Nova Scotia premier calls for REVIVAL of Energy East pipeline

Between 2015 and 2020, Canada lost $150 billion in energy investment opportunities, costing billions in revenue and tens of thousands of jobs for the domestic economy.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston heeded calls from fellow provinces to revive Energy East, an interprovincial pipeline that would reduce reliance on foreign energy imports. 

During a Wednesday conference call with his fellow premiers, Houston urged the federal government to “immediately approve the Energy East pipeline,” reported CBC News.

The $16 billion pipeline was among the $150 billion in energy projects cancelled under the Trudeau government.

Of notable concern was the federal Impact Assessment Act, which gave investors a hard time getting shovels in the ground, even after securing regulatory approval for their projects. 

TC Energy cancelled Energy East in October 2017 after engaging in a burdensome regulatory process. Bill C-69, the architect of investor uncertainty, was later reversed in a judicial review. A federal appeal remains before the courts. 

The National Energy Board, as part of an “upstream and downstream” emissions review in 2017 for the interprovincial pipeline, did not approve construction.

TransCanada planned to build 1,500 km of new pipe and reverse the direction on another 3,000 km of an existing pipeline. However, the project faced heavy opposition in Quebec and Ontario.

If completed, Energy East would have carried 1.1 million barrels of crude oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan daily to refineries in New Brunswick. 

Premier Houston pushed for all provinces to open up interprovincial trade policies and remove barriers that hinder the movement of goods and services. “For me personally, it’s a no-brainer that we need to get rid of these trade barriers.” 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith concurred in a separate press conference Tuesday morning. “We should be asking ourselves why wouldn’t we [build] more [pipelines]? Why wouldn’t we talk about Energy East?”

Between 2015 and 2020, Canada lost $150 billion in energy investment opportunities, which would have generated billions in revenue and tens of thousands of jobs for the domestic economy.

“Getting new energy projects underway can take time — it would take years, even if governments fast-tracked approvals,” said Colin Craig, president of policy think tank Second Street.

Canada has spent over half a trillion dollars on foreign oil imports over the past 30 years, despite having the third-largest reserves globally.

Federal policies, including tanker bans and regulatory hurdles, have made it difficult for Canadian oil projects to develop, while provinces like Québec imported $228 billion worth of oil. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith emphasized the need for energy security through domestic pipelines to reduce reliance on U.S. imports and diversify markets.

Critics argue Ottawa's stance on environmental regulations makes it harder for Canada to sell its own oil while foreign oil thrives.

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Alex Dhaliwal

Calgary Based Journalist

Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.

COMMENTS

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  • Bruce Atchison
    commented 2025-01-23 19:27:29 -0500
    Were it not for Trudeau’s idiotic idealism, Energy East and other projects would be up and running now. We could be energy independent were it not for those block heads blocking pipelines. It’s also time to stop the equalization scam. It encourages poor provinces to stay poor and not develop their resources. And in the next election, let’s give the Liberals a reset they won’t soon forget.