Trump tirades show need to diversify

CALGARY• U.S. President Donald Trump’s blistering comments about Canadian trade underscore the need for Canada to find new outlets for its oil, the head of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said Tuesday.

“If there’s ever been a time for reflection about ‘Why wouldn’t we have optionality?’ it is now,” CAPP president and CEO Tim Mcmillan told the Global Petroleum Show in Calgary.

Given Trump’s comments about trade with Canada being “fool trade,” Mcmillan said it’s time for Canadian politicians to assist in building new pipelines to the East Coast and to British Columbia’s northern coast to reduce Canadian dependence on the U.S. market.

Mcmillan said the trading relationship between Canada and the U.S. on energy has been positive for both sides, as oil and gas products flow across the border in both directions.

He said he’s seen little indication that Americans want to change energy imports from Canada — which is the largest oil exporter to the U.S., ahead of Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries.

Still, there is alarm in the oilpatch that a trade war between the U.S. and Canada could escalate.

“Any time that there’s a trade dispute it’s problematic for all parties involved. Our trade with the U.S. is so large that you’re seeing all Canadians coming together and looking for a solution and trying to rally around a solution, and the Prime Minister is leading the charge for us” Mcmillan said.