A Liberal-sponsored House of Commons petition is calling on the federal government to let Canadians choose the name of a proposed multi-billion-dollar West Coast oil pipeline through a national online contest.Petition E-7592 asks Ottawa to establish what it describes as an open, transparent and legally binding process allowing any Canadian citizen or resident to submit and vote on a name for the proposed pipeline, with the winning entry becoming the project's official name.The petition was sponsored by Liberal MP Eric St-Pierre, who represents the Quebec riding of Honoré-Mercier, and written by Toronto comedian and climate activist Aaron Hagey-Mackey.The proposal follows the federal government's July 2 announcement that it would fast-track approval of a new West Coast pipeline by referring it to the Major Projects Office for possible designation as a project of national interest.Ottawa has said the pipeline could transport approximately one million barrels of Alberta oil per day to British Columbia's coast as part of its goal of making Canada "the leading supplier of clean and conventional energy to ourselves and the world."According to the petition, the pipeline would be majority-owned by the federally owned Trans Mountain Corporation and the Government of Alberta, making it a publicly owned asset..Hagey-Mackey cited Alberta government estimates placing the project's cost between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion, while noting the final cost to taxpayers has yet to be negotiated.Because taxpayers will ultimately finance and own the infrastructure, Hagey-Mackey argued they should also have a say in what it is called."Canadians will finance and own this infrastructure yet have no say in the project including what it is called," the petition states. "Public ownership should carry public accountability, and decisions about publicly owned assets should reflect the will of the citizens who pay for them."The petition requests that the only limits placed on submissions be "reasonable standards of common decency."Hagey-Mackey has previously promoted the use of satire to advance climate activism. In a 2025 interview with Contemporary Fashion, he said comedy could encourage people to think differently about environmental issues."I was always trying to find satirical ways to get people to think about this issue and various other ones from a different perspective," he said. "I was asking myself, 'With the skills I have, how can I contribute?' I was pretty good at writing comedy so I thought, let's just see what I can do with this."National naming contests for federally funded infrastructure projects are uncommon, although governments have used the concept before.In 2016, the federal government helped sponsor a contest allowing Ottawa schoolchildren to name tunnelling machines used in the city's light rail project. Winning entries included "Chewrocka" and "Jawbreaker."More recently, municipalities have held naming contests for snowplows, producing winning names such as "Austin Plowers," "Flurrious George," "Jon Bon Snowvi," "Ka-plow," "Lederplowsen" and "Plowy McPlowface."
