As a US ship arrived in Germany’s newly built liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal with a fresh shipment of gas, critics of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blasted him for turning down an opportunity to sell Canadian gas to the European nation.
Conservative MP and foreign affairs critic Michael Chong called the deal a “missed opportunity” for Canada as Germany seeks for ways to offset its dependency on Russian energy.
“Germany’s newly constructed LNG terminal received its first full cargo from the U.S. today – not Canada,” tweeted Chong.
“That’s partly because Trudeau believes there’s ‘never been a strong business case’ for exporting East Coast LNG. What a missed opportunity.”
Others, including renowned author Jordan Peterson, also slammed the prime minister blaming him for Canada’s status as a “second-rate economic and international player.”
During German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to Canada last year, Trudeau doubted there was a “worthwhile business case” to export gas to Germany from Canada’s east coast.
“There are a number of potential projects, including one in Saint John, and some others that are on the books for which there has never been a strong business case because of the distance from the gas fields,” claimed Trudeau.
“We are looking right now — and companies are looking — at whether or not, in the new context, it makes it a worthwhile business case, to make those investments. … It needs to make sense for Germany to be receiving LNG directly from the east coast.”
In December, Germany also signed an LNG deal with Qatar which would see the European state receiving two million tonnes of gas for 15 years beginning in 2026.
During an end of year interview, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said that if elected he would tap into Canada’s energy potential and develop more LNG projects to supply the world with clean energy.
“Canada has the most environmentally friendly liquefied natural gas on earth. But Trudeau’s anti-energy laws have left our energy stuck in the ground. Let’s make more Canadian energy, build more LNG projects, and replace dollars for dictators with paycheques for our people,” tweeted Poilievre.
