聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Well, I guess I get to eat some crow for breakfast this morning.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Just a few hours ago, around 2 a.m. Saskatchewan time, Donald Trump was declared winner of the United States presidential election. When people have asked me what I thought of the idea of Trump winning, I responded that a guy named Adolf was also elected.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 That has been my biggest concern: that his statements about Mexicans and Muslims echoed 1930s statements about Jews in Germany. Hopefully these concerns are unfounded.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 When it comes to the Canadian oilpatch, however, Trump鈥檚 the guy.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 My mind keeps going back to that astonishing day in May, the day when he was confirmed as the Republican candidate for president. I got a chance to ask him a couple questions on the key foreign policy issue Canada had with the United States for several years. 聽 Would he approve the Keystone XL pipeline, and would he invite TransCanada to build it?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 His response, in part, was, 鈥淚鈥檓 saying, 鈥淵es, absolutely, we鈥檒l approve it.鈥� But I want a piece of the profits because we鈥檙e making it happen through eminent domain and other things. I want a piece of the profits for the United States. That鈥檚 how we鈥檙e going to make our country rich again, just one way out of thousands, but that鈥檚 how we鈥檙e going to make our country rich again and how we鈥檙e going to make America great again. You understand what I鈥檓 saying?鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 At this point, I was looking the future president of the United States eyeball-to-eyeball, about 15 feet away. My heart was going a mile a minute.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I then followed up with a question about TransCanada鈥檚 proposed Upland Pipeline, part of the Energy East proposal, which would allow North Dakota oil to be exported into Canada and shipped eastward for either Canadian consumption or export via a port at Saint John or New Brunswick.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A remarkable exchange followed. Not familiar with it, he asked me, as a reporter, if I liked the idea. I said I loved the idea.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 He said he wasn鈥檛 familiar with it, but his bias would be to approve it.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 You can bet oil baron Harold Hamm, who was standing beside him and Trump had name-dropped significantly just minutes earlier, explained to Trump while walking down the hallway to the auditorium聽how this new pipeline would make things better for North Dakota. I had pointed out to Trump that Hamm could export his oil on the Upland Pipeline. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 this other pipeline, Harold?鈥� I imagine he asked.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Did this question, from a most insignificant Canadian journalist in a sea of election-coverage press, have a slight impact on American foreign policy? When TransCanada makes its formal pitch for the Upland Pipeline, will he remember this interchange in Bismarck?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 A day ago, I thought that brief three-minute window in time will have been lost to the winds of time. Today, it has whole new meaning.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 With the inauguration on January 20, it鈥檚 too late to start construction this winter season.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽But next summer, it鈥檚 a very real possibility that southwest Saskatchewan will buzz with Keystone XL construction. Upland is entirely dependent on TransCanada鈥檚 Energy East getting built. If Keystone goes ahead, that might no longer be necessary.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 If he does half of what he said he would do, Trump is going to shake up the energy paradigm in North America to the extreme. If he hangs on for two terms, we could see North American energy independence.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 For the energy industry which I report on, and am a part of, Trump was the best thing that could happen. Hopefully, for Mexicans and Muslims, he鈥檚 not the worst thing.
