Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s desire to be seen as a climate-change crusader is again butting up against the reality of the nation’s formidable oil industry.
This time the conflict is over Teck Resources’ proposed Frontier oil-sands mine, which Trudeau’s cabinet is expected to approve or reject this month.
Approving the mine would hurt Trudeau’s standing among his environmentalist base, many of whom already are disappointed with his C$4.5-billion purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline and now sometimes refer to him as “Justin Crudeau.” Meanwhile, rejecting Frontier would cause an uproar in conservative Alberta, where recent struggles in the oil industry have given birth to a fringe separatist movement. Yet for all the sound and fury around the Teck Frontier project, there is an uncomfortable truth hanging over the whole exercise: The mine may never actually be built.