With regard to Keystone XL, from the moment the President was elected, our governments, the governments of Alberta and Canada, started working hand-in-glove together. I, Alberta's envoy in Washington, James Rajotte, and Minister Sonya Savage, the Minister of Energy for the Government of Alberta, started meeting at least once a week, sometimes more than that, in order to make sure we had our ground game right.
We knew the President had made a significant campaign promise, and I think most members of this committee can understand that when you make a major campaign promise, it has weight. Certainly, it seemed to for the President. However, we fought the battle because we believed in Keystone. We believed, as the Prime Minister had said to the Premier of Alberta, that the Keystone XL project of 2015 and the Keystone XL project of 2020-21 are very different.
I was very proud to advocate for Keystone XL. TC Energy had done everything right, to my mind. It had an operational net-zero pipeline that was using renewables at their pumping stations, wind and solar. It was working with unions on both sides of the border, working with native Americans and working with first nations on our side of the border. It had ticked all the boxes. We found out on the morning of the inauguration that the President would be rescinding the permit on the day of his inauguration. I found out very early here in Newfoundland, and I had to inform my colleagues, the ministers of energy of Alberta and Saskatchewan, of the fact. Those weren't easy conversations, because we had put a lot of work into it.
I also raised that exact point, in almost exactly the same way I worded it to this committee, to Secretary Granholm yesterday when she and I met. Her first international call was to me, in keeping with what the President's cabinet has been doing, reaching out to Canadian counterparts. I also made it clear that Line 5 was seen in that same light.
As I said in my opening remarks, there is a tremendous amount that is aligned, not only between the Government of Canada and the Biden administration but also, I believe—and I've said this to Ministers Eyre and Savage—with provincial governments as well. We need to work together—