Sask. premier calls Biden administration's reported cancellation of Keystone XL expansion 'disappointing'

Saskatchewan's premier is calling reports of U.S. president-elect Joe Biden scrapping the Keystone XL pipeline expansion "disappointing." Biden is set to take office Wednesday, and transition documents show the Keystone cancellation will be a priority for his administration. In a statement Sunday night, Premier Scott Moe said the project is "critical to North American energy security" and will have a "tremendous employment impact" in both countries. Moe also noted the project has "garnered significant Indigenous support" and is expected to be fully powered by renewable energy by 2030. "While I am urging the Prime Minister to leverage his relationship with Mr. Biden, Saskatchewan will continue exercising our contacts in Washington D.C. to advocate for the continuation of this project that clearly benefits both of our nations," Moe wrote. Moe's comments come after much criticism from other politicians across the country — including Alberta's premier, Jason Kenney. On Sunday, Kenney said in a statement posted to social media that he's deeply concerned that Biden may repeal the pipeline's presidential permit. "Doing so would kill jobs on both sides of the border, weaken the critically important Canada-U.S. relationship and undermine U.S. national security by making the United States more dependent on OPEC oil imports in the future," Kenney said. TC Energy, the primary owner of the Keystone XL pipeline, has plans to have the project up and running by 2023. If completed, the 1,897-kilometre pipeline would carry 830,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the oilsands in Hardisty, Alta. to Nebraska, connecting to the original Keystone pipeline that runs to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.