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There is a very vocal minority that tends to show up for these hearings, he said, while “the rest of the population expects the regulator to just do their job.

“It’s just the Canadian way, all the people from one side get mobilized and come out and pound the table so as a result there must be somebody on the other side trying to mobilize people to get them to come out and say it is a good thing,” Mr. Schultz said. “But you look at how things are done in this country and you don’t see that happening very often.”

Average Albertans likely support the pipeline because of the jobs it will bring into the province, said Kathryn Harrison, an environmental policy professor at the University of British Columbia. “But most of those people already have jobs,” she said, referring to Alberta’s ongoing labour shortage.

Albertans are also used to dealing with pipeline issues, Prof. Harrison said, while British Columbians have far less experience with such projects and must grapple with unique risks.

“Albertans don’t have to worry about tankers,” she said. “British Columbians do.”

Ms. Clark has made it clear her government is unwilling to let Northern Gateway move forward until B.C. is promised more of the $81-billion in provincial royalties and taxes the pipeline will generate over the next 30 years. Alberta Premier Alison Redford has countered the rules of confederation would have to be rewritten to comply with those demands.

Until that political stalemate is solved, Prof. Doucet argues those who favour Northern Gateway have even less of a reason to share their views with the rest of the nation.

“Bigger things have to be settled in terms of provincial relations before the voices of proponents are going to be heard,” he said.