OTTAWA—Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau spoke out in favour of the Keystone XL pipeline on Thursday, in front of a Washington audience largely opposed to the controversial proposal to ship oil from Canada to the United States.

At a conference organized by the Centre for American Progress, which has long been a staunch opponent of Keystone, Trudeau said: “I’m actually supportive of the Keystone pipeline because it’s an extremely important energy infrastructure piece for both of our countries.”

He acknowledged that the challenge was to demonstrate the pipeline could be built in a way that wouldn’t harm the environment — a task at which he hinted Prime Minister Stephen Harper has fallen short.

But Trudeau also said: “This isn’t the place to air domestic grievances” — a dig at NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair, who sounded warnings about Keystone and the environment when he went to Washington earlier this year.

“The challenge is to demonstrate that it can be done in the sense that we’re protecting our environment and making sure that we’re making the right gains toward sustainable energy sources in the long run,” Trudeau said.

In 2011, the Centre for American Progress issued a statement on Keystone, making clear its opposition to the plan, which still awaits a decision from President Barack Obama on whether it will go ahead or be blocked. Harper’s government and the government of Alberta have spent a considerable amount of time in the U.S. lobbying for Keystone.

The centre said in its 2011 statement: “At a time when the United States should be doing everything in its power to reduce carbon dioxide pollution and speed the transition to cleaner fuels, the Keystone XL pipeline would be a step backward. Getting oil from Canada’s tarsands is a dirty business.”

And in an interview during a recent trip to Canada, the organization’s president Neera Tanden said the centre remains opposed.

Matt Browne, a senior fellow at the centre, acknowledged that Trudeau was not talking to a pro-Keystone crowd on Thursday, but he said on Twitter that many in the room had found the Liberal leader’s position “compelling” and “balanced.”

Trudeau was appearing on a panel with former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard and Madeleine Albright, former U.S. secretary of state. Their discussion was a wide-ranging one on how to further “progressive” parties and policies.

All three agreed that politics in their countries was being damaged by cynicism and voter anger.

Gillard, who was dumped as leader by her own Labor party earlier this year, said: “It is an easy age for slogans.”

Trudeau said that public anger is being fuelled by frustration about shrinking economic prospects for the middle class.

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“We are going through a period of anxiety,” he said.

“Over the past 30 years, though even in Canada we’ve had tremendous growth in our economy, over 100 per cent over the past generation, median family incomes have only increased 14 per cent. So the middle class hasn’t had a raise, not a real one, in 30 years.”

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