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There is no path to prosperity in Canada that does not include a thriving, vibrant energy sector – both traditional and renewable. We understand that our resource industries provide thousands of well-paying, middle-class jobs – not just in Alberta, but across Canada and around the world.Canadians, cold-weather dwellers that we are, ‘get’ the importance of energy. So, immediately upon launching my leadership campaign in 2012, I went to Calgary [Canada’s energy capital]. A little over four years later, with a handful of Trudeau Liberals elected across Alberta, we are on our way to getting three new pipeline projects under way, which will help connect Canada’s oil patch with energy markets around the world.The first, Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain line, will run from Alberta, across the Rockies to the Pacific. The second, TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, recently approved by President Trump, will ship Canadian crude to refineries here in Texas. And there’s Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement, that also goes south. These ambitious projects will go a long way towards ensuring North American energy security – for years to come.I make no bones about it: we are proud of this. It is progress. It is important. As I said on that first trip to the oil patch back in 2012: no country would find 173 billion barrels of oil and just leave it in the ground. The resource will be developed. Our job is to ensure this is done responsibly, safely and sustainably.Which brings me to the second piece, equally critical: while developing our resources, for the economic benefit of Canadians, we must also look to the future.There will come a day, far off but inevitable at some point, when traditional energy sources will no longer be needed. In preparing for that day, we have two critical responsibilities. One is to sustain the planet between now and then, so that we can pass this treasure on to our children – better than we found it. The second is to get ahead of the curve on innovation.And we in Canada are doing that. Canadian companies are leaders in developing technologies such as carbon capture, next-generation biofuels, advanced batteries for electric cars and cleaner oil-sands extraction processes, among other advances. This creates good jobs. It also helps the planet.Here is the crux of it: in Canada, as I said, we know all about preparing for winter and the long, cold nights. When we go camping – and we love to camp, that is one stereotype that is totally accurate, by the way – we light our campfires before the sun goes down. That does not make us anti-daylight.It is a bit the same with energy. Innovating – and pursuing renewables – is not somehow in competition with more traditional resources. It is common sense. It is wise preparation for the future. Our children and their children deserve no less.All of which brings me full circle: we would not be on this path – not even close – had we not insisted that environmental protection and resource development go hand in hand. In the 21st Century, Canadians will not accept that THE RT HON. JUSTIN P. J. TRUDEAU, PRIME MINISTER, CANADAINSIGHT INTO THE ENERGY FUTURE“IN THE 21ST CENTURY, CANADIANS WILL NOT ACCEPT THAT WE HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN A HEALTHY PLANET AND A STRONG ECONOMY. PEOPLE WANT BOTH. AND THEY CAN HAVE BOTH ”028 G7 MEMBER STATES