Letter from Canada: Trudeau’s oil pipeline tangle

Federal policy in recent years has severely limited the country’s ability to raise exports

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party have made a mess of Canada’s oil pipeline network since they came to power in a landslide victory in late 2015. Their approach to pipeline approvals has left the country with a nationalised project with negative net worth and an inability to export substantial additional volumes of crude to democratic allies in Asia and Europe. On 22 June, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PMO), Canada’s budget watchdog, released a new report indicating the federal government stands to lose money on its investment in the Trans Mountain pipeline due to skyrocketing costs and further delays to the development’s expansion  project. Based on its latest financia