NATIONAL PULSE – Most say Ottawa should hold onto TMX pipeline
(Image: Mel Rothenburger)
One-quarter would seek to sell off the project to recoup taxpayer funds
By ANGUS REID INSTITUTE
August 6, 2026 – As plans are being laid to build new pipeline infrastructure using much of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline corridor, most Canadians say the government should hold on to the initial project that many now view as a strategic national energy asset.
New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds a majority (54%) say Ottawa should retain ownership of Trans Mountain, more than twice the number who would sell it to the private sector to recover taxpayer funds (23%). Another 23 per cent are unsure.
The findings come as the future ownership of Trans Mountain is being debated. While the federal government has long maintained it intends to eventually divest the pipeline, Trans Mountain president and CEO Mark Maki and Canada Development Investment Corp. CEO Elizabeth Wademan recently argued there is a strong case for Ottawa to remain a long-term owner, potentially alongside Indigenous partners. They contend the now-operational pipeline has become a strategic national asset at a time when Canada is looking to expand energy exports and is once again considering new westbound pipeline capacity.
Helping to make long-term ownership more palatable are the attitudes of Canadians more broadly. Most are evidently receptive to public ownership of pipeline infrastructure. More than half (56%) say it is appropriate for governments to invest in or own pipelines, compared with 21 per cent who say they should be owned and operated exclusively by the private sector.
These data help to explain an increase in the number who say the federal government made the right decision when it purchased the pipeline in 2018. In February 2025, 34 per cent said this. Now, 42 per cent say the same, making this the most common response, ahead of those who say it was the wrong decision (25%) and those who are unsure (34%). Notably, past Liberal (46%) and Conservative Party (47%) voters are equally likely to approve of the purchase, something former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could scarcely have imagined becoming a reality at the time.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Leave a comment