Poilievre says Carney's moving in the 'wrong direction,' pledges to 'legalize' pipelines

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says Prime Minister Mark Carney's development agenda is stalled — and he's promising to "legalize" pipelines through new legislation to speed things up.

Poilievre said his party's Canadian Sovereignty Act, if passed, would ensure two pipelines, a new LNG project and a road to Ontario's Ring of Fire will have begun construction by March 14 — the one-year anniversary of Carney becoming prime minister.

"Not a single major pipeline or natural gas facility, a new one, has been identified for approval by the Carney government and we're going in the exact wrong direction," Poilievre said in Calgary Thursday.

"We need to get building now and that's why the Conservative proposal for a Sovereignty Act will take action immediately," he added.

Carney is meeting with Indigenous leaders over the summer and has said his government's major projects office will be open by Labour Day.

In order for Poilievre to be in the House of Commons in the fall to introduce the bill, he will first have to win his byelection in Alberta's riding of Battle River-Crowfoot on Aug. 18.

WATCH | Poilievre on his Aug. 18 byelection:

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, speaking in Calgary on Thursday, is asked how he is feeling heading into the Aug. 18 byelection where he's running to regain a seat in the House of Commons.

The proposed legislation repackages many Conservative campaign promises.

They include: repealing Bill C-69, what former Alberta premier Jason Kenney dubbed the "no more pipelines act"; scrapping the West Coast oil tanker ban; killing the industrial carbon tax; eliminating the electric vehicle mandate and reversing the single-use plastics ban.

Poilievre said the Sovereignty Act would also include his campaign promise to exempt people from capital gains tax when they reinvest the proceeds of an investment in a Canadian company.

The Conservative leader said that after his party introduces the legislation it will be willing to work with all parties in the House to amend and get it passed.

"I am calling on Prime Minister Carney to do what he promised, build at a scale we haven't seen in generations and work with Conservatives to restore Canada's sovereignty in the face of American threats," Poilievre said in a statement.

In recent weeks, B.C. Premier David Eby has said that he is not opposed to a new pipeline in his province but that the issue was moot for the moment because there are no private companies that have proposed building one.

Poilievre was asked how the Sovereignty Act, if passed, will be able to approve projects when they are not even at the proposal stage yet.

"The opponents of pipelines are using this very cleverly," he said. "They're saying: 'well we can't change the rules to allow a pipeline, because there's no pipeline proposed.' That's because the rules don't allow for pipelines to get built…

"So let's get rid of this chicken and egg distraction that the Liberals have imposed."

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, along with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, announced their own energy infrastructure initiative Thursday. They issued a call for proposals to study how to "best establish a new economic and energy corridor" in Canada.

A statement explained that the proposed corridor would bring western Canadian oil and gas to refineries in southern Ontario, as well as to a new deep-sea port on the coast of James Bay.

"Canada can no longer rely on energy infrastructure that lies outside of our borders and can be shut down at a moment's notice by another country," said Ford in a statement. Most of Canada's oil and gas pipelines pass through the U.S.

At the first ministers' meeting in Huntsville, Ont., last month Ford, Smith and Moe said Canada needs to replace Line 5 — the more than 1,000-kilometre-long pipeline carrying 540,000 barrels of oil and natural gas liquids daily across Wisconsin and Michigan to refineries in Sarnia, Ont.

"It's time for us to build cross-Canada infrastructure within our borders so we can protect our energy security, find new markets for Canadian energy and resources and create new jobs and opportunities for Canadian workers," Ford said.