Ottawa welcomes President-elect Joe Biden as an ally in the fight for the climate

OTTAWA – Federal government ministers welcome the election of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States as an opportunity to advance the fight against climate change after four tumultuous years with Donald Trump.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna were among those who specifically mentioned climate change as they welcomed Biden’s victory over the weekend.

McKenna also appeared to deliver a veiled blow to the Trump administration as she observed Biden’s promise to re-enter the United States into the Paris climate deal after the country formally left the treaty last week.

“This is really catching on,” McKenna, who was previously Canada’s environment minister, wrote on Twitter. “It has been a long and hard work over the past four years internationally on climate action.”

For his part, Wilkinson said Canada “is ready and willing to work constructively with the United States to create good jobs for citizens on both sides of the border, while taking decisive action to address the crisis. climatic “.

The Trudeau government’s enthusiasm for Biden’s climate change policies is well founded, experts said, and could even provide a boost to Canada’s efforts as it seeks to move faster on the issue.

Over the past four years, Canada in some places has slowed or changed its environmental policies to reflect concerns that American companies face less environmental regulations and taxes could harm Canada’s competitiveness.

But Blair Feltmate, who led the Canadian government’s panel on climate change adaptation, said Biden’s election should serve as a “shot in the arm” for the Trudeau government’s ambitions to build a greener economy. .

This includes both the adaptation in terms of collaboration on infrastructure, and the mitigation in terms of regulation and deployment of greener technology and energy, which Biden has promised to address.

“What does the Biden presidency mean for Canada?” said Feltmate, who heads the Intact Center on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo.

“I think it will emphasize for Canada that the direction we are heading on the climate file is correct. But the speed at which we are taking sides on the climate file has not been adequate.”

Sara Hastings-Simon, whose numerous roles include being a member of the clean growth panel for the Canadian Institute for Climate Choices, agreed that Biden’s presidency has put climate change on the “main stage.”

“One of the things that I think will change in the United States, which will impact Canada, is that the climate will be woven into economic policy and stimulus across all dimensions,” he said. “This really creates the urgency for Canada not to lag behind.”

However, Biden’s election is also expected to pose an additional challenge to the Canadian oil and gas sector, starting with the fact that the president-elect has indicated he wants to cancel the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs on Sunday joined Alberta counterpart Jason Kenney in referencing Canadian energy exports to the United States and the ongoing coniferous lumber dispute as he congratulated Biden on his victory.

“We have an important business relationship with the United States as a leading supplier of refined energy products,” Higgs said in a statement.

“We also supply significant quantities of softwood and other forest products and have been hampered by an unjustified dispute over softwood timber.

Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told CBC in an interview broadcast Sunday that protecting Keystone XL and other energy exports to the United States is a top priority for the liberal government.

“We are going to support our case by saying that Canada is the most reliable energy supplier to the United States,” he told Rosemary Barton Live. “This is true of Keystone XL. This is true of electricity on the east coast.”

While Feltmate said he expects Biden to move forward with the cancellation of Keystone, but that there will be a focus on redevelopment and other efforts to protect jobs as Canada and the US shift to greener energy sources.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on November 8, 2020.

Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a correct story. An earlier version bore an incorrect surname for New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs.