In this Feb. 1, 2012 file photo, miles of pipe for the stalled Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline are stacked in a field near Ripley, Okla. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
By Lauren Krugel
The latest volley of U.S. tariffs targeting Canada are temporarily on hold, and social media postings from U.S. President Donald Trump suggest a revival of the defunct Keystone XL pipeline is factoring into ongoing negotiations.
Trump posted Tuesday night on his Truth Social platform that Canada and the U.S. “have a DEAL!”
“The great Keystone XL Pipeline, long ago killed by Sleepy Joe Biden, may be awoken from the grave!” he wrote.
A subsequent post showed a rendering of the president yanking a pipeline out of the ground beside a tombstone labelled “buried by Biden” and alongside another sign reading “Keystone Pipeline. Completely Free. Energy. Jobs. America First.”
Here is a recap of the nearly two-decade Keystone XL soap opera and recent reboot efforts:
TransCanada Corp. — since rebranded as TC Energy Corp. — first proposed the Keystone XL extension in 2008. It would have expanded an existing pipeline delivering crude from Hardisty, Alta., to refineries in the U.S. Midwest and provided a direct route to the world’s biggest refining complex on the Texas coast.
Canada’s energy regulator approved the plan in 2010. South of the border was another matter as activists made the project a proxy for the broader battle against climate change.
- 0135 SASPO-2988_Self serve_2026_YouTube0135 SASPO-2988_Self serve_2026_YouTube
- 0121 Ministry of Energy and Resources April 20260121 Ministry of Energy and Resources April 2026
- 0134 SASPO-2956_ Safety 20260134 SASPO-2956_ Safety 2026
- 0133 LC Trucking hiring Class 1A Payden0133 LC Trucking hiring Class 1A Payden
- 0132 UMWA 20260132 UMWA 2026
- 0129 Turnbull drivers operators0129 Turnbull drivers operators
- 0128 OSY Rentals updated0128 OSY Rentals updated
- 0126 Steel_Reef_Promo_0126 Steel_Reef_Promo_
- 0118 IBEW 30 sec0118 IBEW 30 sec
- 0114 Prospera Bold Vision0114 Prospera Bold Vision
- 0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
The saga was marked by pipeline reroutes, lawsuits, political showdowns and high-profile protests that saw the likes of actors Margot Kidder and Daryl Hannah arrested outside the White House.
Former president Barack Obama nixed the pipeline — twice — only to have President Donald Trump reinstate its permit during his first term. Former president Joe Biden pulled the plug on the pipeline again on his first day in the White House in 2021.
In his second term, Trump has said repeatedly he wants to revive Keystone XL, and it has been — in a way.
The existing system is now owned by South Bow Corp., which was spun off in late 2024 from TC Energy.
South Bow had earlier said it “moved on” from the contentious Keystone XL proposal, but that it would “continue to explore opportunities that leverage our existing corridor.”
South Bow this spring held an “open season” — a formal process to solicit bids from potential customers — for its Prairie Connector proposal. It received 20-year binding commitments amounting to 465,000 barrels a day for firm transportation service from Hardisty, Alta., to the Canada-U.S. border, where it would connect to another pipeline proposed by Bridger Pipeline LLC to Wyoming. Trump has granted a cross-border permit to Bridger.
Prairie Connector would use about 150 kilometres of pipe in the ground on the Canadian side that had been intended for Keystone XL, South Bow has said. The company plans to make a final investment decision next year.
“Over the coming months, we will focus on stakeholder engagement, execution planning, cost refinement, financing, and securing the permit durability needed to support that decision,” Bevin Wirzba, South Bow’s chief executive, told analysts on a quarterly earnings conference call earlier this month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2026.
Companies in this story: (TSX:SOBO) (TSX:TRP)
- 0135 SASPO-2988_Self serve_2026_YouTube0135 SASPO-2988_Self serve_2026_YouTube
- 0121 Ministry of Energy and Resources April 20260121 Ministry of Energy and Resources April 2026
- 0134 SASPO-2956_ Safety 20260134 SASPO-2956_ Safety 2026
- 0133 LC Trucking hiring Class 1A Payden0133 LC Trucking hiring Class 1A Payden
- 0132 UMWA 20260132 UMWA 2026
- 0129 Turnbull drivers operators0129 Turnbull drivers operators
- 0128 OSY Rentals updated0128 OSY Rentals updated
- 0126 Steel_Reef_Promo_0126 Steel_Reef_Promo_
- 0118 IBEW 30 sec0118 IBEW 30 sec
- 0114 Prospera Bold Vision0114 Prospera Bold Vision
- 0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001