Chris Christie Stumps for Energy, if Not for 2016, in Canada

CALGARY, Alberta - It was not exactly subtle, Gov. Chris Christie's bear-hugging embrace here of the Keystone XL Pipeline, the most contested cross-border energy project in a generation.

Determined to let no doubts about his enthusiasm for the pipeline linger, Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, traveled here to meet with the chief executive of the company trying to build it. He held a joint news conference with the premier of Alberta, who is aggressively pushing for it. And Mr. Christie delivered a speech to a group of Canadian energy executives who fervently support it - inside the Calgary Petroleum Club, no less.

'On the merits, Keystone should have been approved a long time ago,' Mr. Christie said. 'It is time - well over time - to get this done.'

In a way, it was Mr. Christie's 'drill, baby, drill' moment, intended to highlight his unequivocal commitment to an issue that has united a fractious Republican Party. At a time when his party is agonizing over big questions like immigration policy, its warring constituencies have coalesced around Keystone, a pipeline system designed to carry up to 830,000 barrels of petroleum a day from western Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

As Mr. Christie weighs a presidential run, his trip here seemed calibrated to appeal to two crucial Republican constituencies: the elite corporate donors who loathe President Obama's inaction on the pipeline, and the grass-roots Republican activists who are convinced that it is vital to American energy independence.

Mr. Christie, who has limited experience in international affairs, is fashioning a foreign policy that is heavily grounded in North America, which he views as an overlooked domain in an era of international threats to the United States. It is an approach shaped heavily by informal advisers, including Robert B. Zoellick, the former United States trade representative under President George W. Bush, who said in an recent interview that he has encouraged Mr. Christie to think about the 'continental base.'

'On this continent,' Mr. Christie said, 'Canada, the United States and Mexico share a political system, share an approach to the economy, share similar cultural values, share a respect for each other's national sovereignty and share a belief that freedom and democracy should be offered to people all across the world. Think about it today: Is there another neighborhood in the world that offers that?'

Much of his vision hinges on energy. With American production of oil and natural gas reaching record-breaking levels, Mexico's opening up its long-nationalized reserves to outside investment and Canada awash in oil money, Mr. Christie says he foresees a 'North American energy renaissance.

Its missing link, he said, is Keystone.

'You know, in the United States, we already have over 2.2 million miles of pipeline. Canada has tens of thousands of miles of pipelines,' Mr. Christie said. 'In both cases, the safety record is sound.'

A commitment to building the pipeline has stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The pipeline may be approved next year, however, when the Republicans take control.

But on an issue that has divided Canadians and Americans, Mr. Christie seemed disinclined to hear from opponents, speaking only to a corporate crowd heavily invested in the project's approval. 'You won't find any protester in here,' said Robert Merrifield, Alberta's representative to the United States. He said that President Obama was 'running out of excuses' for not approving Keystone. Mr. Christie's combative, improvisational style has prompted Republican leaders to question his aptitude for presidential-level diplomacy. But in Canada, he took pains to strike a low-key and humble tone, just as he did in Mexico a few months ago. 'I am here to listen and learn,' he said.

He briefly suspended that decorum when the topic turned to United States politics. Murray Smith, a retired Canadian official, suggested that Mr. Christie declare his candidacy for president while in Calgary.

Mr. Christie shook his head in mock horror, calling it terrible advice. Were he to run, he said, 'my instinct would be to announce it in the United States.'

He playfully counseled Mr. Murray to keep his political advice to himself. 'As my friend Donald Trump would say, 'You're fired.' '