The Oil Industry Has a Lot of Friends in Ottawa
Decisions about BC's coast aren't being made by the people who live here. They're being shaped by oil industry lobbyists who meet with federal politicians more than four times every single workday. Here's what that looks like.
Our ports and fishing jobs become tied to decisions made in boardrooms in Calgary, Houston, Beijing, and Tokyo - places we’ll never vote in.
Danielle Smith with Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel
Who Runs Canada's Main Oil Lobby?
Canada's main oil lobby group is called the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP). A 2021 report by the Council of Canadians found:
Of the 48 corporations on the board of Canada's main oil lobby group (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers - CAPP), 30 were confirmed to be fully or majority foreign-owned, while seven more are very likely majority foreign-owned. Combined, that makes up 77% of CAPP’s board.
CAPP’s 36 full-time lobbyists are in perpetual contact with politicians and high-ranking bureaucrats in the federal and Alberta governments.
CAPP spent considerable budget and effort on swaying Canadian voters, by organizing campaigns for both provincial and federal elections.
How Much Lobbying Are We Talking About?
It's not just occasional meetings. The oil and gas industry is in constant contact with the politicians who make decisions about our coast:
Fossil fuel companies and their trade associations met with federal officials over 1,100 times in 2024, averaging more than four meetings per workday.
Conservatives, Liberals, and key ministers in multiple portfolios all received regular meetings from fossil fuel lobbyists.
Pushes include export expansion, regulatory changes, tax incentives, and federal support for pipelines and more tanker routes.
Lobbying is paired with political donations, industry-funded policy events, and paid influence campaigns aimed at shaping public debate, not just internal policy discussions.
The people pushing to open BC's coast to tankers don't live here. They work for oil companies backed by foreign investors, and they have the ear of politicians in Ottawa and Alberta.
BC communities bear the economic and environmental risk of tanker traffic. The financial benefits flow elsewhere.
That's not a trade-off that works for fishing families on the Island or in Prince Rupert.
Sources for this page
Environmental Defence
New Report Exposes Big Oil’s Relentless Lobbying in 2024 - Environmental Defence
Environmental Defence’s report finds that fossil fuel lobbyists met with federal government officials 1,135 times in 2024. Montréal/Tiohtià:ke | In 2024, fossil fuel companies and industry associations had at least 1,135 lobby meetings with the federal government. Lobbyists heavily targeted ministries responsible for environmental and climate policy, and the Privy Council Office, as well as the former finance minister and Members of Parliament from the Official Opposition.
