment, the country risks squandering it in regulatory gridlock and political doublespeak. The recently completed Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) allowed Canadian crude exports to China to hit a record 7.3 million barrels in March. But one pipeline isn’t a strategy — it’s a starting point.Asia, especially India, is hungry for energy. Yet Canada’s infrastructure is nowhere near ready to meet that demand. Meanwhile, our energy continues to flow south at steep discounts — over $70 million in lost value per day — because Ottawa refuses to unlock access to global markets. Canada is selling low, and buying back high.This isn’t just an economic tragedy — it’s a national security failure..At a time when authoritarian regimes weaponize oil and gas, the case for a North American energy alliance has never been stronger. But to be taken seriously, Canada must become a reliable partner, not a junior player hamstrung by emissions caps and anti-growth legislation.Ottawa’s refusal to build is weakening our sovereignty, bleeding away investment, and undermining national unity. Stephen Guilbeault’s claim that we have “enough pipelines” reveals the paralysis at the heart of current energy policy.A country that cannot move its energy across its own territory is not sovereign. A government that handcuffs its wealth-producing regions is not serious about growth or unity. And a nation that allows strategic infrastructure to become a political football cannot lead on the world stage..It’s time to shift the conversation: pipelines and energy corridors are not just infrastructure — they are the foundation of strategic autonomy. Until Canada builds the capacity to act like a real energy power, it will remain structurally stuck — selling cheap, speaking soft, and watching opportunity pass by.When Carney next meets with Trump, he should understand that economic independence — not speeches — is the bedrock of sovereignty.To paraphrase Thomas Hobbes: Energy covenants without infrastructure are but words. It’s time to stop posturing and start building.Marco Navarro-Genie is the vice-president of research at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.
