Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, his wife Anaida Poilievre and their son Cruz arrive in Terrace, B.C., during a campaign stop on April 6.Aaron Whitfield/The Canadian Press
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump for creating chaos in the stock market, while he pitches his party’s policy to develop Canada’s natural resources in the face of economic uncertainty from the United States.
Speaking in northern British Columbia on Monday, Mr. Poilievre said the President’s decision to impose tariffs on countries around the world bolsters the Conservative Leader’s plan to speed up energy development in Canada.
“We are all watching the stock market with interest today. We acknowledge, we have to acknowledge, that this chaos is the direct result of wrongheaded, unnecessary, chaotic policies coming from President Trump,” Mr. Poilievre said at a press conference in Terrace, B.C.
“These tariffs are a massive distraction, and they remind us why is it such a mistake for the Liberals to make us so dependent on the Americans over the lost Liberal decade.”
Mr. Poilievre on Monday promised to streamline resource projects by creating a simple application process and single environmental review.
He also pledged to rapidly approve 10 projects if his party forms government, including Phase 2 of LNG Canada, a massive natural gas liquefaction project in northern British Columbia.
Mr. Poilievre’s announcement builds on his pledge last week to match five policy promises to a letter sent by energy chief executives to major party leaders, urging changes to how the government manages natural-resource development in Canada.
“If you want energy independence, if you want these monstrous, big, beautiful projects to go ahead, you are going to need a change in government, with a Canada-first Conservative prime minister,” Mr. Poilievre said.
LNG Canada’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 plans already received environmental approvals in 2018 from B.C. and federal regulators. But Mr. Poilievre promised that under a Conservative government, the project would be fast-tracked.
The five co-owners of LNG Canada are expected to make a final investment decision on Phase 2 next year. The first shipment of liquefied natural gas from Phase 1 is slated to be exported by mid-2025 to Asia from the terminal in Kitimat, B.C.
Mr. Poilievre’s proposal includes a “one-stop shop” in the form of a new office called the Rapid Resource Project Office, which would handle all regulatory approvals across all levels of government.
He said his government would create one application and one environmental review per project, with the goal of making decisions about applications within six months, to a maximum of a year.
“My goal is to bring First Nations, municipalities and provinces all under the same tent. Let’s sit down and put together the checklist of all the things we need to approve,” Mr. Poilievre said.
“Put it in one office that is accountable to all levels of government and let the company then apply to the project right there.”
The Conservative Party said it would also establish the Canadian Indigenous Opportunities Corporation, to offer loan guarantees for local Indigenous-led resource projects.
The Liberal Party immediately criticized the announcement, saying it does not mention consultation with Indigenous peoples or Indigenous rights.
In addition to the LNG expansion project, Mr. Poilievre said he would speed up mines in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland as well as an all-season road in Northern Ontario and a proposed new port terminal in Quebec.
The Conservative Party on Monday also released a new attack ad against Liberal Leader Mark Carney, targeting his plans to keep the Impact Assessment Act, known as Bill C-69, in place if he forms government.
Mr. Carney was asked last week whether he would repeal Bill C-69, which critics have labelled the “no more pipelines” bill.
“We do not plan to repeal Bill C-69, to answer your question directly,” Mr. Carney replied. He said his plan is to remove duplication of environmental assessments and other approvals for major projects that are in the national interest.
“We will follow, as the federal government, the principle of one project, one approval,” he said, adding that Ottawa would accept provincial environmental assessments.
Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada, said Mr. Poilievre’s plan won’t work.
“Mr. Poilievre is either forgetting or deliberately ignoring the lessons during his time in the Harper government: ramming through project approvals without adequate environmental protections or Indigenous consent doesn’t get projects built,” he said.
“He is trying to solve the last century’s problems by doubling down on oil sands, LNG and gold mines, when we should be building on our incredible renewable energy potential if we want Canada to thrive in the 21st century.”
With a report from Brent Jang.