No pipeline is coming. Not under Prime Minister Mark Carney. Not under any federal leader. But the promise of a pipeline—the vague, lingering maybe—is too useful to kill. That promise allows Ottawa to discipline the West, delay their demands, and extract cooperation without ever offering reciprocity. A built pipeline delivers oil. An unbuilt pipeline delivers obedience.
Western provinces that believe a Carney government might succeed where Trudeau failed misunderstand the nature of the offer. Carney won’t say yes—but, more importantly, he won’t say no. He will keep the dream just alive enough to remain useful: a chip, a valve, a leash.
