There are continued signs of light in Canada’s oil and gas industry as the new year begins.  

Nearing completion are major pipelines that will help ease the ongoing global energy crisis that deepened following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  

Industry leadership by Indigenous communities is rising, and momentum is building for technology like carbon capture and storage (CCS) to make a meaningful impact in reducing emissions.

Already, the strength of Canada’s resource sectors like oil and gas is helping offset slower growth in other industries, according to the OECD’s latest economic outlook. 

But in a world short of energy supply, everyday costs are rising at a pace not seen in decades. 

It could get even worse this year as it becomes more difficult for Europe to secure additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, the OECD said. 

Canada’s responsibly developed resources are needed in global markets. Here’s what to watch in 2023. 

Indigenous ownership momentum  

Indigenous leadership in Canadian oil and gas is set to continue growing after a landmark 2022.  

Last year, a total of 39 communities in B.C. and Alberta launched investment in major pipelines, while two proposed Indigenous-owned LNG projects advanced through the regulatory process.  

Within days, a B.C. government decision is expected on whether the Haisla Nation and partner Pembina Pipeline can proceed with Cedar LNG, one of the largest Indigenous-owned infrastructure projects in Canada’s history. 

“They are breaking trail for the rest of us,” Karen Ogen-Toews, CEO of the First Nations LNG Alliance, said earlier this year.  

“Indigenous people are in support of major projects. We must do this responsibly, continuing to make sure that we have the highest environmental standards.”   

In March, 16 Indigenous communities along the route of the Coastal GasLink pipeline announced a partnership with TC Energy to become 10 per cent owners once it is up and running in 2023.  

In September, 23 First Nations and Métis communities in northern Alberta announced they will take a nearly 12 per cent ownership stake in seven Enbridge oil sands pipelines.  

“It’s amazing, not only for us,” said Justin Bourque, CEO of the Willow Lake Métis Nation and president of Athabasca Indigenous Investments, which will manage the group’s ownership share.  

“We believe that through our good work, through our transparent and accountable operations, we will elevate the collective.” 

More spending and more jobs 

Across the country, Canada’s top 10 oil and gas producers alone plan to spend $23 billion on development in 2023, up from $20 billion in 2022.  

Part of that is drilling activity, which is expected to increase to the highest level since 2018, reaching 6,409 wells in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan, according to the Canadian Association of Energy Contractors (CAOEC).  

Each active drilling rig adds 220 direct and indirect jobs to the economy, the CAOEC says.  

Drilling is expected to support 42,350 jobs this year, nearly double the jobs activity supported in 2019.  

In 2020, Canada’s oil and gas industry supported nearly 600,000 jobs across the country, according to the federal government.  

Completing major pipelines 

By the end of 2023, construction could be complete on both the Trans Mountain Expansion and Coastal GasLink pipelines, setting up Canada for the first major deliveries of its responsibly produced oil and gas to the world.  

Overall, Coastal GasLink is 80 per cent complete and TMX has reached 73 per cent completion, according to the latest project updates.  

“As Coastal GasLink enters into its final year of construction, we are on track to deliver cleaner, Canadian-made energy to the world at a time it is needed most,” the project said in a statement.   

Coastal GasLink will deliver natural gas produced in northeast B.C. to Canada’s first LNG export terminal, being built at the Port of Kitimat.    

TMX will significantly increase capacity for Canada to export oil from Alberta through the Westridge Marine Terminal at Burnaby, B.C.   

Both projects will help meet growing demand for oil and gas, particularly in Asia. 

Momentum building for CCS 

This year is expected to bring more clarity around new carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in Canada’s oil and gas industry.  

CCS works by capturing CO2 emissions at industrial sites and transporting it by pipeline for injection and permanent storage deep underground. Canada is already home to about 15 per cent of world CCS capacity, despite being responsible for just 1.6 per cent of world emissions. 

A new wave of CCS projects is proposed in Alberta, the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) noted recently.  

Seven new projects with known capacity and commissioning dates – plus expansions of existing projects – have the potential to increase Alberta’s CCS capacity to about 56 million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. 

This is equivalent to 22 per cent of CO2 emissions in Alberta in 2020, the CER said. 

One of the major new CCS projects being advanced is by the Pathways Alliance, a joint initiative by companies representing 95 per cent of oil sands production. A new agreement with the province of Alberta enables Pathways to “immediately start” detailed evaluation of its proposed storage hub, which would be one of the world’s largest CCS projects.  

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The outlook for Canada’s extra-low emissions Woodfibre LNG project just got even stronger.  

A new $1.5 billion investment by Enbridge builds on momentum following the April milestone of notice to proceed being issued to the project’s main contractor.  

“Woodfibre is now essentially assured to go ahead with the recent announcement,” says Thomas Liles, vice-president with Oslo-Norway based consultancy Rystad Energy.  

Enbridge CEO Al Monaco calls the $5.1 billion project “a really exciting ground floor opportunity” in Canadian LNG. 

“We see a huge opportunity here for Canada to materially ramp up LNG exports,” Monaco said during the company’s second quarter results call.  

“The economic benefits are obvious, but also for Canada to play a leading role in improving global energy security and reducing GHG emissions beyond our own borders. 

“Even put aside today’s frothy global LNG market, the west coast is highly competitive in any future energy scenario that we see.” 

Enbridge will become 30 per cent owner alongside Woodfibre LNG, a subsidiary of Singapore’s RGE Group. The natural gas for the project will be sourced from Pacific Canbriam Energy, another RGE subsidiary.  

Monaco said Enbridge’s pipeline system in B.C. already carries production from Pacific Canbriam’s operations.  

To reach the Woodfibre site on traditional lands of the Squamish Nation, utility FortisBC will expand its connection to Enbridge’s T-South pipeline.  

In 2015, the Squamish Nation issued Woodfibre the only non-treaty Indigenous environmental assessment certificate for an LNG project in Canada.

  It is smaller scale among global LNG projects, at 2.1 million tonnes per year. That compares to 14 million tonnes per year at the LNG Canada project that is under construction in Kitimat. 

Woodfibre is expected to start exporting Canadian natural gas in 2027, and Monaco sees it as a platform for more LNG opportunity. 

“Woodfibre connects to our upstream pipes… and anchors their expansion,” he said. 

“What we really like is that it will be among the lowest emission facilities in the world, at less than 0.04 tons of CO2 equivalent per ton of LNG delivered.” 

That’s lower than the bar of 0.15 per cent per tonne expected to be set by LNG Canada when it is up and running in 2025.  

The global average is 0.35 per cent per tonne, according to Oxford Energy Institute. 

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Calgary-based Enbridge is advancing a US$450 million project to relocate a Wisconsin portion of the critical Line 5 pipeline at the request of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.  

Opponents do not want the re-route to proceed and instead are pressing for Line 5 to be shut down entirely. 

This threatens energy security in the U.S. and Canada – and thousands of jobs on both sides of the border – amid the growing global energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  

Here are the facts.  

Fact: Line 5 is critical to North American energy security 

Line 5 is a model example of shared energy security between Canada and the United States.  

The approximately 1,000-kilometre pipeline is a key part of the Enbridge Mainline system, linking energy suppliers and consumers across the border.  

It runs from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario, carrying crude oil and natural gas liquids to Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec.  

The pipeline traverses northern Wisconsin for about 160 kilometres, about 20 kilometres of which goes through the Bad River Reservation. 

The products delivered on Line 5 are processed into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and propane, including about 45 per cent of the petroleum currently required by refineries in Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. 

U.S. demand for these products is expected to grow in the coming decades even as more renewable energy comes online.  

The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that petroleum demand will increase to nearly 19 million barrels per day in 2050 compared to 17 million barrels per day in 2021.  

Fact: Enbridge is advancing solutions for continued reliable energy supply 

In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer continues to seek to shut down Line 5 even though the pipeline has operated without a single spill in Michigan’s Straights of Mackinac for nearly 70 years.  

Estimates are it would take 2,000 trucks or 800 rail cars going one-way each day to transport the same volume of petroleum to customers, resulting in higher emissions and greater risk of a spill if Line 5 is shut down. 

Enbridge is advancing a US$500 million tunnel project in Michigan to safely house a new replacement pipeline, ensuring safe and reliable energy to satisfy demand long into the future. 

In Wisconsin, the company started the permitting process to reroute the pipeline around the Bad River Reservation in February 2020 after the tribe launched legal action to remove it.  

The company says it is committed to continued dialogue with the Bad River leadership and will move forward with the re-route to maintain uninterrupted service to energy consumers who rely on Line 5.  

Fact: Landowners support the re-route 

The Line 5 relocation in Wisconsin would replace about 20 kilometres of pipeline through the Bad River Reservation with about 65 kilometres of new pipeline that goes around the reservation’s borders.  

Enbridge says it has reached agreements with 100 per cent of the landowners along the proposed route, or about 300 property owners who have agreed to have the pipeline cross their land.  

The path of the re-route was chosen because it minimizes environmental impacts and protects critical resources, the company says.  

Fact: Line 5 relocation would benefit Native Americans 

The Line 5 relocation would provide economic opportunities for Native American communities.  

Enbridge estimates that US$46 million will be spent with Native-owned businesses and communities over the course of the project.  

There will be hiring and training for Native American workers, who will make up about 10 per cent of the project workforce, the company says.  

Fact: The project is backed by American unions 

In April 2022 Enbridge signed a project labour agreement with four U.S. unions and Wisconsin-based contractor Michels Pipeline Inc., securing their involvement in the Line 5 relocation project.  

In all, the project is expected to create 700 construction jobs.  

Enbridge is currently moving its applications through the regulatory process, with approvals required by federal and state agencies before it can proceed.  

Fact: Shutting down Line 5 would hurt Americans and Canadians 

Americans and Canadians would pay significantly more for everyday transportation fuels if Line 5 is shut down. 

Families and businesses across the U.S. Midwest would collectively pay at least US$4.8 billion per year more for diesel and gasoline because of the lost reliable supply to area refineries, according to a March 2022 report by the Houston, Texas-based Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA).   

That’s in addition to thousands of anticipated job losses – nearly 34,000 in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania, according to a 2021 CEA report, and up to 28,500 in Ontario, according to the St Lawrence Corridor Economic Development Commission.   

The Line 5 relocation in Wisconsin and tunnel project in Michigan are critical to ensure this does not happen.  

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An environmental group proposing a laundry list of unrealistic alternatives to replace Line 5 ignores many key facts and realities about the critical cross-border pipeline. 

Environmental Defence argues that the closure of Line 5, which runs from Superior, WI to Sarnia, Ont., including a 7-kilometre stretch where it crosses Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac, is “inevitable,” downplaying the potential devastating impact of its closure on both sides of the border. 

The group suggests a combination of upgrades to existing pipeline infrastructure, increased rail or marine tanker traffic or the use of even older pipeline infrastructure, however the report acknowledges the likelihood of rationing supply to Canadian refineries, higher prices at the pump and the need for increased imports from foreign suppliers to meet demand. 

Despite suggesting “alternatives” to replace the supply of critical energy products via Line 5, the report concludes that the pipeline’s closure should be accompanied by a strategy to abolish the use of fossil fuels in Canada along with a “just plan” for the thousands of Canadian industry workers whose jobs would be impacted by such drastic action. 

Here is what Environmental Defence is not acknowledging in their report:  

Fact: The closure of Line 5 is not remotely “inevitable”  

While the report suggests the pipeline’s fate is sealed and will be ultimately closed “either through court order or due to a rupture,” there is little evidence to support either claim. 

On the legal side, Line 5’s most ardent opponent, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, has struggled to make the case that the fate of the pipeline is a state issue, and not the jurisdiction the federal courts, which both pipeline owner Enbridge and the Canadian government have argued in favour of. 

Last November, a U.S. Circuit Court Judge sided with Enbridge against a move by Michigan’s battle to have their case against Line 5 heard in a state court, noting the case involves “substantial federal issues.” 

Shortly after the ruling, Whitmer abandoned the federal case and renewed focus on a state court action originally filed in 2019 against Enbridge by Michigan’s attorney general. 

Meanwhile, the Canadian government, arguing the pipeline is a critical source of resources to Ontario and Quebec, have invoked a 1977 treaty designed to ensure the uninterrupted flow of cross-border energy between the two countries. 

The White House has said it has no immediate plans to call for the pipeline’s closure, and will continue talks with Ottawa on the future of the line. 

Fact: Line 5 remains very safe 

The report further suggests that an environmental disaster in the Great Lakes due to the pipeline’s rupture is a near certainty, despite offering little in the way of evidence that the section under the Straits of Mackinac is an imminent threat. 

In its 68 years of operation, Line 5 hasn’t had a single release where it runs between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The walls of the dual pipelines are three times as thick as those of a typical pipeline, with an “incredibly durable” enamel coating to protect from corrosion and potential impacts, Enbridge says, while the area above the pipeline has been designated a “no-anchor” zone. 

Despite the spotless safety record of that section, Enbridge is working to make the critical connector even safer, with a planned Great Lakes Tunnel project, which will replace the existing Line 5 with a new pipeline secured inside a concrete tunnel located approximately 100 feet below the lakebed. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now conducting an environmental impact statement review of the project, while the Michigan Public Service Commission’s permitting process is ongoing. Construction is expected to take approximately three years to complete, following regulatory approvals. 

Fact: Line 5 is important for regions beyond just Ontario and Quebec 

While the report largely focuses on the impact to refineries and consumers in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec, it downplays the importance of Line 5 providing crucial feedstocks to refineries in several US states, and the impact of its closure on Americans. 

Line 5 supplies about 45 per cent of the petroleum currently required by refineries in Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. 

Oil and natural gas liquids delivered on Line 5 is processed into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and propane, including 100 per cent of the jet fuel used at Toronto’s Pearson Airport and more than half of the jet fuel for the Detroit Metro Airport. 

Line 5 also provides about 55 per cent of propane requirements, primarily for heating, in Michigan, the largest residential consumer of propane in the US.  

While the report estimates Canadian consumers would see what the authors deem a marginal impact, paying an extra 1.8 cents per litre on gasoline, it ignores other independent studies that have reviewed the potential impact on US customers. 

A study conducted on behalf of the State of Michigan found that alternatives to Line 5 would likely increase the price of propane on both a wholesale and retail level. 

The Mackinac Centre for Public Policy estimates that if Line 5 were shut down, Michigan residents could have to spend $25,000 to convert from propane to electric heating, followed by a $3,500 annual increase to their annual heating costs. That could affect 330,000 Michigan residents. 

Fact: Demand for oil and gas in North America will only increase 

The report weighs the potential environmental risk of the Line 5 pipeline against whether it’s “actually needed to meet our energy needs.” 

 However, the idea that the closure of one pipeline would achieve that end is extremely debatable given between the U.S. and Canada there is an existing network of more than 450,000 kilometres of pipelines, enough to circle the Earth 11 times, that move millions of barrels per day of crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products between the neighbouring nations. 

The report further suggestions Canada needs to abandon the notion of “energy nationalism” and embrace the “ability of refiners to import from global markets over an energy nationalism model where Canada meets domestic demand first, and only exports excess.” 

But regional energy security has only become more critical as global economies emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, US President Joe Biden’s plea for OPEC+ nations like Saudi Arabia and Russia to pump more oil to meet soaring domestic demand and lower gas prices was snubbed. Meanwhile, the European Union accused Russia of “weaponizing” its natural gas supply amid a massive spike in energy prices prompted by underperforming renewable energy assets. 

Demand for oil and gas in Canada and the US, meanwhile, will remain significant for decades to come. 

Outlooks by both the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) project that oil and gas will continue to dominate energy supply to 2050. The reference case of the CER’s latest outlook sees natural gas and refined petroleum products meeting 73 per cent of Canadians’ energy needs in three decades, compared to 77 per cent in 2020. 

In the CER’s “evolving scenario,” which assumes actions to decarbonize increase, natural gas and refined petroleum products supply 64 per cent of Canadian demand in 2050. 

Meanwhile, the EIA’s latest outlook base case sees oil and petroleum supplying 70 per cent of total U.S. energy consumption in 2050, essentially the same as their market share in 2020. In the EIA’s scenario that includes lower costs for renewable energy development, oil and gas still meet 67 per cent of U.S. energy demand in three decades. 

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Media reports are circulating that exaggerate the safety risk of the Line 5 pipeline on the seven-kilometre stretch where it crosses Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac.

The pipeline has never had a single spill in the Straits in its 68 years of operation, and now uses advanced marine safety monitoring that has been third-party verified as highly effective.

Line 5 is a critical source of energy supply for homes and businesses in Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as supporting thousands of jobs.

Line 5 needs to continue operating until its owner, Enbridge, can complete building a $500-million tunnel designed to safely house a new replacement pipeline underneath the lakebed, ensuring safe and reliable energy to satisfy demand long into the future.

Fact: Line 5 is safe

Line 5 has been operating in the Straits of Mackinac for 68 years without a single release.

The walls of the dual pipelines are three times as thick as those of a typical pipeline, with an “incredibly durable” enamel coating to protect from corrosion and potential impacts, Enbridge says. Inspections conducted in 2019 and 2020 confirm that the coating system is working as intended and effectively protecting the pipelines, the company reports.

The Straits of Mackinac crossing is a no-anchor zone, regulated by the US Coast Guard. Enbridge has added extra safeguards to reduce the risk of a vessel’s anchor striking and damaging the pipelines.

Run from the 24-7 Enbridge Straits Maritime Operations Centre (ESMOC), this includes patrol boats, a communication and monitoring system that identifies approaching shipping vessels and reminds them of the no-anchor zone and high-resolution cameras that act as an early warning and notification system.

ESMOC staff has full authority to direct the Enbridge operations centre to shut down Line 5 if sufficient risk is identified.

A September 2020 safety analysis by C-FER Technologies found that these measures reduce the risk of pipeline failure by 99.5 per cent, compared to no measures at all.

Fact: Line 5 is critical to communities in Canada and the U.S.

Line 5 supplies about 45 per cent of the petroleum currently required by refineries in Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

If Line 5 was shut down, it would take 2,000 trucks or 800 rail cars going one-way each day to transport the same volume of petroleum to customers, resulting in higher greenhouse gas emissions and greater risk of a spill.

Oil and natural gas liquids delivered on Line 5 is processed into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and propane, including 100 per cent of the jet fuel used at Toronto’s Pearson Airport and more than half of the jet fuel for the Detroit Metro Airport.

Line 5 also provides about 55 per cent of propane requirements in Michigan, the largest residential consumer of propane in the U.S.

A study conducted on behalf of the State of Michigan found that alternatives to Line 5 would likely increase the price of propane on both a wholesale and retail level.

The Mackinac Centre for Public Policy estimates that if Line 5 were shut down, Michigan residents could have to spend $25,000 to convert from propane to electric heating, followed by a $3,500 annual increase to their annual heating costs. That could affect 330,000 Michigan residents.

Line 5 also delivers feedstock for petrochemical facilities in the region including the Sarnia-Lambton Petrochemical and Refining Complex, which employs more than 4,900 people directly and is estimated to indirectly generate an additional 23,500 jobs.

One facility owner, Plains Midstream Canada, warns that without product from Line 5, its facilities in Sarnia, Rapid River, MI and Superior, WI would face shutdowns and price hikes, resulting in job losses in “another significant blow to area residents at a time when they can afford it the least.”

Fact: Enbridge is working to make the safe pipeline even safer

Enbridge has received initial permits for its planned Great Lakes Tunnel project, which will replace the existing Line 5 with a new pipeline secured inside a concrete tunnel located approximately 100 feet below the lakebed.

In addition to housing Line 5, in the future the tunnel could also house other important infrastructure for the region like transmission systems for electricity, data and telecommunications.

The project will protect the Great Lakes and thousands of Michigan jobs, according to the Michigan Manufacturers Association, which is part of a coalition working to ensure the project moves forward.

In addition to protecting the Great Lakes, the coalition says the project will help kickstart the Michigan economy as it emerges from COVID-19.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now conducting an environmental impact statement review of the project, while the Michigan Public Service Commission continues to progress its permitting process. Construction is expected to take approximately three years to complete, following regulatory approvals.

Fact: Oil and gas will remain critical to Canada and the U.S. over the long term

Pipelines like Line 5 are critically important as North America’s demand for oil and gas is expected to stay strong over the coming decades, despite an increasing share of renewable sources in energy markets.

Outlooks by both the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) and U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) project that oil and gas will continue to dominate energy supply to 2050. The reference case of the CER’s latest outlook sees natural gas and refined petroleum products meeting 73 per cent of Canadians’ energy needs in three decades, compared to 77 per cent in 2020.

In the CER’s “evolving scenario,” which assumes actions to decarbonize increase, natural gas and refined petroleum products supply 64 per cent of Canadian demand in 2050.

Meanwhile, the EIA’s latest outlook base case sees oil and petroleum supplying 70 per cent of total U.S. energy consumption in 2050, essentially the same as their market share in 2020. In the EIA’s scenario that includes lower costs for renewable energy development, oil and gas still meet 67 per cent of U.S. energy demand in three decades.

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Overview

A strong American oil and gas industry is a critical element of economic prosperity for the North American energy security network between Canada, the United States and Mexico. This includes pipeline infrastructure such as the Line 3 Replacement Project in Minnesota. In this CEC Fact Sheet, we analyze the direct and indirect economic impacts of the pipeline transportation industry in Minnesota, using the IMPLAN database model.¹

1. See ‘About the IMPLAN model’ in Notes at the end of this Fact Sheet.

Canada and two U.S. states: Michigan and Minnesota

There are also state facts worth noting in the context of attempts to shut down selected Canada-U.S. pipelines:

• Despite the attempts by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer to shut down Canadian-origin Line 5 in Michigan, in 2019, the total value of energy products exported from Canada to Michigan was over $4.2 billion, while the total value of energy products imported into Canada from Michigan was nearly $1.6 billion.
• As for Minnesota, in 2019 the total value of energy products imported from Canada was over $8.1 billion, while the total value of energy  products exported to Canada was over $134 million.

Details on Minnesota’s Line 3

Work is currently underway to complete the final leg of the Line 3 Replacement Project in the U.S., consisting of constructing the remaining 337 miles of pipeline in Minnesota. The adjoining pipeline segments in North Dakota, Wisconsin and Canada are already complete. The construction of Line 3 Replacement is bringing both employment and safer, more reliable energy to communities in Minnesota. The state’s regulatory process took six years, including two reviews of a 13,000-plus page environmental impact statement, 70 public comment meetings, four separate legal reviews and 320 route modifications in response to stakeholder input.

In March 2021, the Minnesota Court of Appeals heard arguments over the Line 3 Replacement Project in northern Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Commerce, along with the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and several Indigenous and environmental groups argued before the three-judge panel that Enbridge failed to show long-term need for the Line 3 project.

In June 2021, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed that Minnesota’s independent Public Utilities Commission correctly granted the certificate of need and route permit. In light of that decision, we review and highlight the economic benefits of the pipeline transportation industry in Minnesota.

Specific benefits of the Line 3 Replacement Project

According to Enbridge, the benefits of the Line 3 Replacement Project during construction are as follows:

(Enbridge, undated).

Analysis of the pipeline industry in Minnesota

Tables 2, 3 and 4 summarize the direct and indirect impact on employment, labour income, employee compensation, output, value-added/GDP, and tax receipts from the operations of the Minnesota pipeline transportation industry in 2019.

The direct and indirect economic impacts of the pipeline transportation industry in Minnesota in 2019 are as follows (see Table 2). Direct impacts are measured as the jobs, labor income, employee compensation, value added/GDP and output within the Minnesota pipeline transportation industry; indirect impacts are measured as the jobs, labor income, employee compensation, value added/GDP and output occurring throughout the supply chain of the Minnesota pipeline transportation industry. Note that these are annual effects.

Source: IMPLAN 2021

Economic Impacts of the Minnesota Pipeline Transportation Industry, 2019

The economic impacts of the pipeline transportation industry in Minnesota can be further broken down by direct and indirect impacts (see Table 3). Also, the tax receipts from Minnesota’s pipeline sector can be broken down by federal, state, county and sub-county (see Table 4). Note that in both charts, most impacts are direct.²

2. To arrive at conservative estimates of employment, value-added/GDP, tax revenues and other impacts, we do not calculate induced economic impacts, only direct and indirect impacts.

Source: IMPLAN 2021

Source: IMPLAN 2021

Conclusion

New pipeline infrastructure, such as the Line 3 Replacement Project in Minnesota, will serve increased demand for crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products and be critical to continuing a strong U.S. oil and gas industry and enhancing North American energy security between the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

In fact, the pipeline transportation industry plays a significant role in the Minnesota economy, employing 1,169 people, providing nearly $134 million in employee compensation, contributing nearly $444 million to valueadded/GDP and generating nearly $128 million in taxes for federal, state and county governments.

Notes

This CEC Fact Sheet was compiled by Lennie Kaplan and Mark Milke at the Canadian Energy Centre (www.canadianenergycentre.ca). Percentages in this report are calculated from the original data, which can run to multiple decimal points. They are not calculated using the rounded figures that may appear in charts and in the text, which are more reader-friendly. Thus, calculations made from the rounded figures (and not the more precise source data) will differ from the more statistically precise percentages we arrive at using source data. The authors and the Canadian Energy Centre would like to thank and acknowledge the assistance of Philip Cross and an anonymous reviewer in reviewing the data and research for this Fact Sheet. Image credits: Nicole Geri from Unsplash.com

About the IMPLAN model

IMPLAN combines a set of extensive databases, economic factors, multipliers, and demographic statistics with a highly refined, customizable modeling system. IMPLAN allows detailed insights into an industry’s contribution to the U.S. and its states and counties. The pipeline transportation industry includes establishments that use transmission pipelines to transport products, such as crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products. It also includes the storage of natural gas.

References (As of June 7, 2021)

Enbridge, updated, Line 3 Replacement. <https://bit.ly/2SRvu0x>; IMPLAN. (2021). Pipeline Transportation Industry: Regions and Results. <https://bit.ly/3oPIdN4>; In the Matter of the Application of Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership, for a Certificate of Need and a Routing Permit for the Proposed Line 3 Replacement Project in Minnesota from the North Dakota Border to the Wisconsin Border, Nos. A20-1071 to A20-1077 (Minn. Ct. App., June 14, 2021) <https://bit.ly/3xh8WoP>; Morning Consult. (2019), North American Energy Security Depends on Modern Pipeline Expansion. <https://bit.ly/3oNX3nf>.

Creative Commons Copyright

Research and data from the Canadian Energy Centre (CEC) is available for public usage under creative commons copyright terms with attribution to the CEC. Attribution and specific restrictions on usage including non-commercial use only and no changes to material should follow guidelines enunciated by Creative Commons here: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND.

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Overview

There has been a lot of discussion in the media about the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and her attempts to end operations for Enbridge Line 5, the pipeline that winds its way between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario. The pipeline carries products that fuel the region’s industries and communities: light oil, synthetic light oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs), much of which is refined into propane.

Enbridge has applied to state regulators in Michigan and federal regulators in Canada for permission to commence a $500-million project to make Line 5 even safer, enabling continued reliable energy delivery while boosting employment in the region.

While there has been much attention paid to the fate of Line 5 itself, there has been little analysis of the strong links between Michigan and Canada when it comes to energy, most notably energy trade (exports and imports), and the economic impact of the pipeline transportation sector in Michigan.

Energy trade flows between Michigan and Canada

According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA),

Several interstate pipelines cross Michigan and there are also five U.S.-Canadian natural gas pipeline crossings…Natural gas enters Michigan from Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin, and, although Michigan receives a small amount of pipeline natural gas from Canada, the bulk of the natural gas flowing across the border goes into Canada, most of it at St. Clair. More natural gas enters the state than is consumed there and most of the excess is exported to Canada.

In 2019, the total value of value of energy product trade flows between Canada and Michigan was over CA$5.8 billion or US$4.4 billion (see Table 1).

Source: Statistics Canada, International Accounts and Trade Division (2021a and 20201b).

Michigan’s $1.6 billion in energy exports to Canada

The total value of energy products imported into Canada from Michigan was nearly $1.6 billion in 2019. This includes:

• Nearly $1.5 billion in natural gas;
• $11.7 million in natural gas liquids (including condensate) and related products;
• $3.5 million in hard coal;
• $82.3 million in coke and other coke oven products ;
• $7.9 million in motor gasoline; and
• $11.5 million in diesel and other biofuels (Statistics Canada, 2021a).

Canada’s $4.2 billion in energy exports to Michigan

The total value of energy products exported from Canada to Michigan was over $4.2 billion in 2019. This includes:

• $3.0 billion in conventional crude oil;
• $458.9 million in natural gas;
• $244.3 million in electricity;
• $197.5 million in natural gas liquids (including condensate) and related products;
• $82.2 million in hard coal;
• $4.9 million in coke and other coke oven products;
• $73.9 million in diesel and biodiesel fuels;
• $54.4 million in heavy fuel oils;
• $9 million in light fuel oils;
• $36.1 million in fuel wood and solid fuel products; and
• $30.3 million in motor gasoline (Statistics Canada, 2021b).

Economic impact of pipeline transportation on the Michigan economy

The pipeline transportation sector¹ has a significant impact on Michigan’s economy. It

• employed 1,430 people as of 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics; and
• made a contribution of over US$643 million to the Michigan economy in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Key labour income statistics

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, as of May 2019, the mean wage² for those employed in the pipeline transportation sector in Michigan was $39.20 per hour, 61 per cent higher than the mean wage for all occupations in Michigan, at $24.42. Similarly, the annual mean wage in the pipeline transportation sector was $81,530, also 61 per cent higher than the $50,780 annual mean wage for all occupations (see Figures 1 and 2)

1. Industries in the pipeline transportation subsector use transmission pipelines to transport products, such as crude oil, natural gas, refined petroleum products, and slurry. Industries are identified based on the products transported (i.e., pipeline transportation of crude oil, natural gas, refined petroleum products, and other products).
2. Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a “year-round, full-time” figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is no published hourly wage, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020).

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020).

Some key facts on Line 5 and its impact on Michigan, Ontario, and Quebec

Shutting down Line 5 would have adverse impacts on the economies of Michigan, Ontario, and Quebec.

Estimates indicate that an average workforce of 200 to 255 people will be required during the construction stage of the Line 5 project; when construction is at its busiest, the workforce will peak at an estimated 300 to 325 workers. The yearly wage for these workers is estimated to range from $60,000 to $200,000. These benefits would be lost if Line 5 were shut down.

Line 5 transports up to 540,000 barrels per day (bpd) of light crude oil, light synthetic crude, and natural gas liquids (NGLs), much of which is refined into propane.

• This includes 432,000 bpd of crude oil and 108,000 bpd of natural gas liquids.
• Of the 432,000 bpd of light crude oil, about 70 per cent, or 302,400 bpd, along with nearly all of the natural gas liquids, go straight through Michigan and across the St. Clair River to Sarnia, Ontario.
• Those 302,400 daily barrels of oil are refined into propane, and then returned directly to Michigan for consumption and storage.

If Line 5 were shut down,

• Refineries in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario, and Quebec, all served by Enbridge, would receive just 14.7 million US gallons of energy products per day, or about 45 per cent less from Enbridge than their current supply of gas, diesel, and jet fuel.
• Michigan alone would face a propane supply shortage of 756,000 US gallons per day, or 55 per cent of current supply, since there are no short-term alternatives for transporting natural gas liquids to market.

Shutting down Line 5 would have serious implications for residents of Ontario and Quebec, too:

• Line 5 transports 540,000 bpd of oil and natural gas liquids into the Sarnia area (about half of the pipeline capacity to Ontario).
• If the line were shut down, distribution points in southern Ontario would face shortfalls of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
• Quebec could also be affected by rising prices in the area. Specifically, commuters and commercial transport could see higher gasoline prices.

Here’s what Michigan’s energy sector and economy would look like without Line 5:

• Michigan would need to find an alternative supply for between 4.2 million and 7.8 million US gallons of refined products (gas, diesel, jet fuel, and propane) every day.
• Line 5 provides 55% of the state’s propane needs and there are no alternatives if Line 5 shuts down.
• Currently, there are no viable options for replacing the volume of light crude that Line 5 delivers; rail can only deliver less than 10 per cent of that volume.
• Half of the aviation fuel at Detroit International Airport comes from Line 5 via a Toledo refinery; if Line 5 shuts down, the Toledo refinery shuts down as well with airline traffic disruption at Detroit International and lost jobs.
• It would take an estimated 2,100 trucks heading east every day from Superior, and travelling across Michigan, to do the same job.
• Similarly, it would take 800 rail cars a day to transport the equivalent amount of product. Using rail would increase the cost of propane by between $0.10 and $0.35 per gallon, depending on the supply location. Some of these costs would be passed on to customers.
• The infrastructure does not currently exist to support the necessary truck or rail traffic to fill the job currently done by Line 5.

Shutting down Line 5 will have impacts on home heating costs in Michigan:

• According to the investment research firm YCharts, the Michigan residential propane price was $2.025 USD per gallon, for week of March 29, 2021.
• According to recent testimony from Michael Sloan, Director of Energy Markets for ICF International before the Michigan House Energy Committee, removing Line 5 from the supply chain would boost the cost of propane by 10 to 14 cents over the long-term.

Conclusion

Michigan and Canada have developed strong and valuable energy trade links. The total value of trade flows of energy products between the two jurisdictions was over CA$5.8 billion in 2019 alone. The 1,430 people working in Michigan’s pipeline extraction sector earned an annual mean wage of $81,530 in 2019, about 61 per cent higher than the annual mean wage for all occupations in Michigan. And, the pipeline transportation sector made a contribution of over $643 million to Michigan’s economy in 2019.

Enhancing cross-border transportation infrastructure, most notably moving ahead with new pipeline projects, will be critical to maintaining and strengthening the strong energy product trade ties between Michigan and Canada.

According to the American Petroleum Institute (API),

Continued growth in U.S.-Canada petroleum trade will further strengthen the economies of both countries and further enhance North American energy security. However, such growth in trade relies on the continued development and maintenance of cross-border infrastructure to facilitate the movement of energy commodities and further integration of the North American energy market.

These are important factors to consider in any discussions over the future of Enbridge’s Line 5.

Notes

This CEC Fact Sheet was compiled by Lennie Kaplan and Mark Milke at the Canadian Energy Centre (www.canadianenergycentre.ca). Image credits: Mackinac Bridge, Mackinaw City by Aaron Burden from Unsplash.com

References (All links live as of May 1, 2021)

American Petroleum Institute (2021), U.S.-Canada Cross-Border Petroleum Trade: An Assessment of Energy Security and Economic Benefits <https://bit.ly/3dHng1A>; Bank of Canada (undated), Currency Converter, December 31, 2019 (date assumed <https://bit.ly/3spjpg0>; Enbridge (undated), The Impact of a Line 5 Shutdown <https://bit.ly/3npPXop>; Enbridge (2021), Line 5 and the Great Lakes Tunnel: Fact vs. Fiction <https://bit.ly/2Pu2ESz>; Mackinac Center for Public Policy (2020), Assessing the Costs of the U.P. Energy Task Force Committee Recommendations <https://bit.ly/3tYjgAB>; Mackinac Center for Public Policy (2020, November 24), “Whitmer Plan to Revoke Line 5 Easement Threatens Reliable, Affordable Energy for Michigan” <https://bit.ly/3npJaea>; Michigan Live (2021), Line 5 closure would hike propane costs, energy consultant testifies, <https://bit.ly/3xyGm3f>.Statistics Canada, International Accounts and Trade Division (2021a), Imports for Specified NAPCS Codes from the United States (Country of Export) by U.S. State of Export, Province of Clearance and Mode of Transport (2019), Custom Tabulation; Statistics Canada International Accounts and Trade Division (2021b), Total Exports for Specified NAPCS Codes to the United States (Country of Destination) by U.S. State of Destination, Province of Origin, Province of Clearance and Mode of Transport (2019), Custom Tabulation; US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2020), Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019, <https://bit.ly/3nDuWXe>.; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (2021), GDP in Current Dollars by County and MSA [database] <https://bit.ly/3rZKzc6>; U.S. EIA (2020), Michigan State Energy Profile <https://bit.ly/3aKbRxi>. YCharts (2021), Michigan Residential Propane Price <https://bit.ly/3vC7iNQ>.

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New estimates raise the number of jobs that could be impacted by a shutdown of the Line 5 pipeline in Ontario, Quebec and the U.S. Midwest to more than 60,000.

Nearly 34,000 jobs could be lost in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Pennsylvania if Michigan closes the pipeline, according to a report Monday by the Houston, Texas-based Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA).

That’s in addition to estimates of up to 5,000 direct and 23,500 indirect jobs at risk in Ontario, plus more in Quebec.

“It’s thousands of jobs in Michigan, thousands of jobs in Ohio, thousands of jobs in Ontario, and thousands of jobs in Quebec. The ripples are going to start spreading out and it’s going to impact a lot of people,” says Jason Hayes, director of environmental policy at the Michigan-based Mackinac Centre for Public Policy.

The CEA study, which focused on impacts of a shutdown in the U.S. Midwest, found that closing the line would result in a US$20.8-billion loss in economic activity and “a continuation of the exodus of people and jobs to other parts of the country.”

Line 5 carries oil and natural gas liquids from Western Canada to the U.S. Midwest, as well as Ontario and Quebec. It supplies about 45 per cent of the petroleum required by the region’s refineries, processed into products including 55 per cent of Michigan’s propane requirements, 100 per cent of the jet fuel used at Toronto’s Pearson Airport and more than half of the jet fuel for the Detroit Metro Airport.

In Michigan, Line 5 crosses the Great Lakes’ Straits of Mackinac for approximately seven kilometres, where it has been safely operating since 1953 without a single leak. However, the Michigan governor has set May 12 as the deadline for it to be shut down, based on safety concerns.

Pipeline operator Enbridge is not planning to comply with the deadline. A U.S. court-ordered mediation process is underway between the company and the State, with Enbridge arguing that the pipeline’s operations fall under federal jurisdiction and are protected by the 1977 Transit Pipeline Treaty between the U.S. and Canada.

Tunnel project to bring jobs, certainty

“I think all of us are hoping that May 12 continues to be a day of exchanging ideas and moving forward and hopefully at some point convincing everyone that Line 5 remains an essential piece of our infrastructure, whether we like to use and rely on hydrocarbons or not,” says Derek Dalling, executive director of the Michigan Propane Gas Association (MPGA).

“Line 5 is able to keep propane a very safe, reliable and affordable commodity. Without Line 5, that means transportation costs go up and those obviously just have to be passed on to the end user.”

Transporting the same amount of crude oil and natural gas liquids as delivered by Line 5 would require the less safe travel of 2,000 trucks or 800 rail cars going one-way each day. A study conducted on behalf of the State of Michigan found that alternatives to Line 5 would likely increase the price of propane on both a wholesale and retail level.

Dalling said MPGA members are firmly on board with Enbridge’s $500-million plan to replace the existing Line 5 with a new pipeline housed in a concrete tunnel underneath the lakebed. Subject to permit approvals, Enbridge targets completion of the tunnel in 2024.

“We think that, for lack of a better analogy, it’s the belt and suspenders approach to it, making a safe pipeline even safer,” Dalling said.

“With Enbridge paying for it for themselves, it just makes sense. There’s no taxpayer funds involved. The biggest thing is they need Line 5 to continue to be operational so that they can pay for that half a billion dollar project. The high paying jobs that it will bring to our region, the safety, the extra certainty it will bring just made us get on board the tunnel project from day one.”

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Benefits to Indigenous communities are expanding as construction advances on the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion.

Since work restarted in fall 2019 Indigenous communities along the route have seen an increase in jobs, business contracts, benefits agreements, and training opportunities with the project, while achieving milestones in Indigenous monitoring of work activities.

Here is a look at some of the most recent developments.

Jobs

As of the end of 2020, Trans Mountain and its contractors have hired 1,005 Indigenous people, or just over 10 per cent of the total workforce of about 9,700 workers hired so far. That is up significantly from the end of 2019, when the project and its contractors had hired approximately 300 Indigenous people out of 2,900 total hires.

Including direct, indirect, and induced jobs, Trans Mountain expects that during construction the total workforce will reach the equivalent of 15,000 jobs per year, followed by the equivalent of a further 37,000 jobs per year of operations.

Contracts

Work contracts for the project with Indigenous businesses reached $1.4 billion in value as of the end of 2020.

A key recent project is called Sqémél Lá:lém, which translates into Pit House Lodge in the traditional language of the Shxw’ōwhámél First Nation, located near Hope, B.C.

The worker accommodation complex for Trans Mountain was built by nation-owned Shxw’ōwhámél Ventures and partner LandSea Camp Services. It has a 6-unit recreation facility and a 21-unit kitchen, with dining facilities capable of feeding and seating up to 700 workers and guests. The first guests arrived in December 2020.

Shxw’ōwhámél Ventures says that the most attractive feature of Sqémél Lá:lém is that it allows for a future legacy housing development project for First Nation. In addition, the ongoing maintenance and operation of the camp will remain a source of employment for the community for years to come.

Benefits agreements

The expansion project has increased the number of benefits agreements signed with Indigenous communities. Confidential and unique to each community, the agreements “define a voluntary and mutually beneficial long-term relationship,” Trans Mountain says.

As of January 31, 2021, the project has signed agreements with 73 Indigenous groups in BC and Alberta that represent more than $550 million in benefits and opportunities. That’s up from February 2020, when the project had signed agreements with 59 Indigenous groups representing approximately $500 million in benefits and opportunities.

Benefits can include pipeline construction education and jobs training, skills enhancement, business opportunities or improved community services and infrastructure, Trans Mountain says.

Training

As an example of training opportunities, in summer 2020 Trans Mountain partnered with the Outland Youth Employment Program (OYEP), a national network of natural resource-based education, training and work opportunities for high school aged Indigenous youth.

Participants take part in a six-week program that includes on-the-job safety training, time management skill-building, remote work experience and lessons on managing personal work-life balance.

Through OYEP, participants learn how to work independently and as a group, receive cultural and spiritual support, establish networks, build confidence, and prepare for a successful transition into employment and post-secondary education, Trans Mountain says.

OYEP reports that in the last 19 years of program delivery, participants have had a 92 per cent high school graduation rate, a 99 per cent participant satisfaction rate and 793 high school credits granted.

The 2020 program with Trans Mountain was originally set for Kamloops but was relocated to Prince George to accommodate extra safety protocols and social distancing due to COVID-19.

Monitoring

Last year saw a milestone for the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committee (IAMC-TMX) that oversees the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline and its expansion project.

The brainchild of Ernie Crey, former chief of the Cheam First Nation, and Aaron Sumexheltza, former chief of the Lower Nicola Indian Band, IAMC-TMX was formed in 2017 as a joint body representing the 129 Indigenous communities along the Trans Mountain route along with representatives from the federal government and regulators including the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The committee has 13 Indigenous members and 6 federal appointees.

The goal of IAMC-TMX is to provide for collaborative, inclusive and meaningful Indigenous involvement in the review and monitoring of the environmental, safety and socioeconomic issues related to the Trans Mountain project and expansion.

In November 2020, IAMC committee members and CER inspection officers completed their 50^th “joint compliance verification activity.” Leading up to the milestone, IAMC-TMX conducted some of the first Indigenous monitor-led joint inspections with a federal regulator of Trans Mountain work activities on sites of importance to Indigenous peoples in Alberta and BC.

“The IAMC has supported Indigenous people impacted by this project to be on the ground, overseeing construction with our own knowledge and values,” IAMC-TMX co-chair Michelle Wilsdon said in a statement.

“We have come far, and have farther to go.”

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New permits for Enbridge to replace a pipeline on the lakebed of Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac with an underground utility tunnel are a step forward, but there’s still a chance the governor of Michigan will succeed in her efforts to shut it down entirely.

“The effect would be catastrophic, to say the least, to the Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, and Ohio markets,” says Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy and a former member of parliament in Ontario from 1993 – 2011.

Line 5 supplies about 45 per cent of the petroleum currently required by refineries in Ontario, Quebec, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

This is processed into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and propane, including 55 per cent of Michigan’s propane requirements, 100 per cent of the jet fuel used at Toronto’s Pearson Airport and more than half of the jet fuel for the Detroit Metro Airport.

A shut down “would lead to some significant major, unprecedented disruptions in supply, force rationing [and] drive up the price. There won’t be fuel,” says McTeague.

“This is not [a pipeline] that would produce or send additional amounts of fuel, but in fact sustains the economies of pretty much the critical parts the US Midwest and of course, central Canada.”

The loss of supply would also impact thousands of jobs. Line 5 provides feedstock for petrochemical facilities in the region including the Sarnia-Lambton Petrochemical and Refining Complex, which employs more than 4,900 people directly and is estimated to indirectly generate an additional 23,500 jobs.

One facility owner, Plains Midstream Canada, warns that without product from Line 5, its facilities in Sarnia, Rapid River, MI and Superior, WI would face shutdowns and price hikes, resulting in job losses in “another significant blow to area residents at a time when they can afford it the least.”

Essential energy infrastructure

Line 5 runs from Superior to Sarnia connecting petroleum resources from western Canada to eastern markets. In Michigan it splits into dual pipelines that run along the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac for about seven kilometres – where they have operated safely for 68 years without a single spill.

Despite this, in November Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer issued an order to Enbridge to shut down Line 5 by mid-May based on perceived safety concerns. The company is fighting the order in court as it plans to continue operating the pipeline while it builds a $500-million new tunnel to house it underneath the lakebed.

“Doing this will maintain essential energy infrastructure, while also protecting the waters of the Great Lakes,” says Jason Hayes, director of environmental policy with the Michigan-based Mackinac Centre for Public Policy.

Transporting the same amount of crude oil and natural gas liquids as delivered by Line 5 would require the less safe travel of 2,000 trucks or 800 rail cars going one-way each day. A study conducted on behalf of the State of Michigan found that alternatives to Line 5 would likely increase the price of propane on both a wholesale and retail level.

“Governor Whitmer’s relentless campaign against the Line 5 pipeline makes her appear oblivious to the growing concerns that shuttering the pipeline could actually harm the environment at the same time as it imposes widespread negative economic impacts,” Hayes says.

Tunnel permits

Enbridge’s plan to construct a utility tunnel for Line 5 moved forward in late January with certain permits granted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). Enbridge said the permits are an important milestone for the project, but they do not resolve Whitmer’s effort to shut down the existing system.

Permits are also still required from the Michigan Public Service Commission and the US Army Corp of Engineers.

“It’s a chance to get a breath of fresh air and breathe a little easier, but we’re not out of the woods yet,” says McTeague.

Following regulatory approval, construction is planned to commence in 2021, placing the new Line 5 crossing into service in 2024.

“If [a shutdown] is averted, then we have dodged a bullet. If not, then we’re going to be faced with some fairly serious times,” says McTeague.

“It does underscore the need for us to redouble our efforts in getting a pipeline bringing product from Western Canada at least into Ontario.”

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