The Philippines And Canada: Indo-Pacific Partners For Regional Security – Analysis

Canada's Minister of Defence David McGuinty with Philippines’ Secretary of National Defence Gilberto Teodoro. 

Photo Credit: Embassy of Canada in the Philippines, Facebook

May 16, 2026 
ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute
By Alynna M. Carlos

Given its geopolitical and maritime context, the Philippines’ foreign and security policy priorities focus on maritime security with strong efforts to ensure that friendships and partnerships with the international community are based on a shared commitment to the rules-based international order. Managing tensions in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) remains a key concern for President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., who was elected in 2022 and who views this issue as a prerequisite for regional peace and stability. As a result, the administration’s independent foreign policy embodies the idea that the Philippines is “friends to all, enemies to none,” a stance declared during the 2023 State of the Nation Address (SONA). This approach was reaffirmed in the 2025 SONA and echoed by government officials when engaging with international counterparts. In addressing challenges in the WPS, the president remains committed to dialogue and diplomacy. To this end, the Philippines actively works to strengthen its international networks through various means, including defence partnerships and trade relations.

Among the enduring friendships that the Philippines has is the one with Canada. Its position on the global stage as an advocate for a rules-based international order makes Canada a suitable partner for the Philippines. Bilateral relations have been described as “strong and friendly” over the past 75 years.[1] While ties have not yet officially been elevated to a comprehensive or strategic partnership (similar to Australia and Japan), or even an alliance (as with the United States), Canada is proving to be a reliable partner for the Philippines through its 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS).

The most recent upgrade in relations is the strengthening of military and trade relations. Defense ministers of the Philippines and Canada signed the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) in November 2025.[2] It is generally viewed as a positive development and will complement the efforts of the Philippine military to boost its capabilities and modernisation efforts. Furthermore, both countries are in the process of negotiating a free trade agreement. Aside from defence and trade relations, Canada, through the Canadian Humanitarian Assistance Fund, pledged a humanitarian aid package to the Philippines totalling CAD 650,000 or about PHP 26.9 million.[3] Major initiatives such as these accelerate the friendly relations between the two countries.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT: GARBAGE AND HELICOPTERS

Relations between the two countries are not rooted in a bitter history of colonialism and war, and are “safe” and “relatively free of geopolitical baggage.”[4] Instead, trade relations between the two countries have flourished since the establishment of the Canadian insurance company, Sunlife of Canada, in 1896, followed by Manulife in 1907 in Manila. Furthermore, people-to-people ties remain strong; almost a million people in Canada are of Filipino origin, and the Philippines is the second-largest source of immigrants to Canada, after India.[5] Historically, the first Filipino immigrant in Canada was a fisherman named Benson Flores, who arrived in Bowen Island, Vancouver, in 1861.[6]

Relations between the Philippines and Canada were formally established in 1949, when Canada opened a trade mission in Manila, which was subsequently upgraded to a diplomatic mission in 1972. Canada also maintains a consulate in Cebu. As for the Philippines, it first established a Consulate in Vancouver in 1956, which was later elevated to Consulate General in 1962. The embassy in Ottawa opened in 1971.[7] Moreover, the Philippines has Consulate Generals in Toronto, established in 1978, and in Calgary, which opened in 2016. In terms of diplomatic relations, high-level visits are not as frequent. On the one hand, three of Canada’s former Prime Ministers have visited the Philippines, including Jean Chrétien (1997), Stephen Harper (2012), and Justin Trudeau (2017). On the other hand, the Philippine presidents who visited Canada were presidents Benigno Aquino III (2015) and Fidel V. Ramos (1997).

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, there have been no major military or diplomatic issues between the two countries except for the waste dispute in 2013. Between 2013 and 2014, around 100 shipping containers carrying around 2,400 tons of waste labelled as plastics for recycling were shipped from Canada to the port in Manila, which were later discovered to contain household waste. The Philippines ordered the retrieval of the shipments in 2016, but it was not until 2019, after then-President Rodrigo Duterte issued a statement and ordered the recall, that Canada took action. At the height of the issue, the Philippines issued orders to its ambassador and consuls to leave after Canada failed to meet the 15 May 2019 deadline to retrieve the garbage.[8] A few days later, Canada pledged to take action, and tensions lessened.


Another bump in relations is the cancellation of the procurement of 16 Bell 412EPI combat utility helicopters worth PHP 12 billion (USD 233 million), ordered by President Duterte in 2018. Eight similar helicopters, worth PHP 4.5 million (USD 105 million), were sold and delivered to Manila in 2014. The deal was signed on 07 February 2018 and was quickly cancelled two days later due to human rights concerns, which pressured former Prime Minister Trudeau domestically, and which infuriated President Duterte.

Despite these setbacks, the friendship remains intact today.

PHILIPPINE-CANADA RELATIONS UNDER MARCOS JR.

Relations between Canada and the Philippines are generally not seen as a substitute for the ongoing tensions between the United States and China. Instead, the strengthening of ties can be understood through Ottawa’s efforts to redefine its position in the global community via its 2022 IPS. Such a strategy document is not entirely unique to Canada; countries such as the United States, Japan, Australia, India, the United Kingdom, and South Korea have similarly published documents and policies related to their outlook in the Indo-Pacific.

The Philippines is a key part of Canada’s IPS. While Ottawa is aiming to reorient its focus to the Indo-Pacific region, Manila seeks to engage with like-minded countries toward ensuring peace and stability in the region. The Philippines and Canada see each other as supporters of a rules-based international order and therefore can easily identify areas for collaboration.

On the diplomatic front, high-level visits under the Marcos Jr. administration include those by Canadian Minister Melanie Joly, previously the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to Manila in May 2023, and by then-Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo to Canada in May 2024. While President Marcos Jr. has not yet made an official visit to Canada, he briefly spoke with Prime Minister Mark Carney in July 2025 and was invited to visit Canada.[9]

On trade relations, the Philippines and Canada are working on a Free Trade Agreement; this was announced during the December 2024 Team Canada Trade Mission to the Philippines. The second round of negotiations was held in April 2026. Furthermore, another FTA is also in the works between Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Such efforts deepen economic ties and increase bilateral trade, which was valued at USD 3.4 billion in 2023.[10]

In December 2024, Canada established its Export Development Canada (EDC) office in Manila to facilitate the investment relations between the two countries. Philippine exports to Canada include insulated wire, gold, and integrated circuits, while Canadian exports to the Philippines include cereals, ores, meat, and machinery.[11] Canada is among the Philippines’ suppliers of agri-food and seafood products, and of wheat and meslin, and frozen pork.[12]

Canada is also ramping up investments in agriculture by opening its Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-food Office in Manila in February 2024 as part of its IPS efforts. Agricultural cooperation was further reaffirmed with an in-person meeting between Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. and Canada’s Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath Macdonald in Manila in August 2025. The meeting resulted in the signing of the Joint Statement on Technical Collaboration between the Philippines’ Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Agricultural trade has grown steadily over the past few years, reaching USD 568 million in 2022. [13] However, a trade deficit of CAD 489.6 million remains as of 2023, which the renewed agricultural relations can hopefully address.[14]

Aside from import and export exchanges, building people-to-people ties is becoming a key approach for Canada under its IPS. Beginning in 2023, Filipinos are now able to travel to Canada visa-free through an electronic travel authorisation. This is a welcome development for Filipinos who see Canada as a tourist destination.

On top of the diplomatic, trade, and people-to-people ties,military engagements between the two countries are growing as Canada becomes an important part of the Philippines’ expanding defence networks. In April 2025, Canadian Armed Forces Chief of the Defence Staff General Marie Annabelle Jennie Carignan, CMM, MSC, MSM, CD was in Manila for an official visit. This high-level engagement followed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation in January 2024. A few months later, in September 2025, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. met with Canada’s Deputy Minister of Defence, Stefanie Beck on the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue in South Korea. Furthermore, Canada upgraded its role from observer to active participant in the 2026 Exercise BALIKATAN, an annual military exercise organised by the United States and the Philippines.


As previously mentioned, the most notable military cooperation is the highly anticipated SOVFA; negotiations were concluded in March 2025. The SOVFA is intended to reinforce the 2024 MOU and increase the interoperability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Canadian Armed Forces by allowing them to operate and train in each other’s territories. The signing of the SOVFA last November 2025 adds Canada to the list of countries with which the Philippines has similar defence agreements, alongside the United States and Japan.

SHARED INTERESTS AS MARITIME NATIONS

Another key aspect of Philippine-Canada relations is their status as maritime nations, an area that holds significant potential for further collaboration. Canada has the longest coastline in the world, measuring 244,000 km, while the Philippines, also an archipelagic state, has about 36,000 km of coastline. Both countries face similar maritime challenges, and can therefore learn from each other in tackling issues like illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUUF), and smuggling. In addressing these challenges, both countries view that a whole-of-nation approach is essential. For its part, Canada has its Maritime Security Strategic Framework, first published in 2011 and updated in 2020, which could serve as a model for the Philippines as it develops its own national maritime security strategy.[15] Regular dialogues between the two are conducted through the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC); the seventh JCBC was held in February 2026. More importantly, the inaugural maritime dialogue was conducted in January 2026.[16]

On maritime cooperation, Canada has supported the Philippines in its maritime domain awareness (MDA) programme through the provision of access to the Dark Vessel Detection system at the National Maritime Center. This aids the detection of vessels that have turned off their Automatic Identification System (AIS) signals while out at sea to conceal activities. This is most useful in identifying illegal and aggressive activities within the country’s maritime zones. Importantly, Canada provided this technology free of charge for five years since its signing in 2023.[17]

The DVD programme is under the office of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and is designed to identify IUUF using satellite technology.[18] Aside from the Philippines, Ecuador, Taiwan and 15 Pacific Island states also receive access to the DVD platform. The programme is part of Canada’s IPS, which established the Shared Ocean Fund, worth CAD 84.3 million in investments over five years.[19] The fund is aimed at supporting ocean management, and reinforcing a healthy marine environment through support against IUUF.[20] Furthermore, the programme is part of Canada’s commitment made at the 2018 G7 Ministerial Meeting in Nova Scotia to invest CAD 11.6 million to combat IUUF. [21]

Operations in the maritime domain are complemented by air surveillance operations. In November 2024, Operation Bantay Lawud was launched by Canada’s fisheries department and the Philippines’ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, when they conducted a two-week air surveillance over the Philippines’ maritime area.[22] The flight was aboard Canada’s Dash-8 surveillance aircraft and completed 70 hours of flight time, spotting 88 possible IUUF violations.

On top of the efforts in IUUF, Canada also participated in multilateral maritime cooperative activities (MMCA) in the Philippines. It joined the MMCA in June 2024 with Japan and the United States, another one in August 2024 with Australia and the United States, the 7th MMCA with the United States in February 2025, and the 10th MMCA in September 2025 with Australia and the United States. Aside from these initiatives, port visits are regularly conducted, such as that of HMCS Ottawa (2025) and HMCS Vancouver (in 2022 and 2023).

NEW AVENUES FOR COOPERATION

As security challenges grow increasingly complex, both Canada and the Philippines are poised to expand their cooperation beyond traditional defence engagements. In July 2025, the visit of Maj. Gen. Dave Yarker, Commander of the Canadian Armed Forces Cyber Command, to Manila for a high-level cyber working group underscored the rising importance of cybersecurity in bilateral relations.[23] With rapid advancements in technology and artificial intelligence, Canada’s cyber expertise offers valuable support to the Philippines, particularly in enhancing maritime domain awareness and safeguarding critical infrastructure. Furthermore, coast guard cooperation between the two countries is a potential point for further collaboration.

This evolving partnership also reflects a broader vision. As highlighted by former Foreign Affairs Secretary Manalo in his keynote address to the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada in May 2024, the two countries can collaborate on climate action and disaster resilience.[24] Emerging areas that can be explored include digitalisation, food, renewable energy, critical minerals, and outer space, among others. The intent is to cultivate Canada as a valuable confidante for the Philippines – one whose engagement complements broader regional efforts, rather than serving as a reactive alternative to evolving dynamics between the United States and China.

Anchored in strong diplomatic, military, and trade relations, the Philippines-Canada relations continue to mature with purpose. The challenge ahead lies not only in deepening existing initiatives but also in unlocking new avenues of cooperation and in transforming shared values into tangible progress for both nations.

CONCLUSION

In ever-changing times, a country needs a reliable and trusted partner with which it can advocate for a rules-based international order. That is Canada for the Philippines. Through Canada’s strategy in the Indo-Pacific, diplomatic, military, trade, and people-to-people ties continue to gain momentum. To further boost this promising collaboration, the Philippines and Canada could tap into their status and capabilities as maritime nations to explore cooperation in joint maritime activities, maritime governance, and fisheries.


With Canada’s IPS, the Philippines should continue to engage with Canada over the next 75 years; their bilateral relations have proven to be resilient to leadership changes and reliable in the face of global challenges. The future of Philippine and Canadian relations remains bright.

For endnotes, please refer to the original pdf document.

This article was published by ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute

 

Cenovus chief warns Canada risks losing oil competitiveness

Staff Writer | May 7, 2026 | 

Credit: Cenovus

Cenovus Energy (TSX, NYSE: CVE) chief executive Jon McKenzie used the company’s latest earnings call to deliver a forceful defense of Canada’s oil sands industry, arguing the country risks losing investment, jobs and economic influence unless it changes course on energy policy.

Speaking after reporting a sharp jump in first-quarter profits, McKenzie said the national conversation around oil sands development has become “myopically focused on the climate agenda,” while overlooking the sector’s role in supporting affordable and reliable energy supplies.

He argued that hydrocarbons will remain a critical part of the global energy mix for decades, and Canada boasts both the quantity and quality of resources to be at the forefront. Its oil sands, he noted, continue to rank among the world’s most responsibly produced sources of crude.

And yet, despite its status as a top 10 oil-producing nation, McKenzie warned that Canada’s regulatory framework and carbon policies have made the country increasingly uncompetitive compared with rival jurisdictions, including the US and parts of the Middle East.

Capital has steadily migrated elsewhere as lengthy approval processes and higher operating costs discourage new investment, he stressed, pointing to the fact that only one new greenfield oil sands project has been approved and built in Canada since 2013, despite persistent global demand growth for oil.

“We have to be pretty thoughtful about a set of policy environments that really do allow us to grow and fill a pipeline,” McKenzie said. “We have to have a competitive market that allows for greenfield development.”

Strong Q1 results

The comments came as Cenovus posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, buoyed by higher oil prices, stronger refining margins and increased production following its acquisition of MEG Energy.

The Calgary-based company reported net earnings of C$1.57 billion ($1.15 billion) for Q1 — nearly double that of last year — and record upstream production of more than 972,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, while also raising its quarterly dividend by 10%.

Bloomberg reported earlier this week that the province of Alberta is still locked in negotiations with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney over details related to a carbon tax for industrial emissions, which was proposed at C$130 ($95) per metric ton, per a memorandum of understanding signed last year.

McKenzie said he disapproves of the tax. “The industrial carbon tax is unique to Canada,” he told Bloomberg, arguing that this would give oil companies a stronger incentive to invest abroad.

Cenovus Energy closed Thursday’s session down 1.7% at C$38.84 apiece, with a market capitalization of C$72.8 billion ($53.3 billion) Earlier this week, it had rallied to an all-time high of C$42.01.

 

Mining Association of British Columbia touts economic impact, presses province on DRIPA

Amanda Stutt | May 6, 2026 |

MABC CEO Michael Goehring. Image credit: Matt Brock/ Greater Vancouver Board Of Trade.

British Columbia’s mining industry says the province is gaining momentum on major project development, but warned that regulatory uncertainty and rising costs could jeopardize future investment.

Speaking at a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade event at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver on Tuesday, Mining Association of B.C. (MABC) CEO Michael Goehring highlighted figures from its new Economic Impact Study released the same day, showing the sector generated C$19.6 billion ($14.4 billion) in economic output in 2024, supported 56,000 jobs and contributed nearly C$6 billion in government revenue.

“All of that from 18 mines and two smelters,” Goehring said. “Mining has a small physical presence, but a large economic impact in B.C. Our mines punch well above their weight.”

Ther smelters operating in British Columbia are the Rio Tinto BC Works aluminium smelter in Kitimat and Teck Resources’ zinc-lead smelting and refining complex in Trail. 

While BC is a major producer of copper, there are currently no operational copper smelters in the province, and Goehring pointed out the economics of a build are currently unviable. 

The industry is pointing to signs of progress after the provincial government  fast-tracked  projects earlier this year, part of the federal Major Projects Office.

Of the four mining projects included on the province’s list of 18 priority developments, three have now received permits and two are under construction.

Among them are Teck Resources’ Highland Valley Copper extension near Logan Lake, Skeena Gold and Silver’s Eskay Creek project in northwestern B.C., and Centerra Gold’s Mount Milligan mine life extension near Prince George.

The projects are part of what the industry says is a broader surge in mining activity across the province, particularly in northern B.C., where 24 proposed projects are in various stages of development.

Industry leaders say the scale of potential investment is enormous. Construction of those northern projects alone could generate more than $67 billion in economic output, according to figures cited in MABC’s report. 

Goehring also emphasized mining’s growing importance to Metro Vancouver’s economy.

The new economic impact report, also  released Tuesday, found B.C.’s operating mines and smelters supported more than 12,300 jobs in Metro Vancouver in 2024 and generated more than C$3.5 billion in annual economic output for Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island. 

The report also noted Metro Vancouver is home to nearly 1,000 mining and exploration companies with a combined market capitalization of roughly C$449 billion.

“While Calgary has oil and gas, Vancouver has mining,” Goehring said. “Metro Vancouver is a global mining centre.”

Anglo American’s proposed $53-billion mega-merger with Teck Resources would create a global copper giant headquartered in Vancouver.

Calls for clarity on DRIPA

The optimism surrounding new projects and strong global demand for copper and critical minerals was tempered, however, by ongoing concerns over permitting delays and policy uncertainty.

Goehring said lengthy regulatory processes remain the “primary barrier” to new mine development in BC, despite recent improvements.

“There’s more work to do to build on this momentum and drive systemic change and durable improvements to accelerate our province’s mine permitting process,” he said.

The industry is also closely watching the implications of recent court decisions tied to B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, or DRIPA, which mining executives say has created uncertainty around project approvals.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal determined in a new ruling in December 2025 that DRIPA incorporates the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and creates legally enforceable obligations. 

Premier David Eby is facing significant pressure and criticism regarding his handling of DRIPA, and has been under fire for “flip-flopping” on plans to amend or suspend parts of the act. 

MABC CEO Michael Goehring in conversation with Conversations Live host Stuart McNish at Fairmont Hotel Vancouver on Tuesday. Image credit: Matt Brock/ Greater Vancouver Board Of Trade.

“We need clarity, we need certainty,” Goehring said during a panel discussion  moderated by Conversations Live host Stuart McNish following his remarks. “Investment hates uncertainty.”

Goehring stressed that mining companies continue to work closely with First Nations communities through partnership agreements, Indigenous employment initiatives and equity participation opportunities, but said governments must provide clearer policy direction.

The sector is also pushing back against provincial tax changes, arguing that the expansion of the provincial sales tax to some professional services will increase costs for mining projects already facing financing pressures.

One advanced-stage mining company estimates the changes could add between C$2 million and C$3 million in costs between 2027 and 2030, Goehring said.

At the same time, the industry faces looming labour shortages. According to the Mining Industry Human Resources Council, B.C. will require 5,000 net new workers over the next decade to meet expected demand.

Despite the challenges, mining executives said B.C. remains well-positioned to capitalize on rising global demand for critical minerals and metals needed for electrification and energy transition projects.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Goehring said. “But now more than ever, we need to remain focused, committed and determined.”

 

The rush for critical minerals echoes oil extraction injustice as harms fall on world's most vulnerable, UN scientists warn

The race to build EVs, renewable energy systems and AI infrastructure, with benefits flowing mainly to wealthy nations, is driving severe, largely hidden costs borne disproportionately by the poor in Africa and South America, UN University investigation 

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Critical minerals and their functional roles in energy transition and advanced technologies (source: UNU-INWEH)

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Credit: United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH)

Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada – Mining critical minerals such as lithium and cobalt fuels the ‘green’ energy and digital transitions essential to meeting climate goals. But building the technologies that enable a sustainable future is generating severe, hidden environmental and health crises that the world is failing to track or address, warns a new report by the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), known as the UN’s Think Tank on Water.

The investigation finds that systemic global failures are allowing the costs of critical minerals extraction to fall disproportionately on some of the world's most vulnerable communities, while the benefits accumulate elsewhere in the form of electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy systems, and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The report does not question the need for clean energy systems or the digital infrastructure underpinning them. Instead, it asks who is paying for and benefitting from humanity’s progress in those areas, and finds a deeply unjust answer.

“Technological disruptions are needed and useful. But we should be aware of and proactively address their unintended consequences if we want the whole world to equally benefit from them,” says UNU-INWEH Director Kaveh Madani, who led the investigation team. “You cannot call a transition green, sustainable, and just if it simply moves the environmental harm from the rich to the poor, and from one group of people or region to another.”

The report, Critical Minerals, Water Insecurity and Injustice, underlines the intense water requirements of critical minerals extraction and that communities living closest to mining operations are paying a steep price in contaminated water, water scarcity, lost livelihoods, and serious health consequences. 

In 2024, the report says, global lithium output of roughly 240,000 tonnes consumed an estimated 456 billion litres of water, equivalent to the annual domestic water needs of 62 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, roughly the population of Tanzania.

In Chile's Salar de Atacama, lithium mining alone accounts for up to 65% of regional water usage, intensifying competition with agriculture and domestic needs and driving dramatic groundwater depletion. Between 1990 and 2015, water tables in areas with brine wells dropped by up to nine metres. 

And lithium mining in Bolivia's Uyuni region is making it increasingly difficult for communities to grow quinoa, their economic and nutritional staple. 

Globally, about one-sixth (16%) of critical minerals reserves are located in high water-stress regions, while 54% of energy transition minerals sit on or near indigenous territories.

The environmental damage extends well beyond water consumption. For every tonne of hard-to-extract rare earth minerals produced, approximately 2,000 tonnes of toxic waste are generated. In 2024, global rare earth production generated an estimated 707 million metric tonnes of toxic waste, enough to fill about 59 million garbage trucks – a number of trucks that could form a queue circling the equator 13 times.

The 21st century’s oil

The Paris Agreement gives urgency to the extraction of critical minerals to reduce the carbon-intensity of human activities. Yet this creates a new ‘paradox’: meeting global climate targets would require a ninefold increase in lithium demand and a doubling of cobalt and nickel demand by 2040. 

“Without effective control mechanisms, the very targets designed to protect the planet can accelerate water, and health, and injustice crises in the communities least responsible for causing climate change,” says Prof. Madani, recently named the Stockholm Water Prize Laureate for 2026. “The world is rushing to build a cleaner energy future, and we support that urgency. But our investigation proves that the mining operations powering that transition are contaminating drinking water, destroying agricultural livelihoods, and exposing children to toxic heavy metals in some of the world's most vulnerable communities.”

Demand for graphite and other minerals essential to the energy and digital transition is projected to rise four or five times by 2050.

Referring to critical minerals as the ‘oil of the 21st century,’ the report draws a sobering parallel to the fossil fuel era, noting that the benefits of past resource extraction rarely reached the communities that bore its costs. Without deliberate policy intervention, it warns, the energy transition risks repeating that pattern, creating new "sacrifice zones" in mineral-rich but economically-marginalised regions.

Health burden falls hardest on women and children

Mining-related water contamination is creating serious public health emergencies. In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), for example, a major cobalt producer, 72% of people living near mining sites reported skin diseases, and 56% of women and girls reported gynecological problems. 

Birth defect rates in maternal wards near DRC mining areas are markedly elevated compared to those farther away, including neural tube defects (which can lead to serious infant brain and spine defects) at a rate of 10.9 per 10,000 births and lower limb defects at 8.8 per 10,000 births. 

The psychosocial toll is also documented. Residents of mining communities in Calama, Chile and Mibanze, DRC describe living in constant fear, anxiety, and a sense of being 'sacrificed' so that wealthier regions can advance. Studies link water insecurity and chronic pollution exposure to elevated rates of anxiety, depression, and in extreme cases, suicide.

And approximately 30% of mining sites in the DRC employ children, who typically lack basic health and safety protections.

In the DRC, more than 80% of mineral output is controlled by foreign industrial mines, limiting local economic gains. Despite the country's vast mineral wealth, over 70% of the DRC's population lives on less than $2.15 per day.

“The green energy transition is among the most important undertakings of our time. But the evidence we've gathered shows that the communities doing the actual digging, breathing the dust, and losing access to clean water are largely excluded from its benefits,” says UNU-INWEH scientist Dr. Abraham Nunbogu, the report’s lead author. “If we don't correct the governance failures driving this, we will have built the clean energy economy of the future on the same extractive injustices as the fossil fuel economy of the past.”

Urgent policy action required

The report calls for a fundamental shift in how the global community governs critical mineral supply chains. 

Key recommendations include mandatory international due diligence standards to replace voluntary compliance, legally binding mechanisms for ethical sourcing and environmental justice, strict pollution and wastewater controls including zero-discharge systems, and independent monitoring of water use and heavy metal contamination.

The report also calls for investment in circular economy solutions, including advanced recycling of batteries, electronics, and renewable energy components, to reduce pressure on primary extraction.

The report notes that the issues bear directly on progress towards UN Sustainable Development Goals 6 (clean water and sanitation), 3 (good health and well-being), 1 (no poverty), 7 (affordable and clean energy), and 10 (reduced inequalities).

“This rigorous, evidence-based investigation by UNU scientists addresses a problem the world urgently needs to confront,” says Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, UN Under-Secretary-General and Rector of the United Nations University. “A transition that deepens poverty, undermines access to clean water, and concentrates health burdens on the world's most marginalized communities is not a transition toward the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. It is a step away from them. We cannot give up on the digital transition but we need to do it right.”

Drawing on empirical analyses, scientific studies, and field evidence from the Lithium Triangle, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other high-risk extraction regions, the report presents what the authors describe as one of the most overlooked injustices of the global sustainability transition.

Importantly, the report makes clear this is not exclusively a problem of distant or developing regions. The Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada, the largest known lithium deposit in the United States, would require up to 3.5 billion litres of water annually, largely by diverting water rights from farming communities in the Quinn River Valley. 

In Canada, the 2014 Mount Polley copper/gold mine disaster in British Columbia released roughly 25 million cubic metres of toxic waste into rivers and lakes, contaminating drinking water sources and devastating Indigenous communities. The report calls it one of Canada's worst mining-related environmental failures.

“Water insecurity is not a side effect of critical mineral mining, it is a systemic outcome of how the global supply chain is currently designed and governed,” says Prof. Madani. “Without binding international standards, mandatory disclosure, and genuine community co-governance, the demand surge projected for the coming decades will make the current situation dramatically worse.”

The report argues that without binding global rules, the current system will continue to externalize environmental and health costs.

Key recommendations include:

• Mandatory international due diligence standards to replace voluntary compliance, with legally binding mechanisms for ethical sourcing and environmental justice
• Strict pollution and wastewater controls, including zero-discharge systems, and independent monitoring of water use and heavy metal contamination
• Investment in circular economy solutions -- including advanced recycling of batteries, electronics, and renewable energy components -- to reduce pressure on primary extraction
• Legally mandated benefit-sharing agreements that direct a fair share of mining revenues to affected communities for health, water, and education services
• Legal enshrinement of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for Indigenous communities whose lands are affected by extraction
• Robust public health systems and mandatory Health Impact Assessments in mining regions, with companies required to contribute financially
• Investment in low-water extraction technologies such as direct lithium extraction (DLE) to reduce freshwater consumption

“The data collected for this report makes a stark case, documenting severe health and environmental outcomes in communities that will probably never own an electric vehicle or benefit from the technologies their land is being destroyed to build, in the foreseeable future” says Dr. Nunbogu. “These hidden costs of the energy transition remain largely invisible to regulators and the public because reliable, publicly accessible data on water usage and pollution at specific mining sites remains scarce. Without open and verifiable data, we cannot hold supply chains accountable, and we cannot ensure that the transition is equitable. That is not a technical failure, it is a governance failure.”

By the numbers

Demand

• Demand for critical minerals tripled between 2010 and 2023
• Lithium demand rose 30% in 2022 alone; cobalt and nickel demand grew 70% and 40% respectively from 2017 to 2022
• Total global trade value of critical minerals exceeded USD 320 billion by 2022
• Demand projected to more than double by 2030 and quadruple by 2050
• Graphite, lithium, and cobalt demand could rise by nearly 500% by 2050 relative to 2020 levels
• Meeting Paris Agreement targets would require a ninefold increase in lithium demand and a doubling of cobalt and nickel demand by 2040

Water

• 1.9 million litres of water required to produce one tonne of lithium
• An average lithium mine producing 11,000 tonnes annually uses roughly 20 billion litres of water -- enough to cover the annual domestic water needs of 2.8 million people in sub-Saharan Africa
• 2024 global lithium output (excluding US): ~240,000 tonnes, requiring an estimated 456 billion litres of water -- equivalent to the annual domestic water needs of 62 million people in sub-Saharan Africa
• Lithium mining accounts for up to 65% of regional water usage in Chile's Salar de Atacama
• Thacker Pass mine (Nevada, USA) would require up to 3.5 billion litres of water annually
• Water table in Atacama brine-well areas dropped by up to 9 metres from 1990 to 2015
• 16% of critical mineral mining sites are in areas already classified as water-stressed
• 54% of energy transition mineral projects are on or near indigenous peoples' lands

Toxic waste

• Each tonne of rare earth elements produced generates ~2,000 tonnes of toxic waste overall, plus 1 tonne of radioactive residue and 75 cubic metres of wastewater
• 2024 global rare earth production generated an estimated 707 million metric tonnes of toxic waste -- equivalent to ~59 million loaded garbage trucks, or the annual municipal waste of approximately 1.4 billion people
• ~70% of that waste (490 million metric tonnes) was generated in China

Concentration of reserves and production

• Africa holds 30% of the world's critical mineral reserves
• DRC, Madagascar, and Morocco hold over 50% of global cobalt deposits; DRC's global cobalt production share has remained above 60% from 2020 to 2024
• South Africa holds ~90% of global platinum reserves and accounts for ~70% of global production
• The Lithium Triangle (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile) holds over 50% of world lithium reserves
• Indonesia holds 42% of global nickel reserves and in 2023 accounted for 51% of global nickel production
• Over 80% of DRC mineral output is controlled by foreign industrial mines; Indonesian companies control less than 10% of national nickel production

Health impacts in DRC

• 72% of respondents near DRC mining sites reported skin diseases
• 56% of women and girls reported gynecological issues; 14% reported similar issues among teenage girls
• Neural tube defects near DRC mining areas: 10.9 per 10,000 births
• Lower limb defects: 8.8 per 10,000 births; cleft lip/palate: 7.2 per 10,000; abdominal wall defects: 6.4 per 10,000
• Cobalt concentrations found to be higher in umbilical cord blood than in maternal blood at delivery
• ~30% of DRC mining sites employ children, often without basic health or safety protections; children as young as seven work without protective equipment

Poverty and inequality

• 73.5% of DRC's population lives on less than $2.15 per day
• 64% of DRC's population lacked basic drinking water access in 2024 -- despite the country holding more than 50% of Africa's freshwater reserves
• Namibia, Zambia, and DRC hold over 30% of world critical mineral deposits, but most profits flow to multinational corporations and mining companies in the Global North
• Indonesia: domestic companies control less than 10% of national nickel production

 

Report Information

Nunbogu, A., Farsi, A., Matin, M., Madani, K. (2026). Critical Minerals, Water Insecurity and Injustice. United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (UNU-INWEH), Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, doi: 10.53328/INR25ABN002

* * * * *

About UNU-INWEH

Marking its 30th anniversary of operation in 2026, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) is one of 13 institutions that comprise the United Nations University (UNU), the academic arm of the UN. 

Known as 'The UN’s Think Tank on Water', UNU-INWEH addresses critical water, environmental, and health challenges around the world. Through research, training, capacity development, and knowledge dissemination, the institute contributes to solving pressing global sustainability and human security issues of concern to the UN and its Member States. 

Headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario, UNU-INWEH has been hosted and supported by the Government of Canada since 1996. With a global mandate and extensive partnerships across UN entities, international organizations, and governments, UNU-INWEH operates through its UNU Hubs in Calgary, Hamburg, New York, Lund, and Pretoria, and an international network of affiliates.

unu.edu/inweh

* * * * *

---

DOI

10.53328/INR25ABN002 

Article Title

Critical Minerals, Water Insecurity and Injustice

Article Publication Date

29-Apr-2026

Why a salary of $115K isn't enough to purchase a house in some parts of Canada

Story by CBC/Radio-Canada


Across 23 countries with available OECD data, Canada experienced the sharpest rise in the home price-to-income ratio, up more than 80 per cent over the past two decades.

© Evan Mitsui/CBC

Ron Butler says that when he started in the mortgage business 30 years ago, it was quite easy for a grocery store produce manager or part-time nurse to find the five per cent down payment needed to buy a home.

"Those days are gone," Butler said recently at a parliamentary finance committee hearing looking into household debt in Canada.

Asked how long it would take someone with a solid, full-time job to save up the minimum down payment on a home today, Butler said that when it comes to the Greater Toronto Area, "the reality is they never could."

"If you're running about $110,000, $115,000 income, you have to pay rent, you have to eat, you have to live. You pay taxes," Butler said. "You could not possibly accumulate a satisfactory down payment for a house price that's still sort of just under a million dollars."

In Ontario before 2015, a family making $115,000 a year "had a shot" at home ownership, Butler said. They would have to go to places like Ajax, Burlington, Hamilton or the Niagara region to find a single-family home, but they would be able to find something to buy.

"Today, a $115,000 income earner, they really can't buy anything."

According to March 2026 figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the national average sale price for a home in Canada was $673,084. That means the minimum down payment required would be just over $42,000.

• Related video: 9 financial realities Canadians are quietly adjusting to (Canadian Essence)

But in the Greater Toronto Area, the average price was $1,017,796, while in Greater Vancouver, it was $1,201,123. In those cases, the minimum down payment would be about about $76,000 and $95,000, respectively.

It's not just in parts of Toronto and Vancouver where a single income in the $100,000 range is insufficient to be able to buy a home.

"Over the last few years, it's spread to other locations," said Mike Moffatt, founding director of the University of Ottawa's Missing Middle Initiative (MMI) and a researcher into Canada's housing supply and affordability crisis.

For example, CBC calculated that by using CREA's March 2026 median house prices and assuming a mortgage rate of 4.39 per cent amortized over 25 years, a person would need to make $122,300 to afford a 10 per cent down payment, a $4,000 annual tax bill and to pay $150 monthly in heating for a home in Calgary.

In Montreal, one would need to make $127,800, and in Ottawa $132,100 to do the same.

A report published in February this year by MMI found that across 23 Canadian metropolitan areas, newly built family-sized starter homes are now more than twice as expensive relative to median income as they were in 2004. According to the report, in the last two decades, new home prices at the lower end of the market have risen by 265 per cent on average, while young dual-earner incomes grew just 76 per cent.

Another MMI report published in November found that across 23 countries with available OECD data, Canada experienced the sharpest rise in the home price-to-income ratio, up more than 80 per cent since 2004.

A home that cost three years’ income in 2004 now costs nearly 5½ years' income today, the report found.

"A combination of skyrocketing home prices and stagnant wage growth has left Canadian households far worse off than their peers abroad," the report said.

Help from Mom and Dad

The people buying houses, at least in Ontario and British Columbia, are almost consistently in the top 10 or 15 per cent of earners in the country, Butler said.

Either that or people are getting massive assistance from their parents, who are using some of the accumulated equity in their own homes to assist their kids in buying a place, Butler said.

He gave the example of a semi-detached home in most of the GTA and most of Greater Vancouver, which would cost just under $800,000.

"That's not a nice one. That's not a great neighbourhood," he said. Still, if you're making $115,000, "that's seven times your income. You can't get a mortgage even with 20 per cent down."

Butler said it's "thin on the ground" in terms of Canadian locales where the lower part of middle-income earners can afford a home.

Moffatt said some parts of Quebec, northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and some areas of Manitoba, Atlantic Canada and northern Ontario have homes that are priced relatively low compared to incomes.

When asked for advice on where someone would have to go to find an affordable house, "it's largely to look for places where people don't live as much," he said.

"But that list of places is shrinking."

The wage dilemma

He said this housing dysfunction, which 20 years ago was basically just a Toronto and Vancouver problem, has spread across the country, for the main reason that people moved.

In fact, Moffatt said the place where home prices have increased the most in Canada over a 10-year period was Tillsonburg, Ont., which is outside of London.

"And the reason for that is just that it was one of the cheapest places in the country to live, and families started moving there."

The challenge with housing affordability is that the costs of homebuilding have not gone down. Moffatt said one of the risks is an extended period where new homes aren't being built.

"Because right now, if you want a home, it's hard to build something new that can compete with the prices on the resale market," he said.

And if wages increased without more homes being built, that would just lead to more money chasing the same number of homes.

But wage growth is part of the solution, he said.

"That's how we're going to get affordability. It's not just the prices of homes falling, but you need wages to rise, rise faster than housing prices."

Trump signs order authorizing Bridger's Canada-Wyoming crude pipeline

Story by CBC/Radio-Canada

April 30, 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an order authorizing a proposed project to transport Canadian oil across the border as part of an effort to revive parts of the cancelled Keystone XL pipeline.

South Bow, the Canadian pipeline company behind the cancelled Keystone XL pipeline, is partnering with U.S. company Bridger Pipeline on the proposed project.

South Bow is considering reviving some of the already built line in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Bridger Pipeline is pursuing construction of a potential 1,038-kilometre pipeline beginning near the U.S.-Canada border in Phillips County, Mont., and transiting to Guernsey, Wyo.

As Trump signed the order, White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf told the president, "This is a trans-border pipeline similar to the old Keystone XL pipeline."

Trump responded: "A lot of jobs, too. A lot of jobs. OK, very good."


(Kyle Bakx/CBC)

New proposal revives part of Keystone XL route

The pipeline could increase Canada's crude exports to the U.S. by more than 12 per cent if it goes ahead.

The new proposal involves a different route through the U.S. than the previous Keystone XL project, which was cancelled by former U.S. president Joe Biden in 2021 after years of Indigenous and environmental opposition.\

However, it would use some of the previously built pipe on the Canadian side, where the Keystone XL line is already fully permitted. In 2021, about 150 kilometres of pipe were installed in Alberta.

"South Bow continues to evaluate the Prairie Connector project, a potential expansion of its Canadian asset base that would leverage existing infrastructure and permitted corridors to improve market access for Canadian crude oil," South Bow spokesperson Solomiya Martoiu said in an emailed statement.

"The Prairie Connector project remains in early stages and is subject to ongoing commercial, stakeholder and rightsholder discussions, regulatory processes and evaluation," Martoiu said.

South Bow was created in 2024, when former Keystone XL proponent TC Energy spun off its oil pipeline business.

"One reason we see it keep coming back is that there are some market realities that make a lot of sense," James Coleman, an energy law professor at the University of Minnesota, said in an interview with CBC News.

"There are continued increases in oil production in Canada. We are seeing right now the biggest threats to waterborne traffic of oil that we've ever seen in the world," he said.

North America is uniquely well positioned to deal with the energy crisis caused by the U.S. war in Iran because of the continent's mix of heavy oil, light oil, refining capacity and natural gas, Coleman said.

Still, Coleman warned there could be legal challenges to this proposal, similar to the lawsuits against Keystone XL.
Keystone revival resurfaces during trade talks

The pipeline could transport about 550,000 barrels of Canadian crude per day to the U.S.

"Canada has benefited for decades from having fully integrated infrastructure tied to the United States, the largest oil and gas consuming market on the planet," Lisa Baiton, CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said in an emailed statement.

Baiton said the association supports "any new capacity that is commercially viable and can move Canadian energy reliably."

State regulatory permits will still be required for the project to proceed.

"We are aware of the issuance of permits to Bridger Pipeline. The Government of Canada remains focused on strengthening Canada’s position as an energy superpower, supporting North American and global energy security, and advancing the diversification of our trade partnerships," Charlotte Power, a spokesperson for natural resources minister Tim Hodgson, said in an emailed statement.


Pipe ready to be used for the construction of the Canadian leg of the Keystone XL pipeline in Alberta in September 2020. (Kyle Bakx/CBC)

The presidential permit comes at a time when Canada and the U.S. are facing an ongoing trade war and will soon begin negotiations on a new North American trade agreement.

Last October, Prime Minister Mark Carney floated the idea of Keystone XL to Trump during a meeting at the White House.


During the construction of the Canadian leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, about 1,000 workers were based in the town of Oyen, located 300 kilometres east of Calgary.

The 1,897-kilometre Keystone XL pipeline was first announced in 2005 and designed to carry 830,000 barrels of crude a day from Hardisty, Alta., to Nebraska. It would then connect with the original Keystone pipeline, which runs to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries.

In 2024, TC Energy lost its bid to recoup $15 billion US from the U.S. government after claiming it was treated unfairly and inequitably.

The Ever-Expanding Legal Battle Over Enbridge's Line 5 Pipeline

By Felicity Bradstock - Apr 28, 2026

• Michigan and Wisconsin lawsuits are challenging Line 5 on environmental and legal grounds, with overlapping state and federal court battles.
• 
  
• The pipeline’s aging infrastructure and spill risk in the Great Lakes region remain central to opposition efforts.
• 
  
• Ongoing litigation is delaying key projects and raising broader questions about state authority, tribal rights, and cross-border energy ties.
• 
  

Active lawsuits in Michigan and Wisconsin are targeting sections of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline over environmental concerns in a complex and ever-expanding legal fight. Michigan has an active state-court lawsuit against Enbridge, while in Wisconsin, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and environmental groups are challenging the pipeline in federal and state court.

In April, the United States Supreme Court sided with Michigan that a ruling over a section of an ageing pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channel must stay in state court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote on behalf of a unanimous court that while the Calgary-based energy firm Enbridge was permitted 30 days to attempt to move the case to federal court, the company instead waited 887 days to do so, and only after it had seen developments in related litigation over the Line 5 pipeline.

In June 2019, Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, sued in state court to void the easement that permits Enbridge to operate a 4.5-mile section of pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, which link Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. The pipeline has been transporting crude and natural gas since 1953 and currently transports 540,000 bpd of crude and refined products from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Ontario.

Enbridge moved to take the lawsuit to federal court in 2021 on the grounds that the case affects U.S. and Canadian trade. In a statement, Nessel said the ruling “makes emphatically clear that our lawsuit against Enbridge belongs before the state court, where we've argued since 2019 that Line 5 does not have a legal right to the Straits bottomlands.”

The justification for the pipeline case, referred to as Line 5, is the potential for the section beneath the straits to rupture, which could cause a catastrophic spill. Experts first raised the concern in 2017, after Enbridge engineers admitted that they had been aware of the gaps in the section’s protective coating since 2014. A boat anchor further damaged the section in 2018, increasing concerns around a potential spill.

Nessel has called the section of pipeline “a ticking time bomb in the heart of the Great Lakes.” State officials have also argued that Enbridge has violated state laws, including the Michigan Environmental Protection Act. Nessel has previously won a restraining order in June 2020, resulting in Enbridge shutting down the pipeline from Ingham County. However, Enbridge has since improved safety operations and been permitted to recommence operations.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources, led by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, revoked the easement for Line 5 in 2020, after which Enbridge filed a separate federal lawsuit to challenge the move. A federal judge ruled in favour of Enbridge, holding that the federal Pipeline Safety Act preempts Michigan’s attempt to shut down the pipeline on safety grounds. Whitmer then appealed to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In March 2026, the Supreme Court denied Whitmer’s petition for certiorari on sovereign immunity, allowing Enbridge’s federal lawsuit against her to proceed.

In 2023, the Michigan Public Service Commission granted Enbridge the necessary permits to encase the section of pipeline in a protective tunnel to ensure safety and prevent a shutdown. However, work has not gone ahead on the project as a coalition of environmental groups and Michigan tribes has filed a lawsuit to cancel the state permits. This issue will be considered during the state court case. To move forward with the project, Enbridge must also seek approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

Separately, a lawsuit was filed in Wisconsin over the pipeline. In June 2023, a federal judge ordered that Enbridge must shut down part of Line 5 that runs across the Bad River Band of Lake Superior’s reservation within three years. Enbridge appealed the order, and in February of this year, it commenced work to reroute the line around the reservation. The Bad River Band and environmental groups have since filed a lawsuit to halt work on the project over environmental concerns. 

The ongoing legal battle has raised broader questions over how much power states hold in exerting control over the fossil fuel industry. The dispute has also put pressure on United States-Canada energy relations. In addition, the battle over the pipeline has scrambled traditional political alliances due to the large number of jobs connected with pipeline operations, as well as the industry it brings to the region. 

After battling the issue for several years, neither Enbridge nor state lawmakers are backing down in the pipeline case, suggesting that it could take more time to resolve. In the meantime, Enbridge has been unable to progress on its project to encase the section of pipeline in Michigan, while the pipeline continues to pose a potential threat to the environment.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

 

U.S. Supreme Court rules for Michigan in its fight to shut down an aging energy pipeline

By

The Associated Press

Opens in new window

Published: April 22, 2026 

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with Michigan in ruling that the state’s lawsuit seeking to shut down a section of an aging pipeline beneath a Great Lakes channel will stay in state court.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for a unanimous court that the Enbridge energy company waited too long to try to move the case to federal court.

The case is part of a messy legal dispute about a pipeline that has moved crude oil and natural gas liquids between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario, since 1953.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued in state court in June 2019 seeking to void the easement that allows Enbridge to operate a 4.5-mile (6.4-kilometer) section of pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, which link Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Nessel, a Democrat, won a restraining order shutting down the pipeline from Ingham County Judge James Jamo in June 2020, although Enbridge was allowed to continue operations after meeting safety requirements.

Enbridge moved the lawsuit into federal court in 2021, arguing it affects U.S. and Canadian trade. But a three-judge panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to Jamo in June 2024, finding that the company missed a 30-day deadline to change jurisdictions.

The pipeline at issue is called Line 5. Concerns over the section beneath the straits rupturing and causing a catastrophic spill have been growing since 2017, when Enbridge engineers revealed they had known about gaps in the section’s protective coating since 2014. A boat anchor damaged the section in 2018, intensifying fears of a spill.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer revoked the straits easement for Line 5 in 2020. Enbridge filed a separate federal lawsuit challenging the revocation.

Enbridge won a ruling from a federal judge blocking the move, but Whitmer, a Democrat, has appealed to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In March, the Supreme Court rejected Whitmer’s appeal claiming that she couldn’t be sued in federal court.

It was unclear how the federal ruling blocking Whitmer’s revocation attempt would affect Nessel’s case in state court. The company said in a statement that the judge in the Whitmer case has already decided federal regulators, not the state, are responsible for Line 5 safety and they have found no issues that would warrant shutting it down.

Enbridge also is seeking permits to encase the section of pipeline beneath the straits in a protective tunnel. The Michigan Public Service Commission granted the relevant permits in 2023, but a coalition of environmental groups and Michigan tribes has filed a lawsuit seeking to void state permits for the tunnel. The state Supreme Court is weighing that case.

Enbridge also needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

The pipeline is at the center of a separate legal dispute in Wisconsin as well. A federal judge in Madison last summer gave Enbridge three years to shut down part of Line 5 that runs across the Bad River Band of Lake Superior’s reservation. The company has appealed the shutdown order to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but it started work in February to reroute the line around the reservation.

The Bad River and environmental groups have filed a state lawsuit seeking to halt the work, arguing regulators have underestimated the damage the reroute construction will cause. That case also is pending.

___

Associated Press writer Todd Richmond contributed to this report from Madison, Wisconsin.

Mark Sherman, The Associated Press