Failed pipelines mark Canadian energy sector's decade of frustration. While Canada’s energy sector has proposed several major oil pipeline projects in the past decade, only the Trans Mountain expansion was completed.

Here’s a look at three major pipeline projects that were canceled:

Energy East
The C$15.7 billion (US$11 billion) Energy East pipeline was proposed to transport oil from Alberta to the Atlantic province of New Brunswick. TC Energy canceled the project in 2017 amid regulatory challenges and opposition from environmental groups, particularly in Quebec.

Northern Gateway
Enbridge proposed the Northern Gateway pipeline in 2006, aiming to move oil from Alberta to British Columbia’s northwest coast. The C$7.9 billion (US$5.5 billion) project faced strong opposition from Indigenous and local communities concerned about the risk of marine spills. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government revoked its permits in 2016, effectively canceling the project.

Keystone XL
TC Energy’s Keystone XL pipeline was designed to transport oil from Alberta’s oil sands to the U.S. crude storage hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, and then to refineries along the Gulf Coast. The project was rejected on environmental grounds by former U.S. President Barack Obama but later revived under President Donald Trump. However, President Joe Biden revoked the pipeline’s permit on his first day in office in 2021.

In October 2023, TC Energy spun off its oil pipeline operations into a new company, South Bow Energy (SOBO.TO). Trump said Monday he wanted Keystone XL revived, but South Bow stated it had moved on from the project.

Meanwhile, TC Energy has sought more than US$15 billion in compensation from the U.S. government over the pipeline’s cancellation.