The original project proposal included a marine oil export terminal in Cacouna, Quebec, but that configuration was abandoned due to the impact it would have on a beluga whale habitat.

[6] In a November 10, 2011 phone call, then-President Barack Obama told then Prime Minister Stephen Harper that the Keystone XL approval process was on hold.

[7] In response, Frank McKenna, who was then Canadian Ambassador to the U.S., wrote a Financial Post opinion piece suggesting a west-east pipeline.

[13] They had held secret, private meetings in January 2015, with stakeholders, including Jean Charest, former Premier of Quebec who represented TransCanada at the time as a consultant.

"[7][13] Prior to the 2015 general election, then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper renewed the mandates of all nineteen politically-appointed permanent NEB members.

[16] Each of the 180 may[clarification needed] in law have had a veto under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples which Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau had previously vowed to sign and uphold.

[32] TransCanada said that it would "strive to reach consent" with the First Nations to avoid and mitigate any possible adverse effects of the Energy East pipeline.

[34] Ontario imposed approval conditions on Energy East [35] but had dropped climate change concerns [36] in December 2014.

[37] After the election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister in the 2015 Canadian federal election, and the replacement of Conservative pro-pipeline MPs with Liberal Party of Canada MPs along the entire route of the pipeline in New Brunswick and part of the route in Quebec, the Canadian federal position became unclear.

The Prime Minister had strongly condemned the Harper-era process of regulation, citing serious conflict of interest and mandate flaws,[38] and had also promised to "work with the provinces to map out a plan to reduce Canada's collective carbon footprint within 90 days of taking office by putting a price on carbon pollution."

Other Harper-era approvals such as Northern Gateway had been sharply criticized [39] and even called a "farce" by some public officials objecting to the lack of oral cross-examination.