Despite growing support, Canadian pipelines still face environmental, economic blocks

Workers lay pipe during construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on farmland, in Abbotsford, B.C., on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

As political and public support grows for pipelines in Canada, environmentalists and economists say the same stumbling blocks still exist for any future project.

“I think we’re repeating past mistakes, that this isn’t the best direction for Canada to be going in,” says Moe Qureshi, director of climate research and policy at the New Brunswick Conservation Council.

“We’ve already had this Energy East conversation.”

The proposed Energy East project, which would have carried 1.1 million barrels of oil daily from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Montreal and Saint John, N.B., was cancelled in 2017.

A recent Angus-Reid poll shows a majority of Canadians support the project’s revival, with the latest poll from Nanos indicating three out of four Canadians support a pipeline from Alberta to Eastern Canada.

Qureshi says the results are expected in the shadow of a U.S. trade war.

“I’m not surprised, but I also don’t think it’s necessarily about Energy East,” says Qureshi. “I don’t necessarily think that people are saying this is the best solution, it’s just the first idea that comes to mind about this project.”

Canada’s two leading federal parties are elevating pipelines during the federal election campaign’s first few days, as a solution to protecting the country’s economy.

Liberal Leader Mark Carney says he’s committed to building pipelines “across this country,” answering to criticism of stilted support from the Trudeau government.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says his pitch for a pre-approved national energy corridor would speed up pipeline infrastructure projects.

Rory Johnston, an oil market analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, says a pre-approved energy corridor might be beneficial but doubts how easy it could be achieved.

“We already have a challenge getting provinces to agree to (have) an oil pipeline through their territory,” says Johnston. “Why would it be any easier to get them to pre-approve a blank cheque?

Last month, Quebec Premier François Legault said the province was “open to these kinds of projects,” citing a shift in provincial opinion due to the U.S. trade war. Legault said “social acceptance” from Quebec residents would still be a requirement.

A few days earlier, federal Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party strongly disagreed with pipelines running through the province, saying Quebec would not be a “highway for dirty oil and gas.”

With files from CTV’s Abigail Bimman

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