Enbridge Line 9B Sabotaged in Quebec; Extremist Attack Disrupts Pipeline Operations
Executive Summary
An anonymous posting on the anarchist site MTL Counter-Info claimed responsibility for sabotaging Enbridge’s Line 9B in Quebec, targeting two control valves and rendering a section of the pipeline inoperable. The attack, framed as resistance to “extractivism,” forced disruption of service and reflects a continuation of extremist opposition to Enbridge projects across North America. The incident occurs amid ongoing legal, environmental, and Indigenous disputes over the company’s Line 5 tunnel project in Michigan and recent court rulings involving pipeline protestors.
Key Judgments
Key Judgment 1
The sabotage of Line 9B demonstrates an escalation from symbolic protest to direct infrastructure attacks by extremist actors seeking to disrupt North American energy operations.
Evidence: The anonymous statement claimed destruction of electronic control equipment at sites in Saint-André d’Argenteuil and Mirabel, preventing Enbridge from safely operating a segment of the line.
Key Judgment 2
Targeting Enbridge aligns with a long-standing extremist focus on pipelines as symbols of “colonial extractivism,” with sabotage portrayed as a legitimate form of resistance rather than protest.
Evidence: The communiqué declared Line 9B “a pipe of death” and called for “direct aim at infrastructures that are responsible,” echoing rhetoric previously linked to anarchist and radical environmental networks.
Key Judgment 3
The attack on Line 9B coincides with heightened controversy over Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel project in Michigan, reflecting the company’s status as a primary target for both lawful environmental opposition and extremist sabotage campaigns.
Evidence: Recent reporting shows Line 5 faces challenges over insufficient geological testing, tribal opposition, and ongoing legal battles. At the same time, past incidents—including attempted valve shutoffs in Michigan and Minnesota protests against Line 3—illustrate a pattern of direct action against Enbridge assets.
Analysis
The sabotage of Enbridge’s Line 9B marks one of the most significant recent extremist attacks on Canadian energy infrastructure. According to the anonymous statement on MTL Counter-Info, saboteurs destroyed electronic equipment at two valve control points, leaving more than a dozen kilometers of pipeline uncontrollable. If accurate, this forced Enbridge to halt operations until repairs are complete, highlighting the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to relatively low-tech sabotage.
The action fits a broader pattern in which Enbridge has become a symbolic and practical target for radical environmental and anarchist groups. The company’s network of pipelines—including Line 3 in Minnesota, Line 5 across Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac, and Line 9 in Quebec and Ontario—intersects with both Indigenous lands and high-profile environmental concerns, making it a focal point for resistance. In 2021, activists attempted to manually close Line 5 valves, while Line 3 protests saw large-scale arrests. Courts continue to review cases tied to those events, such as the recent reversal of a conviction for Minnesota activist Mylene Vialard.
At the same time, Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel proposal remains deeply contested. Experts have raised safety concerns about inadequate geological testing beneath the Straits of Mackinac, while tribal nations argue that both treaty rights and ecological risks are being ignored. The combination of legal opposition and direct sabotage intensifies pressure on regulators, energy operators, and security services.
