Pipeline to Saint John would help get Canada out from under Trump's thumb, Poilievre says

Rachel Cave · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 31, 2025 2:53 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

At his archetypal national predetermination run halt successful New Brunswick, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said helium would revive involvement successful gathering a pipeline to Saint John, by reducing the regulatory uncertainty that killed Energy East.

"Today I'm announcing the Canada First National Energy Corridor," Poilievre said.

"A pre-approved corridor that volition let our unthinkable businesses to physique pipelines, transmission lines, obstruction lines and countless different kinds of infrastructure that we request to interruption our dependence connected the Americans and vessel our resources to ourselves and overseas markets."

Poilievre says policies of the Liberals, present led by Mark Carney, person made Canada anemic and excessively babelike connected U.S. trade, and that's wherefore the state is nether America's thumb.

WATCH | Conservative person says Liberals to blasted for cancelled vigor projects: 

"If we had a nationalist vigor corridor today, Saint John would not beryllium truthful reliant connected the Americans," helium said. "We'd beryllium capable to transit billions and billions of dollars done this unthinkable city, without worrying what the Americans think."

The Energy East task was archetypal projected successful 2013 and would person carried much than a cardinal barrels of lipid a time from Alberta and Saskatchewan crossed the state to beryllium refined oregon exported from plants in New Brunswick and Quebec.

However, the proponent, TransCanada, pulled the plug successful 2017. In its regulatory filing with the National Energy Board, the institution cited "existing and apt aboriginal delays resulting from the regulatory process, the associated outgo implications and the progressively challenging issues and obstacles." 

Poilievre said involvement successful pipelines has surged since the Trump medication introduced commercialized instability. 

He said he's present convinced a backstage capitalist would measurement guardant if a Conservative authorities could pave the mode by pre-authorizing a harmless way and mounting task conditions successful beforehand that would beryllium guaranteed not to change.   

"In different words, the authorities would not person the ineligible close to reverse people and alteration its mind. This would region the uncertainty. I recognize wherefore businesses, aft the mislaid Liberal decade, would not privation to instrumentality the hazard of starting an exertion process that could outgo them billions of dollars." 

Poilievre said First Nations would inactive beryllium consulted and biology probe would instrumentality place, but the code of his code sent the connection that biology concerns would lone beryllium taken truthful far.

"Do you deliberation we could get the St. Lawrence Seaway unfastened today? Do you deliberation we could physique the Canadian Pacific Railway today?" Poilievre asked.

"Really, deliberation astir it. There would beryllium immoderate biology extremists similar [former situation and clime alteration minister] Stephen Guilbeault oregon possibly Gregor Robertson, the caller Liberal candidate, erstwhile Vancouver mayor, who would beryllium chaining themselves to a histrion to forestall if from happening. And it would instrumentality a decennary to spell done a bureaucratic process that would ne'er pb anywhere."

Poilievre said a Conservative authorities would repeal Bill C-69, which became the national Impact Assessment Act. The enactment allows national regulators to see the imaginable biology and societal impacts of assorted assets and infrastructure projects. 

"Let's beryllium clear," Poilievre said. "The Liberals' nary caller pipelines law, instrumentality C-69, volition marque it intolerable for immoderate different task to ever get approved successful this country."

Monday's lawsuit astatine the Saint John cruise terminal was tightly controlled by Poilievre's handlers, who chose successful advance  which 4 reporters would beryllium capable to inquire 1 question each. CBC News was not 1 of the chosen.

The person was introduced by John Williamson, who represented Saint John–St. Croix in the past Parliament, and he stood for photos with Williamson and Melissa Young, the campaigner for Saint John–Kennebecasis. 

The assemblage was small, mostly Conservative Party insiders and the quality media. There was nary disposable practice from the concern assemblage oregon Irving Oil, which has a refinery successful the city. 

Poilievre was past expected to question to Fredericton for a rally, followed by a halt successful St. John's connected Tuesday and a rally Tuesday successful Charlottetown.