Canadians who favour development of the oil sands and other energy projects should speak up, says the head of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).

Opposition to energy transportation projects increases the risk of stranding valuable energy assets, Tim McMillan said following a speech to the Economic Club at the King Edward Hotel.

Canadians across the country need to show support, he said following the speech.

“If you share the belief that this is good for Canada, please say so,” he said.

“It’s pretty easy to say No. It sometimes takes a little more push to say Yes.”

McMillan took the job at CAPP in September after resigning from his cabinet post in Saskatchewan.

Projects to carry oil and natural gas to the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific coasts all face opposition.

In his speech, McMillan said that most Canadians favour development of the oil sands, and of the pipelines and terminals needed to bring energy to market.

But he said those who favour development need to be heard.

“We need you, we need your families, we need your neighbours and the thousands of Canadians like us to be proud, and to speak up about our industry,” he said.

“It might be a letter to the editor, a willingness to speak up in the workplace and speak up about how important the energy sector is to your business.”

“I want to convert you from being an energy consumer and endorser to becoming an energy advocate and an energy citizen.”

Asked afterward whether there’s a risk of leaving assets stranded because of opposition to pipeline and infrastructure projects he replied:

“In the long term, yes, but I think we have a lot of options on the table.”

“I think that these projects are going through one of the best regulatory systems in the world, and that Canadians trust and value those regulatory processes to make decisions about what’s good for Canada.”

“I think we’re going to work our way through it.”

He noted that opposition to the Mackenzie valley pipeline stalled development of northern gas reserves in the 1970s.

But he said the energy scene today is much different than it was then.

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“We have an extremely integrated system today,” he said.

“We’re adding capacity on the mainlines. There’s just a lot more optionality than there would be when you’re taking about one asset and one pipeline.”

“There are a lot of options, but we think some of these pipelines are pretty important.”