At a conference in Houston, Texas last week, Canada’s energy minister told Trump administration officials his government is “excited to help” their oil and gas strategy.

“I shared with Secretary Wright and Secretary Burgum, we’re excited to help America achieve energy dominance. Like, that's great. We want to be good partners,” said Tim Hodgson.

The American Energy Dominance doctrine is a cornerstone of Trump’s presidency, aimed at cementing U.S. control of the global fossil fuel trade, for the benefit of U.S. companies.

As the world’s biggest producer of both crude oil and LNG, the United States wants customers overseas to stay dependent on expensive fossil fuels for decades to come.

But America’s own fossil fuel consumption is enormous, and domestic supplies won’t last forever. That’s why Trump is so focused on oil and gas fields in Venezuela, Iran and Canada.

He used Navy SEALs to hijack Venezuelan oil tankers, and installed a puppet government in Caracas that would cooperate with U.S. oil companies. 

Now Trump is massing paratroopers and marines off the coast of Iran, threatening to seize Kharg Island – the hub for 90 per cent of the country’s oil exports.

American investors already control most of Canada’s oil and gas industry. Now billionaires in Trump’s inner circle are proposing a floating LNG terminal on the B.C. coast.

And Tim Hodgson, a former Goldman Sachs executive, wants to give the American-owned Ksi Lisims LNG terminal billions in Canadian taxpayer funding.

He says he’s “excited to help” the Trump administration exert “energy dominance”. The benefits for American oil and gas billionaires are obvious. But is it in Canada’s national interest?