08/06/2026
Interesting.The plot thickens
CANADA'S RESOURCE INDUSTRY IS SOUNDING THE ALARM — AGAIN: ENBRIDGE POSTPONES PLANS FOR MAINLINE EXPANSION
Two things happened in recent days. One is the announcement that Mark Carney is taking next steps to designate Alberta's proposed West Coast crude pipeline as a project of national interest. The other is Enbridge's announcement Friday that they are postponing the 250,000-barrel-per-day expansion of their Mainline crude pipeline network, partly because Canadian oil producers have not committed to significant output increases.
MOUs to build pipelines to tidewater are all well and good — they're a start — but without production to fill those lines, it's headed for nowhere. Enbridge, Canada's largest pipeline operator, warns that until the laws themselves change, until there is "substantially greater regulatory and policy certainty," Enbridge does not see producers making final investment decisions to fill the lines.
You can't fill a pipeline under temporary political shortcuts. Industry is flat-out telling the government: We aren't spending billions of dollars based on political promises and ministerial handshakes. Change the actual laws, or private capital stays on the sidelines.
Enbridge Liquids Pipelines President Colin Gruending explicitly stated that energy companies are refusing to make final investment decisions because the government’s proposed changes are merely non-binding 'workarounds' rather than actual laws. Gruending targeted the federal government's strategy, noting that while recent framework agreements between Alberta and the feds aim to accelerate oilsands growth, “most of the proposed changes remain non-binding and have not been enshrined into law” adding that they "do not expect producers to be making binding FID-able [Final Investment Decision] commitments to new pipelines until then.”
A political workaround like Bill C-5 can be entirely wiped out the minute there's a change of government. Industry hasn't forgotten what happened to the billions invested in pipeline proposals only to have the rug pulled out from under them with a change of government a dozen years ago. Industry demands permanent legislative clarity, not arbitrary political shortcuts.
Until then, it looks like governments will have to moonlight as energy companies while private investment dollars go elsewhere. When government policy relies on political tricks instead of stable rules of law, everyday Canadian citizens inherit all the financial risk.
This is not a "Conservative opposition talking point, an Alberta grievance or an industry lobbying slogan. It is the commercial judgment of Canada’s largest pipeline operator" writes Terry J. Winnitoy in EnergyNow, adding, "When a company with existing infrastructure, customers, and operating experience postpones an expansion because producers will not sign binding contracts, Ottawa should pay attention."
Yes. Yes they should.
YOUR VERDICT: Should the government focus on creating permanent, predictable regulatory laws, or was Bill C-5 an expedient political workaround to get things done?
Image Credit: Edmonton Talks
