This blog is written by Elinor Whidden, Executive Coordinator at Environmental Defence

Why does PM Carney want Canadian taxpayers to pay for a pipeline? What’s in it for us? A look at the numbers show HUGE costs and no benefit for Canadians. It’s not adding up!

Canada’s economy faces a tsunami of new tariffs since the collapse of Canada-US trade talks. Many Canadians are barely treading water in the ongoing affordability crisis. But the government’s proposal to build the Pacific Link pipeline is not a solution. It’s a losing investment that will cost both Canadians and the climate. Prime Minister Carney sold Canadians on his track record of making smart economic decisions, but even a layperson can see that the numbers on this pipeline aren’t adding up!

Let’s do some math.

Red button that says "take action"

[Tell Prime Minister Carney and your MP to reject  the taxpayer-funded West Coast pipeline →]

 Adding Up the Costs of a Pipeline

  • $40 billion — A conservative estimate for the cost of this new pipeline
  • $20 billion — Pathways Carbon Capture and Storage project costs attached to this pipeline
  • $3.5 billion — Costs related to extending the Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage Investment Tax Credit by five years 
  • $20 billion — The cost of buying B.C.’s support, including $10 billion for upgrades to the Roberts Bank port that vastly exceeds previous estimates 

That’s nearly $85 billion dollars of taxpayer money. 

Plus … the CEO of Imperial Oil said that our government should also pay for the costs of increasing oil production to fill this new pipeline. His estimate? $100 billion.

And then there are social and ecological costs associated with increased pollution from a pipeline: extreme heat, drought, wildfire, evacuation, unsafe air quality, flooding, and the incalculable risk to ecosystems and wildlife, like the endangered orca whale. More pipelines = more climate disasters.

Every season more and more Canadian tax dollars are needed to support and rebuild communities after extreme climate disasters. Insurance companies are also passing down the cost of climate change impacts to individuals. Canadians are paying over $500 more every year on their property insurance as a direct result of climate change. More pipelines = more climate costs.

And finally, there is the cost of being left behind in the global transition to a world powered by clean energy. I don’t even know how to tally that up!

So, What Are the Benefits?

The only benefit this pipeline promises is the creation of jobs. But clean energy projects also create jobs! Actually, they create way more long-term jobs. And these jobs come without the same fiscal, environmental, and social costs caused by a pipeline.

I know politicians keep talking about “energy sovereignty” to justify building this pipeline. But this is an export pipeline, which means it sends oil to other countries. And since other countries also want energy sovereignty, they’re investing in building out their own secure, affordable and renewable energy infrastructure. (It’s called the global transition to renewables!)

If we want to benefit from real energy security and sovereignty, then we need to invest in cheap and abundant renewables – like solar and wind – here in Canada to create and protect our own domestic energy supply.

Canada cannot control the global energy market and oil price. But we can control what we build with our tax dollars. Pipelines are a long-term bet that won’t pay off. With the global demand for oil drying up, the numbers just don’t make sense.

When pipelines are profitable, pipeline companies build them. But no private company was interested in building this pipeline, because the math just isn’t mathing. 

Here’s What We Could Build Instead

While there are few to no benefits to Canadian taxpayers if they pay for a pipeline, there would be massive benefits to investing in sustainable, renewable public projects. 

Let’s add up a few ways we could spend those same billions of taxpayer dollars for our benefit:

These are real investments that would yield tangible benefits to Canadians: lower energy bills, good jobs, healthier communities and a real shot at being a clean energy superpower.

If you’re like me and these numbers have left you scratching your head, then it’s time to tell Prime Minister Carney to reject the West Coast Pipeline Project. 

At a time of climate disasters and economic uncertainty, we should be investing in projects that strengthen our communities and build a sustainable future – not throwing billions at a fossil fuel project that even industry won’t fund.

A new pipeline is a bad investment for Canada, the math just isn’t mathing.

Red button that says "take action"

[Take action new: Contact your MP to build a better future, not a new pipeline -]