Political impact of Trans Mountain purchase on federal Liberals
Posted May 30, 2018 2:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Has the announcement that the federal government is purchasing the Trans Mountain Pipeline triggered you to change how you would vote in the next election?
The political impact on the Liberals could be detrimental as some people applaud the move while others feel betrayed.
The decision does go against the grain of the Liberals’ base, explains Richard Johnston, a political scientist at UBC. He says looking at those people feeling a sense of betrayal, the question is how mobile is that vote?
“Are people prepared to abandon the Liberals to hand government over to the Conservatives? And at the same time, are the kind of middle class and largely kind of slightly left-of-centre crowd prepared to go all the way to the NDP to punish the Liberals?”
Johnston adds the move won’t help the party in the parts of BC where it has most of its seats.
“It’s another year and a half, and it’s conceivable that he could deliver other goods. He certainly did try, and succeeded in sweetening the relationship. John Horgan didn’t come out with all guns blazing for example.”
Johnston says if more First Nations group come out in support of the project, some of the damage could be mitigated. He adds the feds really didn’t have much of a choice after Kinder Morgan issued a deadline for certainty in the project.
Meantime, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defending the purchase in the House of Commons today. New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen ridiculed Trudeau for his justification for buying the pipeline.
“If its too risky for an oil pipeline company to build and oil pipeline, why is it okay for the Canadian pubic to pick up all that risk?” asked Cullen.
Trudeau responded as he has for weeks, saying the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is in Canada’s financial and environmental interest, and will be built.
“The project is in the national interest and the jobs that will be assured and defended through this project are an integral part of our plan to fight climate change and grow the economy for future generations.”
