‘It’s not over til it’s over,’ Alberta energy minister says of Keystone XL push

CALGARY – Alberta’s energy minister says it’s “not over til it’s over” when it comes to pushing for U.S. approval of the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Ken Hughes says the province will “pursue every reasonable way” keep making the case for the $5.4-billion project first proposed by Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. (TSX:TRP) more than five years ago.

The company is hoping a final U.S. State Department decision on the line will come early next year.

In a speech at a summit hosted by the Economic Club of Canada, Hughes stressed the need to access markets not just to the south, but to build pipelines to Canada’s east and west coasts as well.

Hughes made his remarks as Alberta Premier Alison Redford prepares to make her fifth trip to Washington, where she’ll meet with State Department officials to talk Keystone XL.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver was in Washington this week stumping for Keystone and in September Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a New York business audience that pipeline supporters must not “take no for an answer.”