How a Pipeline Fight Exposed Justin Trudeau’s Fake Progressivism
Justin Trudeau's shiny image is losing its luster amid a devastating corruption scandal. With movements pushing their own version of a Green New Deal, it might just be enough to take him down.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau attends a news conference on March 7, 2019 in Ottawa, Canada. Dave Chan / Getty
In this era of far-right resurgence and escalating climate disruption, there are no shortage of reasons to despair about the future of the planet. But there is also cause for hope. The fossil fuel industry juggernaut can be stopped. The battle over expanding Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline (TMX) in western Canada is one example where David beat Goliath — and at least temporarily halted Goliath’s climate-destroying advance.
When the corporate Goliath fled in defeat, however, the Canadian state stepped in to rescue the fossil fuel industry. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal federal government bought Kinder Morgan’s existing pipeline last spring and announced its determination to fully back and fund TMX’s export-oriented expansion. The move, which blindsided the pipeline’s opponents, has only upped the stakes around TMX — and thrust the issue into the national political debate as Canada heads toward a federal election later this year.
The Kinder Morgan Controversy
Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government suffered a crushing blow to its image early this year, mere weeks after New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof gushed that under the photogenic prime minister, Canada was “emerging as a moral leader of the free world.” With less than six months until the next federal election, Trudeau’s Liberals suddenly seem vulnerable to defeat.
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