Earlier this month the Trans Mountain expansion project (TMX) — the heavy oil pipeline connecting Edmonton, Alta. and Burnaby, B.C. — began operations. The oil industry argues that the project will boost revenues and stabilize the industry over the long term. The federal government claims that the project will create a “fair price” for Canadian heavy oil.
But what, among the claims, are the facts?
The federal government nationalized the TMX project in 2018 with the acquisition of its corporate owner Trans Mountain which became a federal Crown corporation. Ottawa framed this decision around a short-term desire to address financial and investor “crises” and push forward with what it viewed as a key Canadian asset.
