Poilievre says Guilbeault is a threat to national unity after pipeline comments

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Thursday that Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault posed an imminent danger to Confederation, one day after Guilbeault’s off-the-cuff comments on pipelines set off a firestorm in Alberta. “Yes he is, absolutely,” Poilievre said when asked by reporters if Guilbeault was a threat to national unity in his current role as Minister of Canadian Identity and Quebec Lieutenant. “I just find it astonishing that (Prime Minister Mark) Carney would appoint a man who says that we don’t need any pipelines built,” said Poilievre. “(Guilbeault) wants to block road construction , he’s against nuclear power, he’s against all forms of economic development… for the entire country.” Guilbeault said on Wednesday that Canada should maximize the use of existing pipelines before building new ones, asserting incorrectly that the recently operational Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMX) was only at “about 40 per cent capacity.” TMX has been consistently running between 76 per cent and 86 per cent capacity since it opened in May 2024, according to the latest available data from Canada’s Energy Regulator . Guilbeault also said that he thought that demand for oil would peak within the next few years, both in Canada and globally. Poilievre said that Guilbeault’s pipeline comments fit a pattern of “antagon(ism) to… resource producing provinces like Saskatchewan and Alberta, who rightly feel like they have been mistreated by (the Liberals).” Poilievre, who grew up in Calgary, will be running in an upcoming byelection in the rural Alberta riding of Battle River—Crowfoot after losing his Ottawa-area seat in last month’s federal election. Guilbeault was appointed by Carney as Minister of Canadian Identity and Quebec Lieutenant in March, after serving as environment minister for three years under Justin Trudeau. He stayed in this role after a post-election cabinet shuffle earlier this week. Guilbeault was easily re-elected in his Montreal-area riding, beating NDP challenger Nimâ Machouf by a 33-point margin. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was one of many in her province who were miffed by Guilbeault’s off-script pipeline comments. “This is just another example of how misleading and destructive this former environment minister was to Alberta’s and Canada’s economy and investment climate,” wrote Smith on social media . Carney says he’s willing to approve the construction of a new pipeline if a national consensus emerges for one. rmohamed@postmedia.com Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.