Former Liberal finance minister Bill Morneau is calling for Canada to reconsider core Liberal policies, such as the oil and gas emissions cap.
The call follows U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s recent re-election, which Morneau said highlighted the Canada-U.S. trade relationship and the need for Canadian policies to align with Trump’s vision.
In an interview on CTV’s Question Period, Morneau underscored that Canada’s approach must shift to align with new American priorities, highlighting the need to focus on defence spending, technology, and energy security.
“We’re going to need to think about whether we focus on energy security in a way that makes us clearly an important part of the U.S. sector,” said Morneau. “And that means we have to ask ourselves: is it really the right time for caps on emissions? Is it that we need to be moving really fast on carbon capture and sequestration at the same time?”
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith shared the post on X.
“Even PM Justin Trudeau’s former Liberal finance minister knows how bad a production cap is for Canada and our economy!” said Smith.
Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz also shared the post.
“Bill, could you give @s_guilbeault a phone call and see if you can talk some sense into him?” she asked.
Smith, who called the oil and gas cap “a deranged vendetta” against Alberta, thanked former interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose for standing up for Alberta when Ambrose also spoke on the show.
The former interim Conservative leader said that the Liberals have an economic update upcoming at the end of November.
“I would recommend that if they’ve written it, they rewrite it, and they look at it and make sure that it outlines the domestic economic policies that will make us competitive,” Ambrose said.
Ambrose said that Trump plans to lower the business tax rate to 15%, while Canada’s combined federal and provincial rate is 38%. She added that Americans are reducing emissions without a carbon tax, and Canada should figure out how to do the same.
“We’ve just put a cap on production in our oil and gas sector, and we’re the only country in the world to do that, which makes energy more expensive,” she said.
Morneau also said Canada should consider how it aligns with its Southern ally’s technology sector and questioned whether a digital services tax on technology is the right way forward.
The Business Council of Canada warned that retaliatory measures from the United States would hurt Canadian businesses, the economy, and families in general.
The tax would also impact Canada’s relationship with the U.S. when the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement comes up for review in 2026.
Morneau said that Canada needs to think about how it will hit defence spending more rapidly than the Liberals have planned.The Parliamentary Budget Officer warned that Canada must double its defence spending to meet its NATO commitment by 2032.
