WATCH ABOVE: Alberta Premier Jim Prentice speaks to U.S. Chamber of Commerce
WASHINGTON – Alberta’s premier is trying to persuade Americans that the Keystone XL pipeline would help them too.
Jim Prentice is making that case today in a speech across the street from the White House.
The crowd he’s addressing doesn’t need much persuading: he’s speaking to the pipeline-friendly U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
READ MORE: Prentice in U.S.: Obama veto won’t kill Keystone XL
But Prentice wants Americans to consider the economic benefits: for refinery jobs, construction jobs, and the 1,900 U.S. companies that form part of the oilsands supply chain.
That’s why he says the pipeline delay is so confusing to Canadians.
READ MORE: U.S. Senate passes Keystone XL pipeline bill, defying White House
His speech didn’t mention the U.S. president by name, but it appeared designed to rebut Barack Obama’s claim that Keystone XL doesn’t make a difference to Americans.
Prentice also dedicated a big part of his speech to the environment, listing a series of climate-change projects in Alberta that he says don’t exist in other places that export heavy crude to the U.S.
WATCH: As Provincial Affairs reporter Tom Vernon reports, the premier pushed hard for North American energy independence.
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