Canada PoliticsStephen Harper, ex-Premier of China used in State of the Union anti-Keystone ad
Canada will get some mentions during the U.S. coverage of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.
If you watch the speech on the U.S. networks, you're going to hear analysts discuss the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. Obama may even — although i'ts unlikely — touch on the politically-charged issue during his speech.
And then there's this.
According to the Canadian Press, those watching the speech on MSNBC will get to see this ad featuring none other then Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The hard-hitting ad is produced by the Nextgen Climate Action Group, an anti-Keystone advocacy group led by a California-based millionaire — and Obama donor — Tom Steyer.
This is how they describe the ad on their website.
"We have 120 seconds of airtime booked during President Obama’s State of the Union address. We need your help to make them count. We’re letting President Obama know that the Keystone XL pipeline is going through the US, not to the US, and highlighting the role of foreign countries like China.
Nextgen also asked their supporters to help pick a Twitter hashtag to promote the ad. The choices were: #MadeThroughTheUSA, #TransChina, #ABadDealforUS, #OverseasOil and #SuckerPunch. #MadeThroughTheUSA won.
[ Related: Canada makes Keystone XL ad blitz in metro stations near White House ]
The ad comes amid growing pressure on the President to make a decision on the pipeline that could carry up to 830,000 barrels of oil per day from northern Alberta south to the Gulf of Mexico.
Obama was expected to make his decision late last year but that's been delayed as his administration continues their due diligence on the environmental impacts of the mega-project.
In response to the delay, the Harper government has gone on the offensive, essentially calling-out their U.S. counterparts for their indecision.
"The time for a decision on Keystone is now, even if it's not the right one," Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said in a speech earlier this month.
"We can't continue in this state of limbo."
The Tories have also launched an advertising campaign in Washington DC as a means to convince lawmakers that the project is a good one.
"America and Canada: friends, neighbors and allies," notes the ad.
"Canada — a secure and environmentally responsible neighbor committed to North American energy independence."
The Keystone ad wars — it seems — will continue.
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