Washington - Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is visiting Washington in an attempt to convince Capitol Hill lawmakers that its boycott is the best bet for energy security in North America.

Kenney meets with reporters today before testifying on Tuesday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The hearing will include an exploration of the "Energy and Minerals" partnership between Canada and the United States, and there will be virtual testimony from Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

Natalie Camden, Deputy Minister of Mines in Quebec, and Canada Electricity Chief Francis Bradley are also scheduled to testify.

Tuesday's session comes at the invitation of the committee chairman, Virginia Senator Joe Manchin - a moderate Democrat in the Senate - who made a high-level visit to Alberta last month.

Kenney has long been an advocate for Alberta's role as a reliable energy source for the United States, a message believed to resonate more since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.

Manchin has proven to be an important ally, being an outspoken critic of President Joe Biden's Day One decision to cancel the controversial Keystone XL pipeline expansion from the oil sands to refineries in Alberta on the Gulf Coast.

Manchin said, "The Keystone XL pipeline is something we should never have given up. Now we wish we hadn't," during his visit.

Meanwhile, the White House has repeatedly rejected the idea that allowing the project to proceed would ease pressure on gasoline prices in the United States, which have risen due to rampant inflation and the widespread international ban on Russian energy imports.

But Kenney's visit this week may be as much about Alberta's turbulent domestic politics as it is about the changing global geopolitical landscape.

Kenney will return to Canada on Wednesday, where he will receive the results of the Conservative Party vote on whether he should continue as leader and premier.

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair