Canada's Trudeau unveils plan to fund green infrastructure at G20

ANTALYA, Turkey, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Dedicated funding for infrastructure supporting a low-carbon economy is one of the pillars of a new investment strategy, Canada's prime minister said.

Lower crude oil prices are hurting a Canadian economy that depends heavily on oil and natural gas exports. Exports from Canada largely target a U.S. economy that's relying less on foreign reserves because of increased production from shale basins in the Lower 48.

Government data show a national unemployment rate of 7 percent in Canada, compared with 4 percent in the United States. Monthly gross domestic product increased in August -- the last full month for which data are available -- by 0.1 percent for Canada, compared with 1.5 percent for the United States in the third quarter

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled an investment strategy from the sidelines of a meeting of G20 leaders in Turkey. The new administration, swept into power in October elections, includes dedicated funding for green infrastructure as one of the foundations of a new economy.

"When the middle class has more money to save, invest and grow the economy, we all benefit, and I am proud to share a new and positive Canadian vision for stronger growth and investment," Trudeau said in a statement.

Trudeau said in a letter to Canadian lawmakers in early November "the clean jobs of tomorrow" would benefit the nation's middle class.

Shortly after Trudeau came to power, the U.S. government denied a long-awaited permit to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Alberta oil fields to refineries along the southern U.S. coast. Northern Gateway, a pipeline planned by Enbridge Inc. to bring Alberta's oil to deepwater ports in British Columbia could be endangered by a decision on tanker traffic in the region.

In a letter to Transport Minister Marc Garneau, Trudeau issued instructions to "formalize a moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic" in the region.