Pipelines have become an election issue. What exactly is Ottawa's role to play?

Paula Duhatschek · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 25, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Through a fluke of timing, the national predetermination coincides astir perfectly with the one-year day of the government-owned Trans Mountain Pipeline enlargement coming online — astatine a clip erstwhile nationalist sentiment astir pipelines is relatively positive.

The 2 run front-runners are some emphasizing vigor infrastructure, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats of annexing Canada. Both leaders are pitching immoderate mentation of an vigor corridor, though Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has much straight emphasized pipelines, specifically, portion Liberal Leader Mark Carney has much broadly pitched Canada arsenic a "superpower" successful some cleanable and accepted energy.

Both of the parties starring successful the polls privation to kick-start the economy, trim Canada's reliance connected U.S. oil and drastically velocity up the regulatory process for large projects similar pipelines.

If the adjacent authorities wants to enactment much pipelines successful the ground, experts accidental that could see antithetic strategies specified arsenic taking an ownership involvement successful one, oregon reducing reddish tape for backstage companies.

Whichever enactment forms authorities adjacent week volition besides person to marque a determination connected the Trans Mountain project, including whether to proceed owning the pipeline oregon enactment the Crown corp up for sale.

Hands-on approach

For now, the parallels betwixt the Liberal and Conservative platforms speaks to a broader acknowledgement that Canada needs to beryllium much progressive successful gathering vigor infrastructure, said economist Kent Fellows.

In immoderate ways, helium said, this displacement represents a instrumentality to the mode things utilized to be. Before the 1970s, astir large, linear infrastructure successful Canada was built with nonstop authorities involvement, from the Trans Canada Pipeline to the Canadian Pacific Main Line to the Trans Canada Highway. 

After that, helium said, determination was a astir 50-year play successful which the backstage assemblage stepped up and built large projects without overmuch nonstop authorities involvement, helium said. But arsenic evidenced by the Trans Mountain Pipeline enlargement project, which Ottawa purchased to get it implicit the decorativeness line, that play seems to beryllium over. Its archetypal owner suspended operation successful the look of regulatory delays and tribunal challenges from First Nations and the state of B.C.

Fellows, an adjunct economics prof astatine the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, said it's not wide yet if the displacement successful authorities absorption is simply a "good happening oregon a atrocious thing."

"But that's benignant of wherever we are present with Canada's inability to pull backstage concern for these pieces of proscription infrastructure."

In the end, the Trans Mountain enlargement task took 12 years and astir $34 cardinal to make and build. The enlargement added 590,000 barrels per time of shipping capableness to the pipeline, which carries crude lipid from Alberta to the B.C. coast.

February polling information from the Angus Reid Institute suggests astir fractional of 2,012 Canadian respondents think the national authorities isn't doing capable to physique pipeline capacity, and two-thirds said they would enactment the renewal of the Energy East pipeline, which was terminated successful 2017.

Of course, that doesn't mean everyone successful the state is connected board. Writing successful the Globe and Mail, for example, Simon Fraser University prof Thomas Gunton said a renewed pipeline push would beryllium a "costly blunder," citing concerns astir the outgo of caller operation and projections of declining lipid demand in the years ahead. He besides noted that it would apt instrumentality astatine slightest 4 oregon 5 years to physique a pipeline, astatine which constituent Trump would beryllium retired of office.

Uncertainty the biggest concern obstacle

For companies looking to physique pipelines, however, their main concern hurdle is uncertainty, said Andrew Leach, an economics and instrumentality professor at the University of Alberta.

Companies request to marque upfront investments successful projects that hinge connected regulatory decisions that whitethorn not travel until years down the road, helium said, pointing to the Northern Gateway Pipeline, which was archetypal projected successful 2004 and was yet scuttled successful 2016.

"It's a large bet," said Leach.

One solution, helium said, would beryllium to bash much broad-stroke assessments upfront to determine what benignant of infrastructure the state needs, earlier getting excessively acold into the details. Leach likened it to a household determination to bargain a caller car, wherever a household would typically hold that they need the car archetypal earlier securing a indebtedness and deciding connected a overgarment colour. 

"If you tin get done that, past you're partway down the field, truthful to talk … and you've taken distant immoderate of that red-black hazard that's determination for companies," said Leach. 

Still, some economists cautioned that astatine a definite point, trying to unreserved done task approvals could pb to diminishing returns, and unfastened the doorway to challenges from First Nations groups and landowners.

"If you springiness the content that you're short-circuiting the checks and balances, past you'll person radical who go opposed to it," said Leach.

Pipeline for sale?

Of course, the astir nonstop mode for the national authorities to beryllium progressive successful vigor infrastructure is by taking ownership of a task — arsenic was the lawsuit with the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, which came online May 1, 2024.

Some experts accidental the pipeline apt won't fetch its afloat sticker terms of $34 billion, but could beryllium worthy astir fractional that. That would beryllium an important infusion of currency considering the country's increasing deficit.

While the program has ever been for Ottawa to merchantability disconnected the pipeline, Trans Mountain CEO Mark Maki told CBC News successful March that possibly it could stay nether authorities ownership longer arsenic a "national company."

Ottawa could not lone cod yearly profits, but usage the Crown corp to physique different large pipelines oregon different vigor infrastructure.

"There's nary crushed that you person to sell, and if, successful fact, there's improvement that needs to instrumentality spot for the bully of the nation, it whitethorn good service the state to support it longer," said Maki, successful a March interrogation connected the sidelines of the CERAWeek vigor league successful Houston. 

"That's thing I would expect the governmental folks volition beryllium looking astatine arsenic they deliberation astir corridors for infrastructure."

While nationalist enactment for pipelines is growing right now, the adjacent authorities would besides request to corral differing opinions astir whether gathering caller ones is simply a bully thought astatine all.

Kevin Birn, an expert astatine S&P Global, said Canada could request caller pipeline capableness by 2026 if lipid accumulation continues to turn astatine its existent pace, though helium noted immoderate capableness tin besides beryllium added by enhancing existing infrastructure. Leach, with the University of Alberta, said 1 further pipeline could beryllium utile arsenic an vigor information determination to vessel lipid eastbound without crossing into the U.S. 

With 1 pipeline already nether authorities ownership, the adjacent premier curate volition person nary shortage of decisions to marque astir however to physique vigor infrastructure successful the champion interests of Canada — each portion grappling with the astir hard portion of governing: what events are definite to travel next.