In April 2020, Canadians were treated to the irony of ardent free-market conservative and premier of Alberta Jason Kenney nationalizing private infrastructure. Kenney’s government invested $1.5 billion directly into the Keystone XL pipeline that runs from Alberta all the way down to Texas. In addition to putting up funds for the construction of the pipeline, Kenney also provided another $6 billion in loan guarantees for the project.

His enthusiasm was, however, not matched by his neighbors south of the border. On his first day in office, Joe Biden, in keeping with his campaign promise, canceled the construction permit. Kenney’s bad bet — made with public money — was evidently made on the assumption that Donald Trump was going to win a second term.

Nationalizing pipelines appears to be in vogue with Canadian governments of all political stripes these days. Justin Trudeau’s federal Liberal Party government bought the Trans Mountain pipeline in 2018. The petroleum industry, meanwhile, has been content with this direct government intervention, but has nevertheless continued to moan that “we lack a clear national energy strategy.” The industry maintains that global market access has been inhibited by the absence of new pipeline infrastructure. Its representatives have complained that “although Canada produces much more crude oil than it consumes, incredibly we import 760,000 barrels a day of crude oil from the US and other foreign countries.”