Ahead of Stampede visit, Carney reiterates bid for unity to solve energy crisis

Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a media availability in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, July 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

CALGARY — Prime Minister Mark Carney doubled down on his call for national co-operation to tackle a “threefold energy crisis” before his planned appearance Saturday at the Calgary Stampede.

On Saturday afternoon, Carney reposted his sweeping 17-minute video argument for working across provincial boundaries and ditching his predecessor’s climate plan. He first unveiled the video on social media on June 30, the day before Canada Day.

The video opens with Carney saying Canada is facing an energy crunch which sits at the confluence of three main crises: high prices, global instability and a rapidly changing climate.

The solution, he says, demands collaboration across provincial and territorial boundaries and reducing barriers for development, including oil and gas.

“Addressing energy security means we’re going to produce our conventional oil and gas in the most environmentally sustainable ways and export them to where they will make the biggest difference,” he says in the video.

As he heads to an oil-producing province considering a vote on separation, Carney’s address also seems to make a special effort to speak to Alberta’s frustrations with the rest of the county.

“I was a teenager in Edmonton when the national energy program was introduced, and I remember how Ottawa made Albertans feel like our resources weren’t our own,” he said, speaking of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s policy from the 1980s.

“More recently, we were made to feel like our energy contributions were running against the tides of history,” he adds. “What should have brought us together began to divide us, contributing to a half-century of politics that have too often pulled us apart.”

The former Liberal government’s climate plan under Justin Trudeau, which included proposed caps on greenhouse gas emissions by big emitters, was “well intentioned,” but it doesn’t fit the current global circumstances, Carney says.

“I want to be clear on this point: the changes we have made will mean that our emissions will be higher in the next few years than they were projected to be under the previous government’s plan,” he says. “But in my judgment, that plan was not sustainable over the long term.”

Many in Alberta’s oilsands industry said Trudeau’s policies repelled investors and inhibited growth.

The prime minister was set to meet with representatives of the Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8 First Nations in Calgary on Saturday afternoon before he visits the Calgary Stampede grounds.

Last week, he said on social media that the Calgary Stampede is a celebration of “Alberta’s ranching heritage, Indigenous traditions and the spirit of the West.”

Several members of Parliament have made their way to Calgary for the event, including International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, Heritage Minister Marc Miller and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

Carney returned to Canada on Friday after a weeklong trip in the Middle East that included stops in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, where he attended the NATO summit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2026.