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The minister said that while in Paris he had met with his American and Mexican counterparts. In the meeting with U.S. Energy Secretary Ernst Moniz, the difficult matter of Washington’s rejection of Keystone XL was not discussed, nor was Enbridge Inc.’s Alberta Clipper pipeline, which is also awaiting U.S. presidential approval because it crosses the border.

“There seemed to be no reason for (Moniz) to bring (Keystone XL) up, and I didn’t know how exactly that would advance Canadian interests,” Carr said. Instead, the ministers discussed a North American clean energy strategy, as mandated by Trudeau.

Another key mandate for the minister is the development of a Canadian Energy Strategy, a subject Carr says is “close to his heart.”

‘I know that this is difficult time for investors in the oil and gas sector…but I believe as a nation we will come through it strongly’

In 2009, long before he headed to Ottawa, Carr was involved in crafting a think-tank-based Canadian energy strategy, known as the Winnipeg Consensus. The strategy was later enhanced and adopted by the 13 provincial and territorial premiers of the Council of the Federation.

The previous Conservative government was reluctant to engage with premiers on developing such a strategy, but Carr said the new government sees it as a “nation-building” issue worth working with the premiers on.

“The federal government has… something to say when we talk about movement of resources across provincial boundaries and to look at ways in which we can have a national conversation about our energy assets,” Carr said, noting that the objective is to build on each province’s strength — not just in the oil and gas sector, but also including the development of an east-west power grid.

The prime minister will also sit down with premiers next week to thrash out a climate change consensus before heading to the 2015 Paris climate conference at the end of the month.

“We are expecting the province of Alberta to announce its (climate change policy) decision within the next few days, and it is our plan to work together with them,” Carr said. “That has not been the case before and it’s remarkable what goodwill and common objective can produce over time.”

Financial Post

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