Whitedog Falls Generating Station, located on the Winnipeg River. Photo courtesy Ontario Power Generation/X.

Do we need new east-west oil pipelines to gain energy sovereignty and supply Atlantic Canadians with domestic oil? Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and other heavy hitters in the Conservative party think so.

When pipelines were laid in the 1950s to get Alberta oil to southern Ontario and Québec, a big mistake was made. Instead of taking an all-Canadian route through northern Ontario like the three transcontinental railways and the natural gas pipeline did, they went through Illinois and Michigan on their way to Sarnia. In a trade war, Trump could stop central Canadians from getting western Canadian oil.

That was then. Trump is now. We can’t wait 15 years before a new oil pipeline 4,600 kilometres from Alberta to Saint John, New Brunswick, delivers a single drop of oil to Atlantic Canadians.

There are better ways to gain energy sovereignty and deliver affordable energy.

Whether Trump’s tariffs remain for long, we must decouple our economy from the US as much and as quickly as possible. It will not be easy, but if we summon the resolve we........

© Canadian Dimension