The headlines this past week were grim: trade talks with the United States have stalled, and a fresh round of tariffs is now in effect. For a country that sends roughly three-quarters of its exports south, this is a very rude awakening.

But there is an opportunity here for Canada — specifically Canadian energy.

We have the reserves. We have the resource. The world is lining up to buy.  But the trouble is we’ve spent years treating our greatest strategic asset like an inconvenience.

What we don’t have is enough ways to get our energy to market — the pipelines, the LNG terminals, the ports and transmission lines that turn Canadian energy into Canadian prosperity.

And the biggest obstacle isn’t geology or demand. It’s our government.

Consultations, permitting and approval systems are so slow that nation-building projects die in review before a shovel ever hits the ground.

Let’s be realistic: our economy is deeply tied to the United States, and that won’t change overnight.

But if the Prime Minister is serious about his promise to build things in Canada, then we need to unleash the energy sector — and stop letting environmental radicals set the ceiling on our ambitions.

So let’s build. Approve the projects. Clear the backlog. Move at the speed the moment demands.

Canada has what the world wants. It’s time we let ourselves deliver it.