Energy Borders on the Move: Competing Policy Imperatives in a New Political and Economic Landscape

The federal government’s $4.5 billion purchase of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline—including the pipeline-expansion project, in an effort to secure access to markets beyond North America for Canadian energy resources—underscores vividly that all has not been well in the market, political, and policy arenas for Canadian energy. There is much uncertainty and unpredictability. Companies are taking notice, and rethinking their investment choices and strategies—including pulling out of energy investment in Canada, as Kinder Morgan did with Trans Mountain. All of this is having a profound effect on energy relations in North America. When it comes to energy,