Conservatives pledge to enact energy sector’s recommendations to boost growth

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre promised Tuesday to enact a set of five demands from the country’s energy sector if his party forms government — and contrasted that commitment with what he called the Liberals’ “radical keep-it-in-the-ground policies.”

In an open letter dated March 18, five days before the election campaign was launched, the heads of 14 energy companies called on all party leaders to capitalize on increasing public support for expanding the sector in the face of U.S. tariffs.

“Canadians increasingly see the importance of using our abundant energy to ensure Canada can defend its sovereignty, play a role in the world as a force for good, and improve our overall economic competitiveness and prosperity,” the letter says.

The group called for five measures: streamlined regulation of projects, six-month deadlines for project approvals, an end to both the emissions cap and the industrial carbon price, and the provision of Indigenous loan guarantees “at scale.”

At a press conference in St. John’s on Tuesday morning, Poilievre listed those five recommendations and checked them off on a giant poster, while saying the Liberals won’t fulfil any of them.

“These are the demands that our energy sector has made,” he said, gesturing to the poster.

The energy companies, he said, put it very clearly: “It’s not a matter of debate. Either you do these five things or we will stay dependent on the Americans.”

Poilievre’s pledge to scrap the carbon price — or “axe the tax” — has been central to Conservative messaging for roughly two years.

On Tuesday, as the consumer carbon price ended, he accused the Liberals of “hiding” it and suggested they would bring it back after the election.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney reset the consumer carbon price to $0 per tonne on the day he was sworn in as prime minister.

He has pledged to strengthen the industrial carbon price in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Poilievre has said a Conservative government would end the industrial price on carbon and repeal the law that enacted it, to “axe the tax for everyone, for everything, for good, for real, for a change.”

“You know, up until about two months ago, the Liberals said that if we didn’t have a carbon tax the whole planet would be lit aflame,” he said.

In the open letter, the energy companies also suggest the federal government could use emergency powers to quickly expand the sector if it announces an energy crisis and declares certain projects to be in the national interest.

Poilievre did not say whether his government would use emergency powers.

In recent announcements, he has pledged to pre-approve large projects by creating “shovel-ready zones” for things like natural gas liquefaction plants and a national energy corridor.

At another event in Petty Harbour, N.L., Poilievre said his government would end the ban on fishing in marine protected areas.

There are 14 such areas in Canada comprising about 480,000 square kilometres. They’re designed to conserve and protect marine species and populations.

The Harper government in 2010 made a commitment to protect 10 per cent of Canada’s marine areas within a decade, and the Trudeau government in 2020 raised the target to 30 per cent by 2030.

Poilievre pledged Tuesday to allow fish harvesting in those areas.

Roughly 10 protesters met Poilievre’s campaign bus at the event.

As he left the site, his supporters began chanting his signature slogans as the protesters ramped up their calls of, “Fog off Pierre.”

Protester Sarah Worthman said she fears that Poilievre would strip away rights from the LGBTQ+ community, pointing to his past comments in support of banning transgender women from women’s sports and bathrooms.

“Really, he is a risk to all Canadians,” Worthman told reporters. “I hope he receives the message that he should be a lot kinder. Especially if you’re coming to Newfoundland and Labrador — we care about other people here.”

The Liberals have dominated Newfoundland and Labrador since at least 2015, when the party won all seven districts in the province. No Conservatives won a seat in 2019, and one — Clifford Small — won the Coast of Bays — Central—Notre Dame riding in 2021.

Five of the six incumbent Liberals in the province, including former cabinet minister Seamus O’Regan, have said they won’t be seeking reelection.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s outgoing Premier Andrew Furey is one of two provincial Liberal premiers in the country and he enjoyed a good relationship with the Trudeau government.

That didn’t stop him vocally opposing several of Justin Trudeau’s policies, including the consumer carbon price. Furey has also demanded a joint federal-provincial management structure for the province’s fisheries.

— With files from Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2025.

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press