Poll shows public support for reviving Energy East, seven years after pipeline’s cancellation

There is renewed interest in a possible east-to-west pipeline in Canada in light of the ongoing tariff talks.

A new Angus-Reid poll says renewed consideration for pipelines shows favourable public opinion for reviving one in particular: Energy East, which was cancelled in 2017.

The survey, released Monday, says national support for Energy East has risen to 65 per cent, up from 58 per cent in 2019.

In Atlantic Canada, support for Energy East is up to 70 per cent (from 64 per cent in 2019).

The survey finds Canadians are mostly split on whether the federal government is doing enough to build pipeline capacity, a result similar to 2019.

More Canadian politicians – and most recently, two federal cabinet ministers – have mentioned pipelines as a response to economic uncertainty under U.S. President Donald Trump.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says “the rules of the game have changed over the last few days,” in a CTV News Question Period interview, while Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says “perhaps in some areas we are too dependent on infrastructure that flows only through the United States.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston have also made public calls in the last few weeks for the federal government to approve pipeline projects immediately.

Joe Calnan, an energy security analyst with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, says Energy East would be “very difficult to revive in 2025” for a few reasons.

“TC Energy has moved away from the liquids pipeline business in order to concentrate more on their gas pipelines,” says Calnan, adding that consultation challenges would also remain with the province of Quebec and First Nations communities.

Calnan says the pipeline market is also different.

“An eastern pipeline route would likely be at its base uncompetitive compared to alternate export routes, including the incumbent Enbridge Mainline and Line 5 as part of the Enbridge Mainline system and the TransMountain,” says Calnan.

New Brunswick Green Party Leader David Coon says he isn’t surprised to hear other politicians voice support for Energy East at this particular time.

“There are those when they see a crisis, see an opportunity to advance once again their particular hobbyhorse,” says Coon.

When TransCanada cancelled Energy East in October 2017 the company cited “substantial uncertainty” and “changed circumstances” for abandoning its regulatory effort. The company’s proposal included a 4,500-kilometre pipeline to carry 1.1 million barrels of oil daily from Alberta and Saskatchewan to refineries in Montreal and Saint John, N.B.

-With files from CTV’s Your Morning