Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: TC Energy exhibits strategic policy engagement that is oppositional to science-aligned climate policy. The company opposes climate regulations in Canada and undertakes policy advocacy for expanding fossil gas production in North America.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: TC Energy’s top-line communications on climate policy show positive positions on high-level climate targets, with broadly negative positions on government regulation to respond to climate change. In its 2024 Report on Sustainability, published in July 2024, the company stated support for limiting global temperature increase to 1.5°C, and supported the goals of the Paris Agreement on its website accessed in August 2025. However, TC Energy emphasized that climate policies should balance emissions reductions with other priorities including ‘economic competitiveness’, ‘affordability’ and ‘energy security’ in August 2024 comments on Canada's Pre-Budget 2025 Consultations. Furthermore, CEO François Poirier cited its support for global GHG emissions reduction mechanisms to oppose national regulations in an April 2025 interview with Global News.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: TC Energy engages negatively on climate regulations in Canada. The company has consistently opposed the federal government’s proposed Oil and Gas Emissions Cap, including in an April 2025 joint letter and according to a January 2024 investigation by The Narwhal which revealed TC Energy’s efforts to have liquified natural gas (LNG) exempted from the cap. The company opposed Canada’s proposed methane regulation for the oil and gas sector in February 2024 comments and did not support Canada’s Clean Electricity Regulations in November 2023 comments to the federal government. TC Energy reiterated its negative position on the Clean Electricity Regulations in August 2024 comments submitted to Canada’s Pre-Budget 2025 Consultations, calling for the regulation to be amended to allow fossil gas cogeneration to run past 2035. TC Energy also opposes Canada’s federal industrial carbon pricing system, the Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS), advocating for the OBPS to be repealed in an April 2025 joint letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Positioning on Energy Transition: TC Energy appears unsupportive of an energy transition and advocates for increasing fossil gas production across North America. In Canada, the company engages directly with the federal government to promote the development of gas pipelines and gas storage infrastructure, according to a July 2025 lobbying registration. In a November 2024 interview with the Calgary Herald, CEO François Poirier disclosed TC Energy’s high-level conversations with the Alberta government advocating for expanding fossil gas exports to international markets. While TC Energy has supported Canada’s carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) Investment Tax Credit, such as in its 2023 CDP response, the company did not support the CCUS requirements for fossil gas-fired electricity proposed under Canada’s Clean Electricity Regulations in November 2023 comments.
In the United States, TC Energy attempted to weaken the Inflation Reduction Act’s 45V tax credit for clean hydrogen production by opposing the main eligibility criteria for renewable hydrogen in comments submitted to the Internal Revenue Service in February 2024. CEO François Poirier also supported the Trump Administration’s decision to accelerate energy permitting on the grounds that it would enable pipeline expansion in an April 2025 statement. TC Energy also advocates for fossil gas expansion in Mexico: a February 2025 investigation from The Narwhal found that the company directly engaged Natural Resources Canada to promote a fossil gas pipeline in Mexico as a strategy for "lowering emissions."
TC Energy has shown some positive advocacy for renewable energy: in a June 2025 Ontario lobbying registration, the company disclosed its support for the Ontario Pumped Storage hydro project.
Industry Association Governance: TC Energy disclosed a complete list of its industry association memberships in an information sheet published in July 2024. However, the company has not disclosed an account of its industry associations' positions and engagement activities in the past two years. TC Energy holds board representation on multiple industry associations which engage negatively on climate policy, including the American Gas Association, American Petroleum Institute and Canadian Gas Association.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information, see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.