Develop natural resources to unify Canada: Frank McKenna, Gary Mar
Two of Canada’s most prominent business and former political leaders are urging the next government to make national unity a top priority.
Former New Brunswick premier and ambassador to the U.S. Frank McKenna championed the nation-building Energy East pipeline. Gary Mar, formerly Alberta’s intergovernmental relations minister and representative in Washington, now president of the Canada West Foundation.
Both joined columnist Tasha Kheiriddin on Thursday for a live discussion about national unity and the federal election.
McKenna suggested to National Post that Mark Carney, if elected, should spend a lot of time out west to heal the wounds of division.
Western political representation
Looking at the source of Western Canada’s discontent, Mar pointed to the region’s association with the economic power linked to natural resource development.
However, McKenna pointed to a long history of high-level representation from Alberta in particular: “Alberta has enjoyed a lot of respect at the national level,” he said.
Still, McKenna firmly acknowledged that sensitivity to western concerns continue: “I hope and pray that when (the election) is all over that the pain points, the points of stress will be worked out. That we will have national leaders, the premiers included, that will work on assuaging some of these issues.”
Power focused in central Canada
Mar noted a shift in national politics has given rise to the present sense of western alienation. Past prime ministers, such as Brian Mulroney, Jean Chretien and Stephen Harper “had national visions” leading to “legitimacy as a national government, because you represented the whole country,” he said. This resulted in inevitable, but acceptable compromises.
Today, he said leadership is more equivalent to “followership,” and “vote maximization for the sake of power” — pushing politics to where the majority sits — in central Canada.
Potential unifying role of pipelines
Looking to cross-country energy pipelines as a source of wealth, McKenna expressed dismay that a national understanding of their importance has yet to be reached.
“In the last 10 years, we have lost $60-80 billion dollars in Canadian wealth to the United States of America because we have not been able to get the appropriate economic rents for our resource. Any Canadian, properly instructed, would say that’s not acceptable.”
The reason Canadians feel Donald Trump has a grip around our collective throat, says McKenna, is because of a trade discrepancy with the U.S., which derives from the natural resources we send south, even though Americans exploit them and “turn (them) into other jobs.”
The lesson, he said, is to maintain a close relationship with the U.S., while cementing relationships around the world that will enable Canada to maximize the benefits of our resources.
McKenna believes pipelines have the possibility to unify Canadians the way railway and highway systems have done previously. “All have been tough to do and taken a lot of political capital,” he said, before pointing to several oil and liquified natural gas projects, including a potential LNG project in Quebec touted by Liberal cabinet minister Melanie Joly during a recent speech in Montreal, as potential unifiers.
The kind of energy corridor that has been promoted by both the Liberals and Conservatives, and was approved by the premiers in a meeting before the election was called “would truly be nation-building,” McKenna said.
A vision broader than climate targets
Both Mar and McKenna agreed that environmental concerns are valid, but they also advocated a broader vision than simply aiming to meet climate accord targets.
Quebec has the ability to be more environmentally sensitive with its emphasis on hydropower and Alberta more carbon-focused due to oil, said McKenna, but he would like to see a prime minister who can say “we can be both.”
Alberta, he noted “has more scientists working on clean technology than anywhere else in the world.” The Trump crisis has given Canada an “opportunity to do things we could never have done under ordinary circumstances.”
Turning back to western alienation and national support for western fossil fuels, McKenna felt assured that Pierre Poilievre is ready to move forward given his vocal track record.
Meanwhile, he pointed out that Carney was chairman of Brookfield Properties (a major player in the pipeline industry), as McKenna is now. He quoted Carney: “Pipelines going through the United States and Ontario are a national security issue for us” and building them requires one approach, not the federal and provincial governments working separately.
“If he is the prime minister after the election, I would like him to spend a lot of time in the west and listen to people because the concerns genuine, and I think they are in the national interest.”
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