“The many versus the money” has become a popular rallying cry on the left, from Michigan Democratic senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the Canadians protesting who participated in a counter-summit against Mark Carney’s investment summit in September. But when it comes to the West Coast oil pipeline — now officially branded “Pacific Link” and declared in the national interest — this country’s anti-pipeline environmentalists might actually want to start rooting for the money. 

The many, after all, aren’t on their side here. Polling has consistently shown a majority of Canadians support the project, with Abacus Data’s July survey showing 62 per cent in favour and only 14 per cent opposed. That was before trade talks broke off with the United States, and before the Carney government started explicitly positioning the pipeline as a means of diversifying Canada’s trade away from that country. As the prime minister said at Thursday’s’s announcement in Fort McMurray, “this pipeline is one part of the Government of Canada’s broader mission to transform our economy – to double our non-US exports over the next decade, create tens of thousands of good jobs, attract billions in new investment, and unlock our full potential as a global energy superpower.”

Best of luck to anyone who wants to get on the other side of that political equation. But while the Pacific Link pipeline has the backing of Mark Carney, Danielle Smith, David Eby, and almost every business and political leader in the country, it’s still missing the support of one key group who will decide whether it actually proceeds: the money. The oil companies that would have to add those additional one million barrels have........

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