A Quebec assistant deputy minister said U.S. midterm results create an opening to safeguard access to American energy markets.
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A senior Quebec official said results from the U.S. midterm elections have created an opportunity for Canada to rebuild ties with Americans in the energy industry.
Marie-Claude Francoeur, Quebec assistant deputy minister for the Americas and the Indo-Pacific region, said she has conveyed the importance of safeguarding access to American markets to new Parti Québécois ministers, speaking at an energy conference in Montreal.
“It remains an important relationship. We have a new government (in Quebec), we have briefings with new ministers, and I've explained how important safeguarding access to American markets is to our industries,” Francoeur said. She added, “It will be fun when it's settled a bit — we're just excited, because there are some things you just can't export elsewhere.”
Francoeur’s remarks were made during a session on energy and geopolitics alongside Catherine Loubier, a former Quebec government representative in New York.
The province’s hydroelectricity utility, Hydro-Québec, has contracts to export energy to New England and New York state, and this summer activated a transmission line bringing energy to New York City.
Loubier said the U.S. midterm election results will create more predictability for the energy industry and give Canada an opportunity to rebuild ties with Americans in the sector. She also said: “We should run to the other side of the border to meet newly elected officials once they’re sworn in on Jan. 3.”
Both Francoeur and Loubier said the energy sector has largely been shielded from tariffs, but that Canadian officials will continue navigating protectionist trade policies. They also highlighted the importance of cross-border cooperation on energy security.
Loubier said she is still keeping an eye on U.S. President Donald Trump and expects he will double down on his “America First” approach in the last two years of his term, even if there is increased pushback from the new Democratic majority.
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