Trudeau told members of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce about a conversation he had with Trump shortly after his election, saying that, "He actually brought up Keystone XL and indicated that he was very supportive of it," adding, "I will work with the new administration when it gets sworn in…I'm confident that the right decisions will be taken."
Trump’s energy platform is very friendly to fossil fuel companies as it has promised to roll back drilling restrictions, lift energy-production moratoriums on federal lands and ask TransCanada to renew its application for the 830,000-barrel-per-day pipeline, which he would approve.
Trudeau also made note of his recent approval of two new pipelines, the Enbridge Line 3 and the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. CBC quotes him telling reporters, "The fact that we are able to move forward on approving two significant, important pipeline projects for Alberta was directly linked to the leadership this Alberta government has shown … around the impacts of climate change," calling the project a "major win" for Canadian workers.
In October the Canadian parliament ratified the Paris agreement, a treaty drafted to keep harmful emissions in check. Trudeau believes that environmental issues can be addressed without negatively impacting the economy. During his Calgary talk he said, "That's the direction the world is going in…We're much more likely to want to lead the change, to innovate, to be at the forefront of creating solutions."
In November 2015, US President Barack Obama said his decision to cancel Keystone was based on environmental concerns, and refuted claims that pipeline construction would stimulate job growth in the US.
He said in a statement, "The pipeline would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to our economy. So if Congress is serious about wanting to create jobs, this was not the way to do it. If they want to do it, what we should be doing is passing a bipartisan infrastructure plan that, in the short term, could create more than 30 times as many jobs per year as the pipeline would, and in the long run would benefit our economy and our workers for decades to come."
Oil Change International's David Turnbull told Common Dreams that he agreed with Obama’s decision, and said that activists are ready to mobilize if Trump tries to repeal the gains made during the anti-Keystone campaign.
"The movement to stop Keystone is one of the most inspiring and powerful collections of landowners, ranchers, Native Americans, and concerned citizens all across the county that we've ever seen." he said, "If Trump tries (to) undo President Obama's wise decision, this movement won't be standing idly by. In other words: Bring it on."
