Canada

Eight minutes into a corporate phone call Liam Iliffe, a B.C.-based political staffer turned industry executive, starts to outline strategies he says the multinational fossil fuel company uses to influence provincial, federal and state governments in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The corporation employs lobbyists and analysts in key political centres including Ottawa and Washington D.C. In 2023, TC Energy posted earnings of $11 billion.

Speaking for 42 minutes, Iliffe goes on to claim TC Energy has surreptitiously influenced many major policy decisions.

“We’ve had some really remarkable results in terms of our message being repeated back to us by key decision makers in government,” he says, adding “we’ve been given opportunities to write entire briefing notes for ministers and premiers and prime ministers and it gets stuck on government letterhead.”