Trans Mountain is proposing an expansion of its current 1,150-kilometre pipeline between Strathcona County, Alberta and Burnaby, BC. If approved, the proposed expansion would create a twinned pipeline that would increase the nominal capacity of the system from 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day.
What is Alberta’s share of the financial benefits from increased oil shipments in an expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline?
The proposed $6.8-billion expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline will increase the value of Canadian oil by unlocking access to world markets where higher prices are paid for oil. The Project will allow oil producers in Alberta to capture an additional $73.5 billion in revenues.
The Conference Board of Canada conservatively estimates $46.7 billion will find its way into government treasuries in the form of taxes and royalties from the Project during development and over the first 20 years of operations.
That amount includes $19.4 billion provincially in Alberta, largely in the form of royalties from producers earning higher netbacks from selling their product into new markets.
In addition to benefits created by the Project, operations of the expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline generate $3.3 billion in taxes over 20 years, with Alberta receiving a $567-million share.
How much employment does the Project create in Alberta?
The Conference Board of Canada estimates that the Project generates more than 800,000 person-years of employment in Canada during construction and 20 years of operations including direct construction jobs, indirect jobs supporting pipeline construction and operation, and induced jobs in sectors such as retail.
Alberta gets 55 per cent of the jobs created by the Project— 441,000 person-years of work.
That includes:
- 14,600 construction jobs
- 13,340 pipeline operations jobs
- 11,200 jobs generated by dividend payments from oil producers
- 400,600 jobs related to additional investment in oil and gas development as a result of higher netbacks to producers.
Aside from direct construction activity, what sectors of the Alberta economy benefit from the Project?
The Conference Board estimates that indirect or supply chain jobs will be created in a range of sectors. For example, Alberta companies are projected to receive about 47 per cent of total boiler and tank manufacturing work related to the Project.
Other Alberta sectors receiving a significant share of total supply chain work include:
- Rail transportation — 27 per cent
- Equipment rental and leasing — 31 per cent
- Truck transportation — 30 per cent
- Steel products — 28 per cent
- Transportation support activities — 28 per cent
- Computer services — 27.5 per cent
- Engineering — 27 per cent
- Machinery and equipment wholesalers — 26 per cent
- Building material wholesalers — 26 per cent
In total, 26 per cent of total supply chain work for the Project will occur in Alberta.
How much will property tax payments increase for local and regional governments along the Alberta section of the route?
Property tax payments are estimated to go up by a total of $3.4 million per year, a 116 per cent increase.
Including existing and increased payments, local governments in Alberta will collect $124 million in taxes over 20 years from operations on an expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline. This amount includes:
- Jasper — $10 million
- Hinton — $2 million
- Edson — $3.4 million
- Wabamun — $460,000
- Edmonton — $10.7 million
- Yellowhead County — $45.6 million
- Parkland County — $18.2 million
- City of Spruce Grove — $1 million
- Town of Stony Plain — $980,000
- Strathcona County — $29.6 million
Are there additional community benefits along the right-of-way?
Trans Mountain has reached Community Benefit Agreements with 20 communities along the pipeline route including six in Alberta. Pending final approval of the Project, there will be funding to help with everything from education and training opportunities, to infrastructure improvements and investing in park and trail improvement projects.
- Hinton — $250,000 to help expand and connect its regional trail systems, expand a parking lot for its bike park and provide funds to support students in trades, technology and environmental programs
- Stony Plain — $250,000 to construct new trails in the community
- Strathcona County — $225,0009 to make improvements and upgrades to the Sally Stewart Regional Parks
- Edson — $300,000 to improve and extend four kilometres of trails for the Hillendale Phase II Park development
- Parkland County — $225,000 towards funding the Intelligent Community Project to develop reasonably priced high speed broadband and may also be used towards investing in equipment to help in advancing economic and community development
- Yellowhead County — $140,000 towards funding for a new outdoor ice rink and landscaping in the Hamlet of Marlboro
