Pipeline Debate  The Pipeline Debate (May 8 – June 6, 1956) was a political event in the history of the Parliament of Canada. The debate was on the finances of the TransCanada pipeline, proper parliamentary procedure, and American economic influence on Canada. The controversy eventually contributed to the defeat of Louis St. Laurent at the polls in 1957, ending many years of Liberal rule, and bringing in a government under Progressive Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. To meet the growing needs of Ontario and Quebec with the bountiful supply of natural gas in Alberta, St. Laurent and his Minister of Trade and Commerce, C. D. Howe, decided to allow TransCanada PipeLines, LP, a private American company, to build a gas pipeline from the west to the east. St. Laurent and Howe favoured a longer, more expensive route, entirely through Canadian territory, rejecting the route of the American oil pipeline, which was shorter but crossed into the United States on its way to Eastern Canada. The parliamentary debate on the issue focused on two issues:  The opposition Progressive Conservative Party and Co-operative Commonwealth Federation planned to delay the plan with a filibuster. The Conservatives were opposed to the majority American ownership even though the government pledged that the pipeline would be under American control only during the construction phase. The social democratic CCF wanted the pipeline to be entirely owned by the government, as it was sure to be profitable because of the demand for gas in Eastern Canada. The opposition parties were aware that parliamentary approval of the plan had to be obtained by June 6, 1956, to get necessary financing in time for pipeline construction to start by July 1, as the Liberal government had promised. The opposition believed that if the Liberals missed this deadline, the plan might fall apart under its own weight, and a new all-Canadian consortium or a Crown corporation might be put together. To counter the opposition tactics, the Liberals attempted to force closure, a vote ending debate and forcing a final vote, at every stage of the bill. The motions were carried with a heavily whipped Liberal caucus. During the heated exchanges of Parliament in which Liberal MPs were called "trained seals" and "jackals", St. Laurent was seen calmly reading a book. Two weeks of debate received much coverage in most media outlets. Since few Canadians cared about where the pipeline was, the actions of the government seemed at best an overreaction or at worst an undemocratic move. On the day before the deadline, Liberal Speaker of the House of Commons René Beaudoin allowed the opposition to debate a procedural matter.