Canada and the US must work together on energy projects, Canada’s energy minister told a group in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
“I firmly believe that collaboration is what makes this continent great,” Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of energy and natural resources, said in a talk at the Atlantic Council. The nonpartisan think-tank promotes collaboration between the US and its allies on international issues.
“[Collaboration] is what will enable our conversation to move from one about tariffs, which, in my mind, is a lose-lose conversation, to one about prosperity and security, which offers a win-win,” said Wilkinson in his talk, which was also livestreamed online.
Wilkinson’s comments came a day after US President Donald Trump announced a 30-day reprieve on 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods. This announcement halted Canada’s plans to issue tariffs of its own on American goods.
In his speech, Wilkinson described how a trade war would devastate American families.
“[Tariffs] would cause financial pain for Canadian families, no doubt, but they would also significantly increase the price of energy and food for American consumers,” he said.
Wilkinson cited research that estimates tariffs would cost the average American family $1,300 a year.
“This kind of damage being caused to both of our economies is really unnecessary, and it is ultimately the people of our respective countries who will pay their costs,” he said.
Wilkinson reminded the crowd of how close the Canada-US relationship is. Nearly $2.7 billion in goods and services crossed the Canada-US border each day in 2023, he said.
“Our respective economies are so integrated that I would say the partnership is effectively hard-wired,” he said.
Global security
The Canada-US relationship is good for international security, Wilkinson said.
Canadian products, such as oil or fertilizer, keep America from being dependent on Russia for key resources, he said.
The two countries need to increase their partnership when it comes to energy, including critical minerals, he said. Wilkinson argued for the creation of what he called a US-Canada Alliance on Energy and Minerals. The alliance would see the two countries work together on energy projects and those related to key minerals, including uranium.
Wilkinson pointed to several ways the two countries could work together. The US and Canada could collaborate on processing rare minerals mined in the two countries. This way, the US could stop sending its resources to China for processing.
He also recommended increasing the capacity of the Enbridge Canadian Mainline. The 13,800-kilometre pipeline has the capacity to carry three million barrels of oil each day from Alberta to Ontario and the US midwest.
Trade implications
Despite urging collaboration, Wilkinson did not mince words about the damage Trump’s tariff threats have had on the Canada-US relationship.
“When all of a sudden, Canada is treated more like an adversary than a partner, it did shake every Canadian,” he said, pointing to recent public displays of patriotism across Canada.
The threat of tariffs — particularly on oil — also “caused some reflection on whether, perhaps in some areas, we are too dependent on infrastructure in particular that flows only through the United States,” he said.
Wilkinson hinted at how talk about tariffs may influence upcoming trade negotiations between Canada, the US and Mexico.
“There needs to be an overall agreement that the tariffs aren’t coming back,” he said.
The three countries have enough natural resources between all of them to create energy for much of the world, he said. “Between the three of us, we have more than what we need to both build and to power the economy,” he said.
But the countries need to decide they are going to work together.
“It starts with us agreeing that collaboration and deepening that relationship is the right way to go,” he said.
Wilkinson also acknowledged concerns about fentanyl and illegal migrants coming into the US from Canada.
Trump has cited both these concerns as reasons for the tariffs. In response, Canada has beefed up its border security, including by increasing border surveillance, creating a Canada-US Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, and appointing a fentanyl czar.
The amount of fentanyl and migrants entering the US from Canada is small, Wilkinson said. But he also acknowledged both issues are important and serious.
“I want to be very clear about this: just like the US, Canada has no interest in illegal crossings, either of people or substances,” he said. “One illegal crossing and one pound of fentanyl crossing the border is too much in this regard.”
