Canada Seeks to Build Oil Exporting Capacity

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty at the APEC Forum in Honolulu

Recent decisions made by the Obama Administration may have an unforeseen impact on our economic relations with Canada and lead to increased competition in Asian markets.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty plans to implement new measures that will speed the regulatory review process for energy related projects, including pipelines. The country aims to lighten its dependence on U.S. energy and tap into Asia's growing demand for oil.

According to an anonymous source inside Flaherty's office, the upcoming announcement is in direct response to President Barack Obama's denial of TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL pipeline permit. This underscores the message Minister Flaherty gave last November from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Honolulu. "We've got to go where the trade is," Flaherty said. "The sooner we can increasingly access markets in Asia, the better."

TransCanada Corp., based in Calgary, Alberta, lost 0.73 percent at 12:51 New York Time.