Donald Trump’s tariff and 51st state musings have panicked many Canadian politicians to dust off plans for a west-to-east oil pipeline (aka Energy East 2.0) to rally Canadian nation-building. But what we knew a decade ago is true today: the pipeline is not economically feasible and would drive up carbon emissions, while posing grave threats to the Bay of Fundy.
And a west-to- east pipeline could not be completed before Trump finishes his term of office. So how is tomorrow’s stranded asset a solution to today’s geopolitical crisis?
Trans Canada (now TC Energy) abandoned Energy East 1.0 after figuring out it made no business sense. Quebec and New Brunswick refineries had decided against accepting the crude oil for refining, and the plan to upgrade existing sections of pipe and a crossing over the St. Lawrence River ran into technical problems. These challenges remain, and no proponent is stepping up to tackle them.
Nature Canada’s intervention in the Energy East 1.0 hearings focused on the increased risk of a catastrophic spill from Energy East oil tankers in the Bay of Fundy with its incredible tides, whales, and migratory birds. These risks have not been, and clearly must be, assessed in public hearings before any decisions are made.
Governments have a critical role to play in managing the Trumpian crisis. But wasting billions of dollars on subsidies to pipelines and marine terminals carrying a product facing diminishing global demand is not one of them.
Solutions that Work for All Of Us
Many Canadians are already taking action themselves for home, country, and planet, cancelling U.S. travel plans and avoiding products made in America. But what else can we do to reduce our country’s economic reliance on Trump’s America and vulnerability to his empire-building, ecologically disastrous policies?
And what can our governments do to make sure those solutions are available to all of us?
For anyone who can afford to, one answer is to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy at home. Why not dump your Amazon and Exxon stock and U.S. Treasury bills and put that money into insulating your home, adding a heat pump, or buying any EV model that doesn’t qualify for a Swasticar sticker? Any or all of these investments will cut your energy costs, generate local jobs, and if it’s supported by smart government investment, support truly green Canadian industry.
But the Canadians who need those energy and cost savings the most don’t own their own homes or have investment portfolios to manage. That’s where federal, provincial, and local governments need to step up with funding and practical support to deliver deep energy retrofits without driving up the cost of rental housing that is still relatively affordable.
We learned first-hand that it isn’t impossible to bring a very old home into a new era of emission reductions and affordability. We’re gradually winding down any need for fossil fuel burning to heat and power our semi-detached century-old house in central Ottawa.
In a 2015 renovation, we insulated our house and installed energy-efficient windows. A few years later, we installed a heat pump, with the existing natural gas furnace as backup for very cold weather. Then we replaced our gas stove with an induction unit and our gas fireplace with electric. Our small EV replaced our gasoline-powered car. This spring, we are installing rooftop solar panels to generate electricity for our home, our car, and the grid.
How to Make It Happen
A good question to ask is: what took us so long? Even with more resources at our disposal than many households, the issue was still cost. Government grants made some of our investments more affordable, but that financing has been inadequate and inconsistent. Meanwhile subsidies to the oil and gas industry continue to this day—most recently, in a parting gift from former finance minister Chrystia Freeland, another $20 billion federal loan guarantee for the Trans Mountain Pipeline, the latest in a series since the original $15 billion federal purchase of the pipeline. Imagine how many heat pumps, deep energy retrofits, electric vehicle subsidies, and charging stations those wasted tens of billions in subsidies could buy!
Adapting to the Trumpian threat while addressing the climate and nature crises is a generational challenge for Canadian governments, business, and civil society. Investing in electrification and energy efficiency in our homes and vehicles, and making those solutions available to all of us, is part of the answer for Canada. More pipelines are not.
Stephen Hazell is a retired environmental lawyer, a consultant to Nature Canada, and a member of the Energy Mix Productions Board of Directors. Cheryl Witoski is a retired physiotherapist.
Absolutely agree. To expand on the paragraph about tenants, we need programs specifically aimed at low income households, including tenants. Many provinces have them, including Nova Scotia’s Efficiency NS which has a free HomeWarming program that has insulated over 25,000 homes owned by low income families at no cost and creating considerable savings. They have a Mi’kmaw program and a program for landlords renting to low income households that is not nearly as successful as HomeWarming due to the complications of doing that in a way that gets landlords to sign up while protecting tenants from rent increases – but it’s a start. All these programs receive lots of funding from the federal and provincial governments. Efficiency Canada has advocated for more federal funding for low income programs for years and just in the last couple of years it’s been happening. The federal financing is at risk in the coming federal election, likely to be axed if Poilievre wins. As the article suggests, support for such programs should be promoted vigorously as part of the response to Trump’s aggression.