Conservatives promise national energy corridor to speed approval of key projects

SAINT JOHN, N.B. — The Conservative campaign moved to the East Coast on Monday morning with a promise to create a pre-approved national energy corridor to speed up infrastructure projects.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said that if his party forms government, it would fast-track approvals for projects such as transmission lines, railways, pipelines and other critical infrastructure.

He said companies don’t have an incentive to build pipelines in Canada “even as pipeline construction is booming all over the world because pipelines are, of course, so wildly profitable.”

A Conservative government would repeal Bill C-69, the law that enacts the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, which Poilievre calls the “no new pipelines law.”

Under his energy corridor proposal, all levels of government would provide legally binding commitments to approve projects within the corridor.

First Nations also would be involved, ensuring that economic benefits flow to them and that their approval is secured before any money is spent, Poilievre said.

In a video released by the party on Monday morning, the Conservative leader speaks to a bust of Sir John A. MacDonald, asking the former prime minister, “What do you think, could you get the railway built today?” Poilievre said building an east-west project today would be impossible.

Poilievre said the corridor would help speed construction of infrastructure needed to sell Canadian natural resources to new markets and would result in billions of dollars in new investment.

At a press conference Monday morning, Poilievre said that if he were prime minister, he would present U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration with a choice: pursue tariffs against Canada and weaken both economies, or increase trade and co-operation across the border.

He said he believes “in the end, they will be forced to reverse these disastrous tariff policies.”

“We can’t rely on the Americans to determine our economic destiny,” he said, adding that Saint John and New Brunswick are dependent on the U.S. as a result of the “lost Liberal decade.”

Poilievre has been dogged by reports suggesting Conservatives inside and outside the campaign are frustrated by his refusal to refocus his campaign’s message on Trump’s tariffs.

Multiple polls have suggested the trade war with the U.S. has become the top ballot question for Canadian voters, though at least one national poll put the question of affordability above the Trump factor.

Poilievre has been campaigning on affordability issues for the better part of two years, and frustration with the rising cost of living and with Justin Trudeau’s government propelled the Tories to a 25-point lead in the polls a year ago.

Since the election began, though, all major national pollsters have tracked the Liberals in the lead.

While the Liberal and NDP campaigns adjusted course last week to focus on tariff relief for the auto sector, the Conservative leader has continued to make policy announcements on schedule, including one about increasing the contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts.

Poilievre was asked Monday if he has a plan to turn things around and whether he intends to make changes to his leadership team, which is led by national campaign director Jenni Byrne.

He didn’t address the question about leadership and instead argued that the Conservative campaign’s focus on “restoring Canada’s promise” after the “lost Liberal decade” is exactly what’s needed to stand up to the Americans.

“The unjustified threats by President Trump further strengthen the argument in favour of the ‘Canada First’ agenda that I’ve been fighting for my whole life,” he said.

Poilievre is set to hold a rally Monday evening in Fredericton.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2025.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press