It feels to many of us that suddenly Canada has awoken from a dream and is running full sprint towards a new reality of building infrastructure, trading our energy globally, and being a full contributor to NATO.
Tim Hodgson, Canada’s energy and natural resources minister, appeared on the Vassy Kapelos Show recently, where he was asked whether he believes that the “demand exist[s] for Canadian LNG [liquified natural gas] if we were to export more?” In a word, Minister Hodgson replied, “Absolutely.”
He continued:
“They [Canadian producers] will be producing the lowest carbon footprint natural gas in the world. Canadians should be proud of that. It’s something that our allies are very interested in getting access to. They would like the diversity of supply, and they really like the fact that we produce the cleanest LNG in the world.”
This is a welcome message.
Foreign leaders have been asking Canada’s federal government for years to increase national LNG exports. I heard such comments firsthand during an energy security mission to Asia. In the past, Ottawa has turned them down, pointing to our decarbonization targets as a priority. But energy demand has only increased, and other producing nations are jumping at the opportunity for new customers.
As recently as July, the U.S. administration announced it is close to a deal with the Japanese government to build the $59.4 billion CAD ($44 billion USD) Alaska LNG project—the biggest energy investment in American history. Taiwan and Korea are also looking at investing. In other words, we are in a global competition not only to squeeze out energy competitors with higher emissions profiles than Canada, but for customers and investors seeking business certainty and being actively pursued by other countries.
We are also in a race to establish credibility on security. And this is where LNG, infrastructure, and our NATO commitments meet.
In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Europe found itself in the challenging position of being dependent on Russian natural gas for their energy security and needing to reduce that dependence in support of Ukraine and broader security efforts. Canada’s lack of infrastructure in 2022 made us less capable of using our natural gas to support our allies with the energy they needed. It still does. Canada’s federal government now seems committed to changing this.
This past August, Canada’s prime minister and Minister Hogdson went to Germany to meet their counterparts and make commitments on a range of items, including critical minerals, energy, and defence. The Prime Minister highlighted the possibility of these resources—including “enormous LNG” opportunities – being shipped through a new port in Hudson Bay. This is a very far cry from 2022, when then Prime Minister Trudeau quashed any expectation that Canada would attempt to help Europe with its urgent energy security needs.
While LNG to Europe through Hudson Bay is being dismissed by some as impractical because the bay is frozen over the winter, those who pay attention know ice has not deterred Russia from keeping its northern ports active all year. A new port—whether at Churchill or Port Nelson, MB—could be part of a bold move to connect Canada’s commercial, military, and geopolitical interests.
On June 25, 2025, Canada joined a new NATO defence investment pledge, committing 5 percent of GDP to be split between investments in core military capabilities (3.5 percent) and in new security-related infrastructure and other dual-use investments (1.5 percent). The latter category could include assets like icebreakers that could be used to monitor our northern waters. It would strengthen the case for icebreakers in Hudson Bay for defence purposes, if they were also supporting the commercial and trade interests of Canada.
A year-round port in the Hudson Bay aligns with Canada’s Arctic responsibility. It would also position us to diversify trade with multiple nations. Such a port offers Canada a path for our energy to shift power balances in international conflicts and improve our contribution to collective security.
Not bad. So, build baby build? We have cause to hope.
Canada’s CEOs have given the government the list of actions it needs to take to restore investment in Canada. The federal government has passed new project acceleration legislation and opened a major projects office. And for the first time in over a decade, it seems like federal, provincial and Indigenous governments, along with industry and international customers are finding common ground in wanting to build things.
On this new common ground, alongside our security commitments and global customer demand, concrete action must move at pace so that Canada may regain its reputation as a country that can be counted on in an uncertain world.
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