Trump touts Keystone XL revival as trade win, but status unclear
President Trump claimed a Canada-U.S. trade deal reviving Keystone XL, though officials would not say what, if anything, has changed since Ottawa first pitched the idea last year.
Why it matters
Any revival of Keystone XL could significantly expand how much Alberta crude reaches U.S. markets, affecting the province's energy sector and trade relations.
U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Canada and the U.S. "have a DEAL," claiming credit for reviving the long-dead Keystone XL pipeline, which could carry more than 800,000 additional barrels of Alberta oil to the U.S. daily. Biden revoked a key permit for the project in 2021 after years of opposition from landowners, Indigenous leaders and environmental groups.
Prime Minister Mark Carney raised reviving Keystone XL with Trump nearly a year ago as part of a broader push linking energy cooperation to support for Canada's steel and aluminum industries. Canadian officials would not say Wednesday what has changed in negotiations since then, or why Trump highlighted the project now. Trump already signed an executive order in April approving a separate pipeline to Montana and Wyoming using existing Canadian-side infrastructure from the abandoned Keystone XL.
Analysts noted U.S. gas prices have risen more than $1 per gallon over the past year amid the war in Iran, and the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve hit its lowest level since 1983 this month, which one expert said could be a political vulnerability for Trump ahead of the midterms. Canada supplies about one-fifth of U.S. daily oil use and more than half of its imports.
The original Keystone XL, approved by Canada's energy regulator in 2010, would have expanded a pipeline from Hardisty, Alta., to U.S. Midwest refineries and Texas coast facilities. Alberta had invested more than $1 billion in the project before Biden cancelled it. The pipeline system is now owned by South Bow Corp., which is partnering with Bridger Pipeline on the new Trump-approved project.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.