Canada has reached an important pipeline milestone; what would have been unheard of in our country just a few years ago has now become reality.
Recent announcements for three possible projects, one to British Columbia, another to Wyoming and a third to Ontario, all point to a renewed understanding across the country that trade infrastructure matters, that diversifying our markets for our most valuable export is critical, and that Canada’s economic future depends in part on our willingness to get the job done.
This is welcome news.
For years, Canada has struggled to get new pipelines built, despite them being among the most economically impactful projects we can undertake. As shown by the Trans Mountain Expansion, they strengthen our economy, improve our competitiveness, support workers and communities, and reinforce Canada’s role as a reliable energy supplier to our global trading partners.
A recent report by ATB Financial and Studio.Energy highlighted that building an additional 1.5 million barrels per day of new oil pipeline export capacity could add an average of $31.4 billion to Canada’s real GDP annually, support an average of 112,000 additional jobs and attract well over $100 billion in investment just to fill those pipelines between 2027 and 2035.
Canada’s newly announced pipelines, if built, would benefit the whole country. The federal government says a new West Coast pipeline alone would create 140,000 direct and indirect jobs during the peak of construction, and another 50,000 during operations. Fifteen per cent of all jobs created by the project would be outside Alberta and British Columbia.
Talk about a nation-building opportunity.
A stronger natural resource sector means more income for Canadian workers, more business for suppliers, and more taxes and royalties for our governments that can help fund the public services Canadians rely on every day.
Healthcare, education, infrastructure and community programs do not pay for themselves. A more productive economy helps underpin the quality of life we all want to protect and improve.
But while there is much cause for celebration in these announcements, we should not forget the lessons of the past. Northern Gateway and Energy East were lost opportunities for Canada, and their cancellations still carry heavy economic consequences today. Even with new momentum and pipeline proposals on the table, we cannot assume the success of these new projects is guaranteed. The opponents of Canadian oil and gas development have not gone away; in fact, they say they’re ramping up.
If we want these new projects to move forward, Canadians need to keep showing up, speaking up and supporting the new infrastructure our country needs.
As Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said back in 2019:
“It is time for Canadians to stand up and defend our world-class, wealth-generating, sustainable energy sector.”
His words are as true today as they were then.
Canada has the resources. We have the expertise. We have the opportunity. Now we need confidence and to make sure we never slow down in our advocacy to get big things built in this country once again.