At first glance, the east-central Alberta town of Hardisty looks like many prairie communities.

A semi-trailer rolls along a wide, open road beneath an expansive blue sky. An antique shop opens on the modest main street, drawing in treasure seekers for a chat and a quick barter. The popular local sports pub fills with locals ordering the daily special. Today, it's fried chicken and ribs.

But just southeast of the town of about 600 residents, the landscape changes. Large tanks dot the horizon, holding millions of barrels of crude.

Within Alberta's energy industry, everyone knows the name. This is the Hardisty Terminal, a critical hub in North America's oil and gas network.

"If you want to get oil out of Western Canada, for the most part, almost all of it comes through Hardisty at so

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