Alberta's Minister of Energy has responded to Joe Biden's campaign announcement that he would cancel the presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline should he take over the White House.

The former vice-president is on the road to likely claiming the Democratic presidential nomination south of the border. President Donald Trump issued a permit for the pipeline, but Biden says he'd rescind it.

In an effort to accelerate construction of the pipeline, Premier Jason Kenney announced $1.5 billion in equity investment for the project in March, followed by a $6 billion loan guarantee in 2021.

Read more: Alberta investing in Keystone XL pipeline to expedite construction

The planned Alberta to Nebraska pipeline has faced numerous delays over the years due to push back from environmental groups and court challenges.

Energy Minister Sonya Savage says she's disappointed by Biden's comments, but is confident Keystone XL remains a critical part of North America’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

“The project — already under construction — has long held widespread bipartisan support from U.S. lawmakers including all governors in the states the pipeline travels through," Savage says. "The majority of American people have consistently backed Keystone XL in large part due to the tens of thousands of U.S. jobs the pipeline will support, and the millions of dollars in tax revenue that will be used to build better communities for American families. Today, unionized workers are already working on this shovel ready project that puts citizens in both Canada and the U.S. back to work."

Savage says the project would create 12,000 jobs for Canadians and generate billions of dollars of employment income on both sides of the border.

“Our government invested in this project because it is tied to our province's vital long term economic interests," says Savage. "It will lead to higher prices as well as increased volumes of oil sands crude production, generating at least $30 billion in increased royalties over 20 years for Alberta taxpayers."

Savage says she will continue to meet with allies in the US and will work with TC Energy and the federal government to defend the province's investment in Keystone XL, which she says is a vital part of Canada-US relations.

“Without more Canadian crude, the U.S. will be subject to increased reliance on heavy crude oil from places like Venezuela and will continue to be a victim of the same price wars and instability we recently witnessed from Russia and Saudi Arabia," says Savage. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he will continue to advocate for the pipeline.

"It has been a long position of mine that we need to get our resources to new markets safely and securely, and that's why I've always advocated for the Keystone XL pipeline," says Trudeau. "We saw the previous democratic administration cancel it and we will continue to work with whatever government gets elected in the United States, to impress upon them how important Canada is as a secure and reliable supply of energy that they require, even as we move forward to a different future."

 

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