Poilievre wants to resurrect LNG Quebec project

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, left, meets Quebec Premier Francois Legault, Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at the premier’s office in Quebec City. (Jacques Boissinot / The Canadian Press)

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wants to resurrect the LNG Quebec liquefied gas project and “believes he can convince Quebecers” of its merits, even though it was rejected at the time, notably because of a lack of social acceptability.

“The status quo, where we sell 100 per cent of our natural gas to the United States to benefit Donald Trump, is not socially acceptable,” the Conservative leader told a press scrum in Jonquière, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, on Thursday.

In 2021, Quebec refused to authorize the Saguenay pipeline and LNG terminal project to export Alberta natural gas. Ottawa did the same in 2022.

U.S. tariffs, however, have led to a change of tone on this side of the border. Quebec City and Ottawa recently reopened the door to the project.

“LNG Quebec could be the cleanest natural gas liquefaction plant in the world. Why? Because it will be powered by zero-emission hydroelectricity,” added the Conservative leader.

In April 2021, the report of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) clearly stated that there was no social acceptability in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region and that the project had not demonstrated its relevance.

The plant’s objective was to export 11 million tons of natural gas per year from Western Canada to Europe and Asia by ship, over a period of 25 to 50 years. A 780-kilometre pipeline was also to be built by Gazoduq, to carry the gas from Ontario to the Saguenay.

‘Canadian build-ready zones’

Poilievre was in the region to announce that, if elected prime minister, he intends to accelerate energy projects such as LNG Quebec. To do this, he wants to designate areas as “Canadian build-ready zones.”

These would be “pre-approved and pre-authorized zones” for the construction of projects such as mines, data centers, power plants and LNG liquefaction plants. One of the aims is to speed up permit issuance to enable companies to build more quickly.

The Conservative leader indicated that he intends to work with the Quebec government to give Saguenay this designation to accelerate the liquefied natural gas plant project.

Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet argues that Poilievre is offering voters an “illusion.”

“Whether it’s Energy East or LNG, before anything gets built, we’re talking a minimum of eight to 10 years. Eight to 10 years during which Europe continues to reduce its consumption of gas and oil, while already no one in Europe is saying they’re interested in Canadian oil or gas. So, we’re setting up something that will cost tens of billions, only to end up with no market and no interest,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press on Thursday.

Not looking for Legault’s support

Poilievre also said he was looking forward to sharing his ideas on LNG Quebec with Quebec Premier François Legault. The two men are scheduled to meet on Thursday afternoon, just days before the federal election is called.

In the previous federal election in 2021, Legault gave an implicit endorsement to Erin O’Toole, Poilievre’s predecessor.

The Conservative leader said Thursday that he was not seeking the Quebec premier’s support.

“If it’s offered, we’ll obviously accept it. But above all, I’m looking for the support of people in provinces across Canada,” he said.

During the previous campaign, Premier Legault explained that O’Toole was the only leader of the federal parties capable of forming a government who was open to Quebec’s demands.

He noted that his first choice was the election of a minority Conservative government.

But Legault’s relationship with the two Conservatives is far from similar.

By way of comparison, it took eight months after Poilievre was elected Conservative leader for him to meet the premier, but three weeks when O’Toole took office.

In September, however, Legault appeared to side with the Conservatives, outright asking the Bloc Québécois to vote with Poilievre’s troops to bring down Justin Trudeau’s government on the grounds that Ottawa was not doing enough on immigration.

He later tried to correct the record by indicating that he might support a federal party if it met his demand to commit to halving temporary immigration to Quebec.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 20, 2025.