This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter share their insights on Canada’s 2025 federal budget, released last week and expected to pass on November 17. They also briefly introduce the topic of COP30, which started the day they recorded, and Bill Gates’ recent memo on climate.

They discuss several aspects of the budget, including the size of the deficit and debt, government plans to reduce day-to-day operating expenses, and several tax measures—notably, new Productivity Super Deduction and the updated accelerated capital cost depreciation rules for LNG, which are supportive, but still less generous than the Productivity Super Reduction.

They also examine the introduction of new investment tax credits (ITCs) for clean energy. These incentives were largely anticipated, having been announced in the previous budget but never enacted.

A major focus is the proposed Canada Climate Competitiveness Strategy, which aims to strengthen industrial carbon pricing while preventing carbon leakage. Jackie and Peter explore related policy commitments, including maintaining methane-reduction regulations and the Clean Electricity Regulation, along with signals of possible flexibility around the removal of the oil and gas emissions cap. However, they note that such flexibility may depend on the deployment at scale of carbon capture and storage, which remains uncertain.

Content referenced in this podcast includes:

• Canada Budget 2025
• Bill Gates Memo “Three tough truths about climate” (October 2025)
• The Hub.ca article by Trevor Tombe “There’s a big gap between rhetoric and reality” (November 2025)

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This week on the podcast, our guest is Jason Chee-Aloy, Managing Director at Power Advisory LLC. The firm provides expert consulting services in the electricity sector across Canada and the United States.

A new report from CanREA and Dunsky forecasts a rapid build-out of new electricity generation across the country. With this growth forecast in mind, Jason shares his insights on several major new electricity generation projects shaping Canada’s power landscape — including the planned hydropower dam expansion along the Churchill River by Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Jason, Jackie, and Peter also discussed the proposed Wind West project in Nova Scotia, where the province estimates its offshore wind potential could exceed 60 GW of capacity, with up to 40 GW of dependable output.

In addition, Jason provides an update on Alberta’s ongoing electricity market redesign — the Alberta Restructured Energy Market (REM) — following the release of the Final Design document from the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in August.

Content referenced in this podcast:

• Canada’s Renewable Energy Outlook 2025 by CanREA and Dunsky
• Wind West Plan by the Nova Scotia Government
• Alberta Electricity System Operator (AESO) Restructure Energy Market Final Design (August 2025)
• Alberta Electricity System Operator “MPA Independent Assessment of the REM Design” (August 2025)

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This week on the podcast, Jackie and Peter begin with a roundup of the latest developments in Canadian energy. They start by discussing Prime Minister Carney’s remarks at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia, where he suggested that Canada could export up to 50 million tonnes of LNG per year (about 6.5 Bcf/d) by 2030, with the potential to double that by 2040.

They then turn to the upcoming federal budget, which is expected to include details about Canada’s Climate Competitiveness Plan. Another key topic is President Trump’s decision to suspend trade talks with Canada following controversy over Ontario’s free-trade advertisement.

Next, the hosts reflect on Peter’s recent commentary in The Hub, titled “Even if Alberta gets a new pipeline, what’s next for the oilsands?”

Finally, Jackie talks about her recent appearance on a CBC podcast that explored whether Canada can build pipelines while fighting climate change. She explains why she felt the show’s coverage was not balanced and shares her broader concerns about how climate and energy topics are often framed in mainstream Canadian media.

Content referenced in this podcast:

• The Globe and Mail, “Carney’s climate vision is to deprioritize emissions targets, focus on economic advantages” (October 14, 2025)
• The Hub “Peter Tertzakian: Even if Alberta gets a new pipeline, what’s next for the oilsands?” (October 4, 2025)
• CAPP Data Centre, “The Economic Impact of Canadian Oil and Gas,” see slide 23 titled “Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Industry | 2024”
• Government of Canada Publications, “Public Opinion Research on the National Adaptation Strategy,” (March 2025), see page 6: “A vast majority of people living in Canada (84%) consider climate change an important issue”
• Angus Reid Institute, “Pipeline Push: Majority of Canadians, including BC Residents support the idea of a pipeline to the north coast” (October 9, 2025)
• CBC Ideas Podcast “Can we have new pipelines and curb climate change too?” October 7, 2025

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Oil pipeline politics are once again in high gear in Canada. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is advancing plans for a 1 MMB/d pipeline to the West Coast of British Columbia, while B.C. Premier David Eby remains firmly opposed. At the same time, during a recent trip to Washington, Mark Carney and Donald Trump reportedly discussed the potential revival of the Keystone XL pipeline, which, if completed, would carry Canadian crude south to the United States.

To help us unpack the complexities of Canada’s pipeline politics, our guest this week is the Honourable Jason Kenney — former federal MP and cabinet minister (first elected in 1997 and re-elected five times), former Premier of Alberta, and now a Special Advisor at Bennett Jones.

Here are some of the questions Jackie and Peter asked Jason Kenney: How did you manage to bring together Alberta’s fractured conservative movement, and do you think that unity could unravel given today’s polarized political climate? What are your thoughts on the “Alberta Next” initiative? What’s your assessment of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first six months in office and his efforts, such as Bill C-5, to accelerate infrastructure development? Under the Canadian constitution, can B.C. block an oil pipeline through the province? Why were you disappointed by the federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Tim Hodgson’s, comments about B.C.’s attempts to block the oil pipeline?

Content referenced in this podcast:

• Angus Reid Institute, “Pipeline Push: Majority of Canadians, including BC Residents support the idea of a pipeline to the north coast” (October 9, 2025)
• Jason Kenney’s X account

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Canada must raise its level of ambition to compete in today’s rapidly shifting geoeconomic and geopolitical landscape. So far on the podcast, we’ve focused on how diversifying oil and gas exports can strengthen Canada’s power and influence. This week, we turn our attention to another strategic sector — mining.

Our guest this week is Photinie Koutsavlis, Vice President of Economic Affairs and Climate Change at the Mining Association of Canada. She joins us to discuss the current state of Canada’s mining industry.

Here are some of the questions that Jackie and Peter asked Photinie Koutsavlis: How large is Canada’s mining sector, and what are its main products? Since the January 2020 announcement of the Canada–U.S. Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals, what progress has been made on the ground? Has investment and production grown — and if not, what are the main barriers?

Content referenced in this podcast:

• The Hub.ca, “Peter Tertzakian: Even if Alberta gets a new pipeline, what is next for the oil sands?” (October 4, 2025)

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This week, Jackie and Peter discuss Peter’s recent writing, including his article in The Hub titled “Increasing Canada’s Energy Ambition is an Economic and Geopolitical Imperative” as well as two other pieces, “Geoeconomics and State Capitalism” and “The Cost of Being a Market Hostage.”

Peter argues that Canada must raise its level of ambition to compete in today’s geoeconomic and geopolitical environment—one where markets are shaped less by free trade and more by state power, economic coercion, and the strategic use of industries to advance geopolitical objectives. In this new order, the effects of tariffs, sanctions, control of trade routes, and dominance over critical resources are felt daily on the global stage.

Yet Canada is not showing up as a true contender. The country remains passive, heavily dependent on the United States for oil and gas exports, at significant cost to the economy. Peter outlines four levels of ambition that Canada could pursue. At the lowest level, the nation remains a “market hostage,” reflecting its current state in oil and gas. A modest step up would be the role of “competitor,” in which new tidewater export capacity expands Canada’s reach. Moving further, Canada could become a “negotiator,” able to leverage energy exports as a bargaining chip in international relations. At the highest level, Canada could aspire to be an “aggressor,” a country that wields genuine market power in vital resources—similar to the way China has achieved influence through state control of strategic industries.

Content referenced in this podcast:

• The Hub.ca, “Increasing Canada’s energy ambition is an economic and geopolitical imperative” (September 9, 2025)
• Studio.Energy, “Geoeconomics and State Capitalism” and “The Cost of Being a Market Hostage” (September 8, 2025)
• CTV News, “Here’s what the parliamentary budget officer is warning of ahead of the budget” (September 28, 2025)
• CBC News, “Canada's GDP rebounds in July after contracting for 3 months” (September 26, 2025)
• WSJ “Trump Takes Aim at Chip Makers With New Plan to Throttle Imports” (September 26, 2025)

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This week on the podcast, our guest is Brian Schmidt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Tamarack Valley Energy.

Tamarack is a Canadian oil and gas company with operations in Alberta, including the Clearwater and Charlie Lake plays. Brian was also a signatory to a letter, alongside more than 90 leaders from Canadian oil and gas producers, service providers, and midstream companies, sent to Prime Minister Mark Carney on September 15, 2025. The letter called for policy changes to enable companies to make long-term investments in Canada’s energy sector.

Here are some of the questions that Jackie and Peter asked Brian: What makes the Clearwater play unique? What technologies are being used to produce oil in the play, including secondary recovery methods such as waterflooding? What are the regulatory and permitting challenges that are slowing development? How does Tamarack prioritize between using cash for stock buybacks, production growth, or other uses of capital? Would investors be more inclined to fund production growth over shareholder returns if pipeline capacity and supportive policies were in place in Canada? Other topics included whether ESG remains a focus for investors, how the anti-greenwashing provisions in Bill C-59 affect the industry, and whether the recent shift in tone from the federal government has improved sentiment toward Canadian oil and gas. They also discussed the ongoing consolidation in the sector, where smaller players are merging into larger companies.

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This week, our guest is David Nikolejsin, Strategic Advisor at McCarthy Tétrault. David previously served the B.C. government as Deputy Minister for seven years under the Natural Gas Development and Energy and Mines Ministries. He was involved with implementing a successful “one window” approach that helped LNG Canada Phase 1 advance through construction.

In recent weeks, the Canadian federal government has announced several initiatives to fast-track major projects, including the establishment of the Major Projects Office (MPO) and the announcement of the first five projects.

Based on David’s experience in getting projects off the ground, both in government and now working with proponents, here are some of the questions we asked David: How are environmental reviews for major LNG projects currently conducted in B.C., and which level of government—provincial or federal—takes the lead? What advice would you offer the newly appointed CEO of the MPO, Dawn Farrell, as she begins her new role? In what ways have Indigenous rights in B.C. evolved over the past five or so years, and do projects now require Indigenous equity participation to get done? Given that B.C.’s and Canada’s climate goals conflict with the acceleration of LNG exports, should GHG reduction targets be revised to attract more capital investment to B.C.?

Content referenced in this podcast:

• Prime Minister Carney launches new Major Projects Office to fast-track nation-building projects (August 29, 2025)
• Prime Minister Carney announces first projects to be reviewed by the new Major Projects Office (September 11, 2025)
• Globe and Mail, “Internal government list of 32 potential infrastructure projects includes new oil pipeline” (September 4, 2025)

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