CDN NEWS | 
US NEWS 
The survey was taken in the same week U.S. President Donald Trump escalated a global trade war
A man wearing an “I love Canadian pipelines” shirt applauds during a pro-pipeline gathering in downtown Vancouver, Tuesday, June 18, 2019. Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
More than three in four Canadians would support publicly funding an oil pipeline to carry crude from Alberta to eastern Canada, according to a poll commissioned by Bloomberg.
Such a project, crossing thousands of kilometres from the oilsands of Alberta to Canada’s east, where many of the country’s refineries are located, would reduce Canada’s reliance on exporting to the U.S. market.
The survey, by Nanos Research, was taken in the same week United States President Donald Trump escalated a global trade war, adding tariffs on foreign-made automobiles, in addition to tariffs on steel and aluminum and so-called “reciprocal tariffs” against most trading partners.
Ties between the U.S. and Canada have soured in recent months as Trump targeted Canada specifically with a number of trade actions, suggested it should become the 51st state, and mocked the former prime minister by repeatedly calling him “governor.”
Within days of his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order to put 25 per cent import taxes on most Canadian products and a 10 pr cent duty on oil. Those tariffs are still on the books, but for now they’ve been suspended for goods shipped in compliance with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement, known as CUSMA. He has also threatened sectoral tariffs on goods Canada is a leader in producing, such as lumber.
Nearly all of Canada’s crude exports go to the U.S. because of a lack of pipelines running to Canadian ocean ports. Even the pipelines that carry oil from Alberta to eastern Canadian refineries cross through the U.S. on their routes, a potential vulnerability in a trade war.
The poll showed strong support for a new pipeline that would flow across Canada. Some 77 per cent support or somewhat support the idea of the national government funding a pipeline’s construction, according to the survey. Just 15 per cent are opposed or somewhat opposed, and the rest were unsure.
Calgary-based TC Energy Corp. proposed a west-to-east pipeline called Energy East a decade ago, but cancelled the project in 2017 amid opposition, particularly in Quebec. That line would have carried Alberta oil to eastern refineries while also giving energy producers a way to load tankers in the Atlantic via a terminal in New Brunswick.
Yet about six in 10 poll respondents from Quebec would support such a pipeline project today, according to the Nanos poll. The province’s government has also recently signalled more openness to a pipeline from Alberta running to Quebec.
Under Justin Trudeau, the Canadian government funded the expansion of Trans Mountain pipeline, stretching from Alberta to the Vancouver region, after acquiring the project from Kinder Morgan Inc. in 2018. The expansion, which was designed to expand Canada’s capacity to access Asian energy markets, ran tens of billions of dollars over budget but was finally completed last year.
The Nanos poll also found that about four in five Canadians say they care or somewhat care about the size of the federal budget deficit, which was projected to be about $48 billion this year.
Liberal Party Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre have each pledged billions in tax cuts and spending during the current election campaign. The vote is April 28.
The poll of 1,054 Canadians was taken from March 29 to April 1 and has an error margin of 3 percentage points.
With assistance from Kevin Orland
Bloomberg.com
Share This:
