Canada's oil booms with Trump, goes bust under Trudeau
Donald Trump is creating an Alberta boomtown. It’s a little place called Oyen and normally the town is home to about 900 souls on a good day.
However, today there are approximately 1,000 extra people in town — the population of Oyen has more than doubled — as people flood in to work on the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The cross-border pipeline carrying Alberta oil to the Gulf of Mexico sat stalled on President Obama’s desk for years and former Alberta Premier Rachel Notley refused to advocate for the $19 billion project.
The pipeline was given new life with approval by President Trump and a $1.5 billion cash injection by now Premier Jason Kenney.
What happens in Oyen if, next month, Democrat Joe Biden wins the presidency and cancels the pipeline the way he has promised? We sent Keean Bexte to Oyen to find out.
Then, on the other side of the country, the oil refinery in Come by Chance, Newfoundland is laying off 500 people and possibly closing for good. In Fort McMurray, Suncor is laying off 15 per cent of the oilsands giant’s global staff.
It's boom because of Trump and bust because of Trudeau, all at the same time.
Joining me tonight in an interview we recorded earlier in the week to talk about these stories and more is Robbie Picard from Oilsands Strong.
