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But others are less sure.

“We don’t know about Keystone XL,” said David Wilkins, the former U.S. Ambassador to Canada and now a partner at South Carolina-based Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP who advises Canadian energy companies.

If Romney had won, he committed many times on the stump that he would approve it immediately and he said so two days ago

“If Romney had won, he committed many times on the stump that he would approve it immediately and he said so two days ago. President Obama has not committed to that … I think it’s a big question mark.”

His advice to Canada? Keep pushing for approval and be vocal about it.

Andrew Finn, program associate at the Canada Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, said he expects Keystone XL to be approved — eventually.

“I am not as convinced that it will be a slam-dunk,” he said. “I think the President has some people around him that might not agree with that. But for the most part I think that it’s too good an opportunity to pass up.”

Meanwhile, Canadians need to understand that the controversy is about domestic U.S. politics, not about being unfriendly to Canada, Mr. Finn said.

“The biggest thing is to make the case that energy is still going to get produced, it’s just a matter of where it’s going to go. And we can’t get off fossil fuels tomorrow,” he said.

Chinese and other Asian state-owned enterprises that are planning to invest in Canadian energy resources and import Canadian oil and gas are more than eager to step up.

As Canadians debate the merits of so much new foreign investment, U.S. uncertainty puts their cash and market certainty in a more favourable light, but also makes it important for Ottawa to develop foreign investment guidelines that preserve Canada’s values in the broadest sense.

Still, Asian diversification won’t replace the easy access to the U.S. market that Canadians have so far enjoyed and that would have come with Keystone XL’s quick approval.

It will be more complicated. It will take longer. It will be controversial. There will be cultural differences. Canada needs to promote with equal zeal diversification to markets in Eastern Canada that are now importing some 700,000 barrels a day of oil from overseas. This can be done a lot faster and has the benefit of keeping oil wealth at home.