An energy superpower? Oilpatch skeptical of Carney's support for the sector

Despite Mark Carney's pledges throughout the election campaign to kick-start the country's economy, build energy corridors and transform the country into an energy superpower, many in the oilpatch are unconvinced there will be any change in policy direction from the re-elected federal Liberals. 

Grant Fagerheim, CEO of oil company Whitecap Resources, woke up early Tuesday morning only to feel frustrated and anxious by the results of Monday's election. 

After a decade of the Liberals in power, Fagerheim described a feeling of disappointment among many in Calgary's downtown office towers where energy companies are headquartered.

"It's very challenging for us in Western Canada and especially when you work in the energy sector, to bring them back into power again," he said.

"Quite frankly, it's astonishing."

For years, oilpatch leaders have chastised the Liberal government for introducing policies that harm the sector such as the clean fuel regulations, the proposed emissions cap, and changes to the federal assessment of major projects.

After replacing Justin Trudeau as prime minister last month, Carney made campaign pledges that would be more supportive of the oilpatch. Oil and natural gas is the country's largest export to the United States.

"There is a general sense of unease in terms of how the Liberals will move forward on an agenda that we know is very important to Alberta," said Deborah Yedlin, president of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce.

"There's so much at stake right now. We can't afford to trip. We must make sure that we're focused on the future," she said, especially considering the ongoing trade war with the U.S.

In a recent survey of energy executives and investors, ATB Capital Markets found that "federal energy and environmental policies" were ranked as the top risk facing the Canadian energy sector. 

Seventy-three per cent of those surveyed said a Liberal minority government would be negative toward their willingness to invest in Canadian energy, ATB analysts wrote in a report Tuesday morning. 

In his victory speech Monday night, Carney vowed to make Canada a "superpower" of both clean and conventional energy, and promised to "build, baby, build" — an apparent reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge on oil drilling.

"It's time to build new trade and energy corridors working in partnership with the provinces, territories and Indigenous peoples," he said.

On the campaign trail, upon meeting with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Carney suggested he might be willing to move away from the concept of an emissions cap on the oil and gas industry, which has been criticized by the oilpatch as a de facto cap on production.