Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
The EVRAZ pipe mill in Regina, back during happier days in 2009 when it was running full-out. Most of the major pipelines built in Western Canada since the the early 1960s saw most of their pipe originate from this mill. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Editor’s note: Today Pipeline Online is publishing in-depth stories from the NDP and Sask Party on last week’s steel tariffs from President Donald Trump. Both parties produced remarkably similar calls to action. Steel is critical for oil infrastructure and production, especially with regards to pipelines. Most of the major pipelines built in Western Canada saw their pipe come out of Regina, but it’s been some time since that mill has produced any pipeline pipe. And now, steel production itself is under threat of tariffs.
First, the NDP:
REGINA – In all the mess of the trade war between Canada and the United States initiated by President Donald Trump, the steel industry in Canada is being battered particularly hard.
Trump has targeted steel and aluminum for additional tariffs over and above the 25 per cent universal tariff he’s already said would be applied. However, that keeps shifts as items covered under the CUSMA free trade agreement are supposed to be not impacted.
Regina’s steel mill on the north side of the city has already had a tough go with it as production of one of its primary products, large diameter pipeline pipe, has been dormant for some time now. The conclusion of the Trans Mountain Expansion and Coastal GasLink projects last year leave no major pipeline projects in the works. And despite all the talk in the chattering classes and public about resurrecting Enbridge’s defunct Northern Gateway Pipeline to the West Coast, or TC Energy’s defunct Energy East Pipeline to the East Coast, neither company has indicated any efforts to resurrect those projects. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case.
EVRAZ pipe produced in Regina heading through Estevan. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
And it’s been a long time since rail cars loaded with green- or red-coated EVRAZ pipeline pipe have been seen rolling through Estevan headed south, to the US.
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So what is a steel mill to do, when most of the large diameter pipe used in major pipelines across Canada since the 1960s originated at that mill, and no one is building large pipeline anymore? And to top it all off, steel exports are being pummeled by American tariffs?
Sally Housser, left, and Aleana Young were joined by Steelworkers representatives on March 12 in from the for Legislatures. One was Mike Day (sorry, we couldn’t determine the other name) Facebook/Aleana Young
Saskatchewan’s official opposition New Democratic Party has been speaking up for the Steelworkers frequently in recent weeks. On Thursday, March 12, Aleana Young, Saskatchewan NDP Jobs & Economy Shadow Minister, and Sally Housser, Saskatchewan NDP Energy & Resources Shadow Minister joined Mike Day, United Steelworkers Local 5890 on the steps of the Legislature to voice their concerns.
Young said, “Our steel workers deserve support. They deserve a government that will fight back and take bold action to secure Saskatchewan economic future. EVRAZ and the workers in it are national assets. We haven’t seen much from Scott Moe and the Sask Party. What we’ve seen from Scott Moe has been slow. He’s failed to turn up for biggest moments on multiple occasions. And when he has bothered to show up, the response to this threat has been underwhelming.
“I’m proud to stand here today with United Steel Workers and demand a better plan. The provincial and federal governments both need to step up to build our steel industry. We should be in the legislature right now. We should have been there last week, debating and developing a plan and setting it in motion.
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“For starters, the Sask Party could adopt calls made by my leader, Carla Beck, weeks ago to create additional steel jobs here in Saskatchewan by banning contracts for projects awarded to US companies. The buck has to stop here. We can use more steel, made right here, in this province, to build our grid. We can build pipelines, and we can do it using Saskatchewan steel and steel workers. After all, Saskatchewan has the best steel in the world.”
Housser said, “I couldn’t agree more. The steel made right here is unmatched. It’s a point of pride for us in Saskatchewan, and we can do more to ramp up manufacturing of steel and create more good paying steel jobs right here at home. We need to adopt the Saskatchewan NDP plan to build Canada. Me and my colleagues have been calling for more rail lines, more transmission lines, and, crucially, more pipelines.
“The past two months have made it very clear for our energy security and our economic future and our very sovereignty, we need a pipeline to the East Coast, and that pipeline should be made with very best in the world, Saskatchewan steel.
“This is about focusing on what we can control. It’s about delivering economic prosperity for generations to come. It’s about ensuring that no one, and especially not Donald Trump, can ever hold the Canadian economy hostage again.”
Metallurgy at the EVRAZ steel mill in 2009. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Steelworkers
Day said thanked them for their continued advocacy for steel workers. He said, “We know that this Saskatchewan NDP team has been a strong proponent of pipelines, and we thank you for that.
“Today is a tough day for us steel workers. It’s a day we saw coming, but hoped it would never arrive. My message to Donald Trump is to stop. You have to stop. You’re hurting both Canadian and American economy as well as workers in both countries. This is an economic attack on workers. We are so integrated. This is going to cause irreparable harm to the steel industry and so many others.
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“There’s a lot of fear and anxiety out there, and workers are left wondering who will be in their corner.
“Message to Scott Moe: Step up. Bring a plan. Bring forward a plan, something that we can take back to our members to demonstrate to them that your government gives a damn. Right now, I see nothing coming from this premier and his government. No plan to get out of this mess, no plan to help workers while we’re in the middle, middle of it being used as polling. No more waiting. Saskatchewan workers deserve much better.”
A slab of hot steel comes out of the caster at the Regina EVRAZ mill. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
Beck at SARM
On the same day, NDP Leader Carla Beck spoke to the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities Convention in Saskatoon. She called for a nationwide plan to build Canada’s future with more rail lines, pipelines and power lines. She also insisted on the need to twin the TransCanada Highway No. 1 from coast-to-coast and to establish high-speed rural broadband for every home in the province, according to an NDP press release.
That release included a four point plan, saying:
- Expansion of Rail and Port Capacity – Upgrading rail lines, including short-line rail, to ensure Saskatchewan’s agricultural and mining exports can efficiently reach overseas markets.
- A pipeline to the East Coast – Constructing critical infrastructure to deliver Saskatchewan and Alberta oil and gas to European markets while alleviating pressure on rail transport.
- Strengthening Power Transmission – Investing in power generation and interties to secure electricity supply and position Saskatchewan as a leader in energy production.
- Twinning Highway 1 from Coast to Coast – Ensuring the efficient movement of goods within Canada without reliance on U.S. trade routes.
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“The projects I’m proposing will take all levels of government, cooperation across political party and provincial lines,” Beck said in her speech. “With federal and provincial budgets coming in just a few weeks, we must see movement — some of the initial building blocks — to set these future-focused infrastructure projects in motion.
Beck added she believed Saskatchewan, located in the heart of country, should and can play a critical role in getting products built.
“I know we can do this,” Beck said. “We HAVE to do this. Our province, small as it is, has always been a leader. We get shit done.”
“These are not just ideas — these are necessary steps we must take to ensure our economy is never held hostage again,” Beck said.
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