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He took aim at Ontario and Quebec, arguing their positions dismissed lucrative oil and gas resources while they benefit from the equalization funds the industry helps raise.

But Wall said a chapter of the strategy on moving oil across the country mentions energy self-sufficiency and adding value to what is exported, which won him over.

“Our country, notwithstanding the vast oil reserves that we have in places like Alberta and Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador, and other places, we import oil from other countries,” he said. “That just seems wrong to me. We ought to use our own oil and add value to it here and then export it to markets other than the United States. We’ve got one customer for this product right now.”

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne expressed her support for the environmental protections in the strategy, saying the premiers achieved the right balance.

“This is an issue of a strong economy and strong environmental protection and those two things are not mutually exclusive,” she said. “In fact, they must be complementary. And that is, for me, that’s the foundational work of this document.”

Agreement on a national plan to guide future energy projects while also protecting the environment has been on the premiers’ agenda since 2012.

While Wall changed his tone on Friday after his more aggressive stance earlier in the week, he still defended the oil and gas industries as the meetings wrapped up.

“Oil and gas are not four letter words,” he said.