Liberal Party Plan
Ten years after the in charge, the liberals appeared to be facing a difficult battle at the beginning of the year, but changes in leadership brought about a reversal and made the party more competitive.
The liberal government, often considered an anti-oil party, oversees the expansion of Canada’s resources sector, and has seen significant investments in purchasing and expanding the Trans Mountain Pipeline.
In the preliminary stage of the election, the party made a massive promise to protect the environment, promote innovation and build an economy against the backdrop of a strong natural resources sector. How does the Liberal Party plan to achieve this?
Focusing on important minerals
The main focus of the liberal party platform is on the development of important mineral projects.
This includes a “rock-to-road” approach, including creating first and last miles funds that will fund up to $750 million by 2029. The fund also invests in exploration activities, mineral recovery from mining waste, and end-of-life products such as batteries.
It comes with parties proposing a broader strategy Important Mineral Exploration Tax Credit It includes the minerals needed for defense, semiconductors and energy production.
In its current format, the program offers investors a 30% tax credit for important mineral exploration projects. It was intended to stimulate funding for early stage exploration projects seeking to find 15 minerals, including rare earth elements, copper, cobalt, nickel and titanium.
The platform did not include which new minerals would be added to the list.
In addition to supporting the discovery of new resources, the platform has the following features: Clean Technology Investment Tax Creditprovides a break from investment in Brownfield’s important mineral projects.
Other initiatives include support for Canadian steel, aluminum and forestry industries through Canada’s standard approach to federal infrastructure and defense procurement and stimulating downstream industries.
Streamline permits and transactions
A key factor for resource companies before the election was the development time of new projects in Canada that could be extended for more than a decade.
Allowing that they played an important role in these timelines, the Canadian government has worked to make decisions up to five years, but hasn’t moved the needle much.
The liberal party platform works to address this by creating a “one window” process that moves how it moves due to the focus of the review. The new system requires decisions to be made within a two-year timeline, including projects that fall under multiple laws or departments.
This speeds up the development of a wide range of resource projects, from mining to oil and gas.
In addition to the permit, the party is also proposing economic corridors that host diverse infrastructure projects such as energy, railways and highways. In one important area, the north of Canada is opened by a link from Yellowknife to the port of Glaze Bay in Nunavut.
The liberal platform also proposes creating its own carbon boundary adjustment mechanism (CBAM). It works Similarly It is implemented in Europe and taxes higher carbon imports at a higher rate than domestic producers who invest in lower carbon technologies.
Canadian CBAM also works to meet European standards and enable more streamlined trade.
Conservative Party Plan
Conservatives have long been seen as a pro-resource sector party. Their history has received great support from oil and gas companies by relaxing tax credits and environmental regulations.
However, these initiatives were under then-leader Stephen Harper over a decade ago. They came before the start of the energy transition and focused on the environment widely.
Has Canada’s Conservative Policy discovered a balance between Canada’s environmental commitment and improved development within the resource sector?
Changes in legal frameworks
In the first acts under conservative-led government, you would have seen them repeal two laws introduced by the Liberal Party under Justin Trudeau.
The first C-48 is also known as Tanker Moratorium Acttankers carrying more than 12,500 tons of oil products now have access to the port along British Columbia’s north coast.
The original law passed in 2019 limited the size of vessels carrying heavy crude products between the BC border and the northernmost tip of Vancouver Island. It can transport refined petroleum products and liquefied natural gas, and does not limit the transport of products along the south coast of BC.
The conservatives have it Opposition He said that since the bill was introduced, development of a Canadian pipeline and that Alberta’s oil has restricted access to the Asian market.
Other laws targeted under conservative plans were Building C-69the Conservatives were colloquially called “Any Development Act.”
The law passed in 2019 was designed to provide more consultation and federal review of major energy projects and consider the impact on the environment, health, the economy and Indigenous rights.
Opposition suggests the law limit Construction of projects in national interests, particularly the pipeline to the East Coast.
The conservative plan also eliminated or reduced taxes on the Canadian resources sector, such as the Industrial Carbon Tax and the Federal Fuel and Power Tax. The party argued that cuts should be made more competitive with the US. However, the plan did not address trade with other regions, particularly Europe, that require some form of carbon tax on imported minerals and resources.
How did conservatives support the resource sector?
As part of that platform, the Conservatives vowed to “unleash Canada’s energy and resources.”
In addition to pledging to repeal laws focused on the oil and gas sector, the party has also pledged to establish a national energy corridor. Along the corridors, major infrastructure projects such as pipelines, railroads and transmission lines have been subject to rapid tracking approvals, allowing for faster development.
This idea would have created more pipelines and resource infrastructure across Canada. However, the platform did not discuss how it would work with Quebec, which is becoming more rigid about not allowing pipelines.
Conservatives also vowed to cut the red tape by creating a “one” approval process. A streamlined approach to regulatory approval would have created a single application that includes environmental reviews. The plan also proposed that the federal government partner with the state to make decisions within a year.
The party lacked details regarding the direct fundraising initiative. The only infrastructure spending included investments to build roads in Ontario’s fire areas. The platform suggested that this would involve $600 million spending between 2026 and 2029 and provide access to the area for critical mineral extraction.
To stimulate funding in the Canadian economy, the party instead proposed an increase of C$5,000 to TFSA contributions for Canadian businesses.
Other promises included opening an Arctic port for oil exports and expanding Churchill’s port to extend the transport season through Hudson Bay. The bill also created Indigenous resource claims, allowing businesses to hand over some of their federal taxes to Indigenous communities.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, holds no direct interest in the companies mentioned in this article.
