Breakdown

The Pipeline Debate and the Threat to Canada's Future
An examination of Canada’s struggle to rationalize hydrocarbon development that culminated in the 2018 impasse over the Trans Mountain Pipeline extension.
2019/20 The Donner Prize — Winner

Is a national consensus on hydrocarbon development possible?

The ongoing debate in Canada over the extraction of hydrocarbon resources and their transportation to markets exemplifies the country’s political polarization. Breakdown explores these tensions through economic, environmental, and political perspectives.

The Trudeau Liberals and Alberta’s one-term NDP government attempted to find a compromise that satisfies the concerns of British Columbia, Canada’s First Nations, and environmentalists. But they still could not break the impasse on the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion. With new players now at the table, can Canada find a reasonable path forward?