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Let’s face it: there’s been a lot of talk lately about building more pipelines in Canada. So we thought we’d rewind a bit: what’s the state of Canada’s existing pipelines? Why are we in this “build, build, build” moment? And what might more pipes mean for Canada’s pledge of net-zero emissions by 2050? 

I spoke with climate investigations reporter Carl Meyer and Prairies reporter Drew Anderson for this explainer video, and dove into the dizzying data available online to try and make sense of the over 800,000 kilometres of pipes covering the country.

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Video source notes

Corresponding time stampSource
00:05Government of Alberta Press Conference
00:08Pipelines in Canada (CER)
00:18Government of Alberta Press Conference
00:36Production Gap Report
01:10Oil Sands: Alberta Energy Regulator
01:36Bitumen is a molasses-like, sticky petroleum substance
01:45Canada only has a few refineries
02:26Refineries in the U.S. and Gulf Coast
02:31Nearly 95% of AB exports go to the U.S.
02:56Potentially exports could go to China
03:05Government of Alberta Press Conference
03:27Major cross-country pipeline
03:58Fracking
04:31Coastal GasLink pipeline
04:56Already producing too much, according to report
05:09840,000km of pipelines in Canada
05:33Our video on indigenous sovereignty
05:59Oil tanker ban

Thanks for watching!

Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?
Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?

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