Pipeline approval means ‘good jobs,’ Trudeau says

OTTAWA— Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline as an early good sign in dealing with Donald Trump’s administration, but cautioned that much discussion lies ahead with the new president on the Canada-U.S. relationship.

Speaking at the end of a two-day retreat where cabinet ministers sought to get a handle on Trump’s potential impact on cross-border relations, Trudeau said the president’s approval of the new pipeline will mean “good jobs” and economic growth.

Trudeau said the issue of the Keystone XL project had come up in the two telephone conversations he’s had so far with Trump. “We spoke about the project and I underlined I was in favour of this project,” he said.

The project to move Alberta oil to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries had been held up under Barack Obama’s administration, angering then-prime minister Stephen Harper, who called it a “complete no-brainer” and said its approval was “inevitable.”

It took a change of president, but on Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order to get the project moving again, subject to some conditions.

The prime minister voiced his support for the plan, saying that moving oil by pipeline is safer and better for the environment than shipping it by rail. “This is what Canadians expect of us,” he said.

The cabinet gathering in Calgary was a chance for ministers to reflect on their priorities for the coming months, a period they acknowledge will be dominated by Canada-U.S. issues as the new president settles in and campaign promises become policy south of the border.

But Trudeau said preliminary discussions by Canadian officials with top aides in Trump’s administration have been “positive.” He also said those talks have highlighted the “extraordinary” economic ties between the two countries.

“Millions of good middle-class jobs on either side of the border depend on the close trade relationship we have. That has really been at the centre of all of our discussions,” Trudeau said. “The response we’re getting is very much positive in terms of understanding the extent to which the relationship between Canada and the United States is particular and unique.”

Trudeau also said that “it is the job of the Canadian prime minister to have a constructive working relationship with the president of the United States.”