NATIONAL PULSE – Support for pipelines blips upward in face of tariffs
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
Canadians divided over wisdom of Trans Mountain purchase but ultimately feel it will pay off
By ANGUS REID INSTITUTE
February 10, 2025 – Conversations about trade wars with Canada’s historically most trusted ally have forced Canadians to take a long, hard look at the domestic capacity of their economy, from agriculture, to manufacturing, to oil and gas. With respect to the latter, new debates have dredged up old projects as Canadians and their leaders consider how to transport energy across the country.
New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians largely showing support for increasing pipeline capacity through two dismissed developments – Energy East and Northern Gateway. Each has significant economic and jurisdictional hurdles to overcome, but the public opinion landscape is evidently favourable.
Half (49%) say the federal government is not doing enough to build pipeline capacity, the same number who said so in 2019. Three-in-10 (29%) say the Liberals have taken the right approach, while 22 per cent say Trudeau has pushed pipelines too hard.
Two-thirds say they would support the renewal of Energy East – a project terminated in 2017 – that would have carried oil from the west to New Brunswick and Quebec. This pipeline, speculated upon recently by many leaders including by Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, has long been controversial in Quebec.
That said, Premier Francois Legault recently stated that his government would consider the project if it became appealing to Quebecers. Support for Energy East in Quebec has risen from 33 to 47 per cent since 2019. Nationally support has risen from 58 to 65 per cent.
Another project that frustrated both supporters and opponents on the other coast of the country is the Northern Gateway pipeline. This, too, was terminated several years ago, after the Liberal federal government imposed a moratorium on oil tanker traffic on British Columbia’s northern coastline near its terminus. A slight majority of Canadians say they would support this project as well, while one-quarter oppose it. Northern Gateway generates 55 per cent support in B.C., with 32 per cent opposition.
More Key Findings:
- Asked about another project – the Trans Mountain expansion – Canadians are divided whether the government made the right decision (34%) or wrong decision (32%) in purchasing it. Cost overruns and delays beset the operation, ballooning the cost to $34 billion. More than half (56%) say that ultimately it will be good for Canada.
- Two-thirds of Canadians (66%) say that federal regulations make pipeline projects more expensive than they should be. One-in-five (19%) are unsure, and 16 per cent disagree.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
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