In a recent public meeting in Alberta, Liberal Leader Mark Carney was asked by a CTV reporter whether he would really support the construction of new oil and gas pipelines, the repealing of Bill C-69 (the “no-more-pipelines” Act) and the removal of the moratorium on oil tanker movements off the coast of northern British Columbia. Carney replied stating that his goal is to “get things done” including:
- “Getting pipelines built so we can displace imports of foreign oil”
- “Building the energy infrastructure more broadly here in Alberta, including the Pathways project”
- “Building energy and trade corridors including potentially up to Nunavut so we can have additional deep-water ports and opportunities there.”
He concluded that “the commitment is to deliver projects that we agree are national priorities and the federal government using all of its powers, including new legislative powers, in order to accelerate the delivery of those projects.”
Are these “commitments” credible? Let us examine the facts.
The Liberal Party’s record in office
Since 2015, when the Liberal Party was elected, its single most important policy objective has been to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ultimately eliminate them (i.e., “Net-Zero emissions by 2050”) in the belief that this will somehow influence global emissions, temperatures and weather. The federal government acknowledges that it has implemented 140 measures to accomplish this objective so far and plans more for the future. Of the 140 measures, the ones that most affect the production, transportation and consumption of oil and natural gas are these:
- The imposition of carbon dioxide “pricing” measures on all producers and consumers of hydrocarbons, now set at $80 per tonne but scheduled to rise to at least $170 per tonne by 2030, and projected to rise to $300 or more by 2050 (Carney has not “cancelled” the “carbon tax” on consumers; he has merely temporarily reduced its rate to zero);
- The implementation of the so-called Clean Fuel Regulations that add up to $1,000 per year to the costs of oil and gas for consumers;
- Regulations intended to reduce up to 75 per cent of oil and gas methane emissions;
- Placing an emissions cap on the oil and gas sector;
- The “modernization” and politicization of the former National Energy Board so that all new energy projects must undergo long and difficult review processes lasting many years;
- The passage of the Impact Assessment Act, which among other things requires that any new pipeline or hydrocarbons production project must report its projected effects on direct, upstream and downstream GHG emissions and demonstrate that it would not run counter to the “net-zero” objective.; and
- The imposition of bans on all exploration and development activities in Canada’s North and on the movement of oil tankers off the northern British Columbia coast.
Together these measures have resulted in the cancellation or abandonment of an estimated $670 billion in projects, including the Northern Gateway Pipeline, the Energy East Pipeline, the Pacific Coast LNG project. the Aurora LNG project, the Prince Rupert LNG Project, the Saguenay LNG Project and the WCC LNG Project.
The introduction of an emissions cap on the oil and gas sector, with regulations to be finalized before the end of 2025, is intended to reduce emissions from the industry by 42 per cent by 2030 and by 100 million tonnes (Mt) per year by 2050 (from 170 Mt today). The Conference Board of Canada studied the likely effects of this and concluded that meeting the 2050 goal would reduce real GDP by $120 billion to $130 billion per year. In March 2025, the Board concluded that the impact of the cap would be to reduce oil and gas production by 13 percent by 2030 and 37 percent by 2050.
The statements made by Carney to CTV thus stand in stark contrast to the policies that have been followed and promoted by the Liberal government since 2015, a government which he directly advised. Many of the Trudeau government’s ministers have been reappointed into Carney’s cabinet, indicating little change in direction overall. Yet, to honour his CTV statements, a government he leads would have to eliminate or sharply curtail the carbon dioxide pricing system, abandon the cap on oil and gas production, significantly amend the Impact Assessment Act, drop the requirement that all new projects not impede the “net-zero” objective, and eliminate the ban on oil and gas shipping off the B.C. coast.
Carney’s past statements and positions contradict his promise to “Get Things Done” to support hydrocarbon fuel development
For over two decades, Carney has been a prominent figure in the global movement to implement strong anti-hydrocarbons policies. In his book Value(s): Building a Better World for All, he claims that it is a matter of existential urgency for Canada to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions as quickly as possible. In this regard, he states that in pursuing net-zero we must inspire ourselves with the country’s and the world’s response to the COVID pandemic, including embracing its economic hardships. He is proud of his role in leading an international group, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-zero (GFANZ), which seeks to reduce the funding of hydrocarbons projects and increase the funding of renewable energy projects, even though this group is rapidly losing its members.
Carney can take credit for aggressively pressuring the global financial sector to promote leftist political causes in his post-central banking career. He was made the United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance in 2019, joined the private sector world as vice-chair and head of environmental, social and governance investing at the firm now known as Brookfield Corporation in 2020, led a net-zero banking alliance that advocated for weaponizing the financial system to promote climate compliance in 2021, and in 2022 became the chair of spin-off company, Brookfield Asset Management, where he took the lead on a multi-billion dollar net-zero fund.
One of Mark Carney’s longest associations has been with the World Economic Forum (WEF) where he was on the WEF’s Board of Trustees and currently holds the title of Agenda Contributor. On March 27, 2025, the WEF uploaded The Future of Sustainable Finance: The Required Business Transformation, a video of Carney, still identified as the UN climate envoy, in which he says:
“We need to transition the energy system on the scale of the Industrial Revolution, at the speed of the digital transformation. In order to do that we’re going to need a fundamental transformation, really a revolution, in the financial system.”
The WEF is famous for promoting a “great reset” of the capitalist system and its replacement by a system of state and “stakeholder” leaders (all of whom are immensely wealthy) to centrally plan the global economy. Carney has called for a $100 billion per year global carbon offset market to fund investments in non-hydrocarbon energy sources and uses.
Carney has always been careful in his public statements to avoid directly attacking the oil and gas industry. Instead, he has focused on working to starve the industry of funds while promoting massive expenditures of public money to subsidize all non-hydrocarbon energy sources.
Conclusion
Everything in Carney’s past suggests that he is ideologically committed to the goal of reducing GHG emissions as fast and as far as possible and specifically to the promotion of the net-zero goal. Building more oil and gas pipelines to facilitate market access for Canadian oil and gas production runs directly counter to those goals.
No one should believe Carney’s statements to CTV news that he would boost Alberta’s hydrocarbon development.
Robert Lyman is a retired energy economist, former Director General, Environmental Affairs, in Transport Canada and a director of International Climate Science Coalition – Canada (ICSC-Canada). Tom Harris is ICSC-Canada Executive Director.
