A majority of Canadians support a proposed oil pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia’s West Coast, according to a new poll, while residents in Bruderheim Atla. — the small town expected to serve as its starting point — hope the project could bring jobs, businesses and long-term growth.
“I was so happy to hear that,” said longtime Bruderheim resident Chin “Michael” Kim after hearing the announcement.
Kim believes the project could help expand the community of about 1,400 people, located northeast of Edmonton in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland.
“We want to increase the population. We want more business,” he said.
An online Angus Reid Institute survey found 63 per cent of Canadians approve of the proposed pipeline, which would run from the Bruderheim area to ports in Delta, B.C.
Another 55 per cent, support a separate proposed pipeline that would carry Alberta oil east to Ontario.
The exact starting point of the West Coast line has not been finalized and the proposal would still need to clear regulatory and other hurdles before construction could begin.
A welcomed economic boost
Bruderheim Mayor Ron Ewasiuk said the town is already surrounded by refineries, petrochemical plants, pipelines and other energy infrastructure, making it a logical location for another major energy project.
“Why not Bruderheim?” he said.
“We have a pipeline corridor around us. The pipelines are just north of us. We’re already in the game.”
Shannon Schiller, owner of Ironwood Catering, said Bruderheim faces many of the challenges common to small communities located near larger urban centres.
“We struggle with being too close and too far from the bigger centres to be viable, in a way of speaking, in that it’s kind of a bedroom community,” she said. Bedroom communities are quiet residential towns located close enough to big cities that residents often commute there for work or entertainment.
Schiller said any development that attracts workers, residents and spending could provide a welcome economic boost.
“Any project in the area that brings people and revenue to the town is always a bonus for sure.”
It is not the first time Bruderheim has been identified as the starting point for a major pipeline.
The Keystone and Northern Gateway pipelines were both slated to begin in the area, but neither ultimately materialized as proposed.
Those experiences have left Schiller optimistic but unwilling to assume how the newest proposal will proceed.
“I’ll wait to see what happens,” she said. “Don’t jump the gun. Don’t speculate, just in case.”
Ewasiuk said he is also cautiously optimistic but thrilled about the possibility. He said the town remains open to hearing more about the project.
“We’re open to listening to whatever comes our way, but it has to be on our terms.”
Ewasiuk acknowledged some residents may have concerns about living near additional energy infrastructure.
“They’re not built in downtown Bruderheim. It’ll be on the outskirts,” he said. “You’ll always have people that don’t want it by them, and you’ve got to listen to them.”
Kim said he supports expanding Canada’s access to international oil markets beyond the United States.
“We need to send more oil and gas to the Asian market,” he said. “We need another market instead of the U.S.”
For now, like many in Bruderheim, he is waiting to see whether the latest proposal becomes a reality.
With files from CTV News Calgary’s Michael Franklin
