Trade Cases

Canada USW Calls for 'Buy Canadian' After U.S. Kills KXL

January 28, 2021

The Biden administration’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline has prompted the United Steelworkers union in Canada to prod Ottawa to implement “Buy Canadian” policies in a bid to stem job losses.

“Layoffs and plant closures seem to be the only orders on the books for many Canadian steel plants,” said USW Western Canada Director Stephen Hunt.

“This comes at a time when you have major government infrastructure projects utilizing offshore pipe and rebar instead of using steel manufactured here at home,” he said. USW

The USW accuses the Canadian government of not giving priority to Canada-made steel in several mega-projects. They include a liquified natural gas plant in Kitimat, B.C.; the replacement of the Pattullo Bridge, also in British Columbia; and replacement lines for a project overseen by SaskEnergy and TC Energy.

TC Energy, previously known as TransCanada, is the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline. President Biden revoked the permit for the pipeline, which was to transmit oil from Canada’s tar sands to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico, on environmental grounds.

“I call on the Prime Minister and Premiers across the country to ‘Stand Up for Steel’ by implementing procurement policies to ‘Buy Canadian’ for all major infrastructure projects,” Hunt said. “We must do more to protect our manufacturing industries in Canada as we cannot afford more job losses.”

Hunt’s call echoes pronouncements made in the United States by the USW, domestic steelmakers and the Biden administration concerning “Buy American” laws. Those rules, first passed in the wake of the Great Depression, stipulate that U.S.-made products be given preference in government-funded infrastructure work.

The USW represents more than 11,000 workers in the Canadian steel industry.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He specializes in flat-rolled steel but has also reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube, and aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.