A Conservative leadership hopeful is vowing to end imports of overseas oil to Canada within five years.
Pierre Poilievre made the commitment during a campaign stop in Saint John, N.B. on Monday afternoon.
“Canada should be self-sufficient and we should stop importing overseas dictator oil to our country,” Poilievre said in front of more than two dozen supporters gathered outside of an uptown hotel.
“We have the third biggest supply of oil on planet earth and we have among the most secure supply of that oil.”
Poilievre said he would support west-to-east energy projects like pipelines by scrapping Bill C-69, which oversees the assessment of the “environmental, health, social and economic effects of designated projects with a view to preventing certain adverse effects and fostering sustainability.”
The leadership candidate is also promising to approve Newfoundland and Labrador’s plan to double oil production.
According to the Canada Energy Regulator, our country imported 437,000 barrels of crude oil per day last year.
One-third of that oil came from the United States with the rest being imported from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Colombia, and Norway.
Poiliever claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin is using the proceeds from international oil sales to fund the war in Ukraine. Canada has not imported any crude oil from Russia since 2019.
“The money that is raised from the sale of Canadian energy does not fund terrorism or human rights abuses. It funds schools, hospitals and paycheques,” he said.
LNG exports
During his stop, Poilievre was also asked if he would support a liquefied natural gas export facility on the East Coast.
It comes as Spanish energy firm Repsol is reportedly considering the possibility of adding export capability at its Saint John LNG import terminal in New Brunswick.
Poilievre said he is “open” to the idea, in principle, but is still doing all of his due diligence to ensure he “gets it right.”
“There’s no question that there will be a requirement for natural gas power over the next several decades and it is better for that power to come from the cleanest production and liquefaction anywhere in the world, which can be done right here in Canada,” he said.
Being able to export LNG to the rest of the world, said Poiliever, would aid Europe in breaking its dependence on Russian energy and help displace coal-fired plants in Asia.
“We should be providing clean, Canadian natural gas from our country.”
Conservatives will head the polls on Sept. 10 to elect their next leader.
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