Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre says he’ll end imports of overseas oil within five years if he becomes prime minister.
At a campaign stop in Saint John, New Brunswick Friday, Poilievre committed to increasing Canadian oil production to reduce reliance on imported oil.
“Justin Trudeau supports oil – as long as it is foreign oil,” Poilievre said. “Every time he kills a Canadian energy project, foreign dictators like Putin do a victory dance, because they get to dominate the world market.”
Poilievre’s plan would double Newfoundland’s oil production and support projects that get western oil to eastern Canadian markets whether by pipeline or rail.
Poilievre said importing oil from “polluting dictatorships” is bad for the environment, the economy, and Canada’s security.
“The reality is we either make it ourselves, or we pay dirty dictators to do it for us,” he said. “Buying overseas oil from polluting dictatorships is terrible for our environment. It exports our jobs, our money and our pollution to countries with poor ecological standards. Instead, let us bring home the jobs, money and business to the most environmentally responsible energy sector in the world here in Canada.”
While Canada has the world’s third-largest oil reserves, moving oil from west to east remains challenging with existing infrastructure. In 2019, more than half of the oil used in Quebec and Atlantic Canada came from overseas, including Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Canada imported $18.9 billion worth of oil in 2019. In 2020, Poilievre noted, Canada imported 73,000 barrels of oil per day from Saudi Arabia alone.
“Consumers will know when they fill up their tanks they are providing paycheques for Canadians, not money for despots,” Poilievre said. “Canadians will take back control of their lives in the freest country on earth.”
Poilievre is one of 10 candidates seeking the leadership of the Conservative party, including former Quebec premier Jean Charest, Brampton mayor Patrick Brown, and Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis.
