Trump says Keystone XL pipeline 'may be awoken from the grave' in Canada trade deal
The U.S. president signalled the contentious oil pipeline project is part of ongoing negotiations as Canada and the U.S. work toward a trade agreement.
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U.S. President Donald Trump says Canada-U.S. negotiations toward a trade deal could include revival of the Keystone XL pipeline, a project cancelled by his two predecessors and dormant for years.
In a social media post late Tuesday, less than two hours before new tariffs on Canadian goods were set to take effect, Trump announced a "deal" with Canada and a three-day halt on new tariffs. He wrote that the Keystone XL pipeline, "long ago killed by Sleepy Joe Biden, may be awoken from the grave."
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney did not directly address Trump's pipeline reference in his statement responding to the tariff announcement.
Dennis McConaghy, former executive vice-president of corporate development at TransCanada Corporation (now TC Energy), said that Trump's signal is strategically useful. "The fact that Trump has signalled that is something that he sees in the deal, I think is helpful to Carney and the trade-offs he's going to have to make over the next 72 hours," McConaghy said.
However, Carlo Dade, director of international policy at the University of Calgary's School of Public Policy, urged caution. "Let's not get too excited about Keystone just yet," he said. "Will it be done by the end of his term? Because we potentially have Democrats in the offing, which is going to make this extremely difficult."
Dade noted that Trump appears to view the project as a rejection of policies from the Biden and Obama administrations. "He looks at this as a rejection of the policies of previous administrations, Biden, Democrats, et cetera."
About 85 to 90 percent of Canada's crude oil exports go directly to the U.S., down slightly since the 2024 expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which ships to Asian and other non-U.S. markets from terminals on the West Coast.
The existing Keystone Pipeline System, owned and operated by Calgary-based South Bow Corp., is a 4,327-kilometre network that delivers Canadian and U.S. crude oil to American refining markets in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. South Bow declined to comment on Wednesday.
TransCanada and ConocoPhillips proposed the Keystone XL extension in 2008. After years of political, legal and environmental opposition—including cancellation by both the Obama and Biden administrations—the project was effectively abandoned by its backers. When Trump returned to the White House in 2025, he rescinded Biden's revocation order and granted approvals to revive sections of the project in the U.S.
South Bow announced it has secured the shipper commitments needed to advance a proposed partial revival of the Keystone XL oil pipeline and will decide whether to proceed by mid-2027.
Will South Bow Corp. commit to the project by mid-2027, or will political uncertainty delay the decision?
What environmental and regulatory approvals would be required in Canada for the pipeline to proceed?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
By the numbers
What did Trump say about the Keystone XL pipeline in trade negotiations?
Trump posted on social media on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, that the Keystone XL pipeline, which was cancelled by his predecessors, 'may be awoken from the grave' as part of Canada-U.S. trade deal negotiations.
When will South Bow Corp. decide on reviving the Keystone XL pipeline?
South Bow Corp. announced it has secured shipper commitments and will decide whether to proceed with a partial revival of the Keystone XL oil pipeline by mid-2027.
How much of Canada's crude oil exports currently go to the U.S.?
About 85 to 90 percent of Canada's crude oil exports go directly to the U.S., a figure that has declined slightly since the 2024 expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
