It was a tumultuous autumn for Jim Carr.

Canada's pipeline point man was a key player in decisions by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to approve a major liquefied natural gas project in September and a pair of crude-oil proposals from Kinder Morgan and Enbridge in November, preceded by a string of regulatory and environmental concessions to quell opposition.

That cleared the deck for Carr, Canada's minister of natural resources. Now preparing for President-elect Donald Trump's administration with Rick Perry as his U.S. counterpart, Carr, 65, is shifting his attention in 2017 to two fresh endeavors: overhauling the country's National Energy Board and pushing for new transmission lines, potentially funded by both government and pension funds.

Pipeline approvals

Energy projects have been a major focus since Trudeau took power in 2015, as he seeks to stoke economic growth while satisfying pledges made to environmentalists and indigenous communities.

In November, Carr and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna approved Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline along with Enbridge's Line 3, while rejecting Enbridge's Northern Gateway pro-posal.

The only other major pipeline in front of Canadian regulators is TransCanada Corp.'s Energy East, which is in its early stages of review.

Conservative lawmakers, who governed from 2006 to 2015, criticized Carr for approving Trans Mountain, with its potential legal barriers, and not Northern Gateway. Nonetheless, Carr said he felt a sense of accomplishment for how government handled the issue.

"I'm proud of being able to approve major projects while respecting our climate change goals, and while meaningfully accommodating indigenous peoples," Carr said. "We knew ultimately the decision we took had to be in the national interest, and our explanation for why had to be persuasive."

Keystone XL

The presidential election has buoyed hopes for another major TransCanada proposal, the Keystone XL pipeline to the U.S. that the Obama administration rejected in 2015. Canadian approvals remain in place for the project, and Carr says it's up to the company and U.S. government to decide whether to proceed.

Trump has appointed oilmen to key posts, including Rex Tillerson, the Exxon Mobil Corp. chief executive due to become secretary of state, and Perry, the former Texas governor chosen to head the U.S. Energy Department.

Carr demurred when asked about them.

Kinder controversy

The government's Trans Mountain decision was its most controversial - and will be the foremost test of Trudeau's new approach to energy development. In the days that followed, Carr apologized after suggesting "defense forces" could be used if anti-pipeline protests turned violent.

Kinder Morgan's pipeline could still be blocked. The company has to meet conditions attached to its approval, and a court ruling ultimately sank Northern Gateway.

New challenges have already been filed against Trans Mountain and some indigenous communities continue to oppose it.