

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, locked in a standoff with President Barack Obama over the Keystone XL pipeline, is refraining from releasing new regulations designed to cut greenhouse-gas emissions in the energy industry until the U.S. makes similar moves.

Harper’s government has an advanced draft of regulations that would require oil and gas companies in Canada to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases per unit of production, according to a person familiar with the rules who asked not to be identified because the process is confidential. Canada hasn’t yet released the rules, saying that it’s important to maintain the competitiveness of its energy industry.

It’s a “standoff right now on...

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