The Liberals being the pipeline party was very far down my list of things I'd thought I'd see. And yes I do know they bought a pipeline.
The Liberals were fairly onboard with pipeline expansion until public opinion (outside of Alberta) turned against pipelines during the increasing public awareness and debate phase of the major projects in the 2010s. Public opinion was largely neutral or unaware until those big pipeline projects hit all that drama.
It was the decline of public support for pipelines that ultimately led to the Liberals making their "grand bargain" - keep a carbon tax, put TMX through (no matter what it takes including tens of billions of public support), while pausing others and adding regulation to address environmental and engagement concerns.
In hindsight it was a perfect compromise - no one was happy. The Liberals failed to get new support in Alberta despite getting a pipeline through, while they lost lots of support elsewhere for not doing enough and subsidizing the oil industry. The whole file is complex from top-to-bottom, so there's enough opportunities that everyone had something to hate about the decisions, the execution, the engagement, the communication etc.
I don't envy the federal government (and whichever party runs it) - they have a near-impossible job trying to wrangle a bunch of provinces with regionally diverse interests, politics, personalities, and pettiness - heavy is the head that wears the crown, as they say.
See if their numbers in Quebec keep climbing after these speeches from Joly and Wilkinson.
I do think the tariff/annexation threat is having one of the more abrupt and significant public sentiment shifts in recent Canadian history and the parties are recognizing that very quickly. It's a whole sea change, far beyond just pipelines, and appears to be leading to a mandate for systemic economic reform for whoever wins. The broken trust with the Americans is leading to an existential reprioritizing of public priorities.
The whiplash in public sentiment is lightning quick. The Conservatives whole "Canada is broken", anti-Trudeau and anti-carbon tax platform was strong pitch to a public tired of the current government, but seems wildly out of date now. Public priorities have shifted overnight thanks to Trump - pan-Canadian "defend our sovereignty" patriotism has rapidly replaced "Canada is broken", Trudeau's gone soon, Carney's economic pitch is resonating to a frightened public, and carbon tax is gone with either a Conservative or Liberal win.
Another relevant phrase comes to mind - there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.
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