Expert: Canada continues to ‘make the case’ for Keystone XL to Joe Biden’s team

Canada’s Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan says the government is continuing to “make the case” for the Keystone XL pipeline expansion despite reported plans from Joe Biden to immediately quash the project. His comments come on the heels of reports that Biden is planning to cancel the planned pipeline expansion as one of his first moves after becoming U.S. president. (Global News)

Here is an expert from McGill University that can provide comment on this issue:

Daniel Béland, James McGill Professor, Department of Political Science and Director, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada

“The advent of the Joe Biden administration and the presence of a double Democratic majority in Congress are likely to make things more difficult for the oil and gas industry, but also for provinces such as Alberta and Saskatchewan that rely on it economically and fiscally. This is the case because the Biden administration, while pushing for new measures to fight climate change, is also likely to adopt a much more critical stance than the Donald Trump administration towards pipeline projects that require a federal license. This situation may well have direct consequences for ongoing political debates about both pipeline building and environmental policy here in Canada.”

Daniel Béland is the Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and James McGill Professor of Political Science. He specializes in the fields of Canadian and comparative politics, as well as the study of public policy, including social policy.

daniel.beland [at] mcgill.ca (English, French)