Alberta Premier Jason Kenney
Letter from Canada: Kenney’s bad Keystone XL bet
Alberta’s premier went all in on the controversial pipeline but may lose his shirt
Alberta premier Jason Kenney made a big gamble on TC Energy’s controversial Keystone XL (KXL) crude pipeline at the end of March. The victory of Joe Biden in November’s US election means it is unlikely to pay off. Kenney backstopped the pipeline project with C$7.5bn ($5.75bn) of public money—consisting of a C$1.5bn equity stake in 2020 and a C$6bn loan guarantee in 2021—to ensure a positive FID and a quick start to construction before the US presidential vote. Besides creating jobs and economic activity in his struggling province, Kenney was hoping to create ‘facts on the ground’ to discourage the next US administration from kyboshing the project yet again. It should have come as no big surp
Also in this section
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
