The Alberta government plans to develop and submit a formal application to the federal Major Projects Office for a new bitumen pipeline to the northwest coast of British Columbia.
The province announced Wednesday it will commit $14 million to the proposal and act as the proponent, leading a "technical advisory group" that includes three major pipeline companies — Enbridge, South Bow and Trans Mountain — although those companies would not necessarily be involved if the project were to proceed.
No specific route for the pipeline has yet been proposed; identifying potential routes will be part of the work the province plans to undertake.
It says both the federal government and the British Columbia government have been made aware of its plans.
Some Indigenous groups have already been involved, including the Fort McKay First Nation and the National Coalition of Chiefs.
"This project application is about more than a pipeline; it's about unlocking Canada's full economic potential," Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement. "By doing this the right way from Day 1 with Indigenous partners and industry expertise, we will deliver a proposal that proves this project is undeniably in the national interest."
The province says it needs to be the proponent for the application because private industry isn't currently willing to commit the necessary capital to a pipeline like this, given existing federal regulations, in particular the restrictions implemented in 2019 on oil tankers in B.C.'s northern waters.
"You can't build a pipeline to the northwest coast and still have a tanker ban," Smith said during a press conference in Calgary on Wednesday afternoon.
WATCH | Alberta Premier Danielle Smith talks to Power & Politics about her province's pipeline proposal: Alberta to kick-start proposal for a pipeline to northern B.C. coast Duration 11:49 Alberta Premier Danielle Smith tells Power & Politics her province will act as the proponent for an application to the Major Projects Office for a new pipeline from Alberta to the northern B.C. coast.
Smith added that she has made her position on the tanker restrictions "abundantly clear" to Prime Minister Mark Carney and is "more optimistic now than I've ever been" that Ottawa will revise that law.
In addition, the premier said she will be seeking "meaningful and substantive reforms" to the the Impact Assessment Act (formerly known as Bill C-69) and the proposed federal cap on oil and gas sector emissions.
"What stands before us right now is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unlock our wealth of resources and become a world-leading energy superpower, creating lasting prosperity for generations to come," Smith said.
Alberta's Opposition leader Naheed Nenshi issued a statement that was critical of the announcement, saying "there's no one putting money into this other than the Alberta government. ...
"Frankly, there's nothing here except a vague idea and yet another committee," he said. "When I was mayor of Calgary, I worked with the Alberta New Democrat government to get the first tidewater pipeline in generations built.
"We know what it takes. It means rolling up your sleeves and doing the hard work of building agreements with landowners, Indigenous peoples, other governments and proponents to secure economic benefits while protecting and preserving the environment."
The province says its goal is to ultimately find a company in the private sector, or a group of companies, to build and operate the new bitumen pipeline.
Larry Kaumeyer, Alberta's deputy minister of energy, says the province is confident there will be interest from the private sector and is not planning to develop or operate a new pipeline itself.
"At this point we have not considered that nor is it part of our discussion," he said.
The province expects to submit its application to the Major Projects Office in the spring of 2026.
'Not a real project': Eby
British Columbia Premier David Eby said the pipeline proposal is vague and relies too heavily on government involvement, especially when compared to other projects that are set to come before the Major Projects Office.
"British Columbia has literally tens of billions of dollars of real, private sector shovel-ready projects that are going to drive forward not just our economy here in B.C., but the national economy at a time that the national economy is under direct threat and attack by Donald Trump," Eby said.
"The problem that we have is that Premier Smith continues to advance a project that is entirely taxpayer-funded, has no private sector proponent, is not a real project, and is incredibly alarming to British Columbians, including First Nations along the coast, whose support is required for the success of the billions of dollars in real projects that I'm talking about."
Eby said the federal legislation restricting tankers on B.C.'s north coast "also secures billions in shovel-ready projects" that are contingent on those restrictions remaining in place.
"To put that tanker ban at threat, it's not just a threat to our pristine coast that so many British Columbians, including myself, value, but it is a direct economic threat to the kind of economy that we're trying to build in the country here," he said.
An aerial photograph of a ship carrying cargo at the port of Prince Rupert, B.C. (Prince Rupert Port Authority)
Smith said she gave Eby a "courtesy call" on Monday to fill him in on Alberta's plans and believes B.C. ought to assist in making a new pipeline possible.
"I think that coastal provinces have a special obligation to be generous in making sure that we're creating access to ports for all of our products," she said at Wednesday's news conference.
"This is a a test of whether Canada works as a country," Smith added. "Because if we can't build with a collaboration of the federal government and between provinces — if it's everybody gets to get their products going to market except Alberta — that's not a country. A country is one where we support each other."
LISTEN | B.C.'s Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions says the province does not support the pipeline proposal: Radio West 9:07 Alberta premier Danielle Smith wants to build a pipeline to B.C.'s west coast
Poilievre says Ottawa should 'get out the way'
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre expressed support for a new pipeline, which he said "should be built by private investors because they are wildly profitable."
"They should be money-making projects for both the industry and paying taxes into the government. Instead, after a decade of Liberals and under the weak and incompetent leadership of Mark Carney, business is losing money and taxpayers have to bail them out," he told reporters in Ottawa.
"Get out of the way: that is literally the only thing Mark Carney needs to do to get pipelines built in Canada."
WATCH | Poilievre's message to the prime minister about getting pipelines built: Poilievre says Carney needs to ‘get out of the way’ to get pipelines built in Canada Duration 1:45 Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responds to the Alberta government’s plan to apply to the federal government’s Major Projects Office to build a pipeline.
Poilievre added, "British Columbians support pipelines overwhelmingly. Yes, British Columbians want pipelines built."
Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said his government maintains "an active and constructive dialogue with Alberta and will always look for ways to advance shared priorities."
"We are building Canada Strong, and that means any project brought forward by a proponent will be evaluated against the same rules for all proponents. If Alberta wishes to be the initial proponent and funder of a pipeline to the West Coast and put it forward to the MPO [Major Projects Office], that is within their right to do so," he said in a written statement.
"Building major projects includes meaningful consultations with Indigenous rights holders, working with all affected jurisdictions, and alignment with Canada's objectives with respect to climate change and clean growth. Once any proponent has done this work, the federal government is open to evaluating a project on its merits."
Previous infrastructure talks
Alberta's announcement comes after months of talks between the federal government, provincial governments and private industry over major project proposals as Ottawa looks to boost infrastructure construction across the country.
In June, Smith said the province is looking to entice a private-sector player to build a major crude oil pipeline to coastal waters, and that she expected a proposal to be brought forward within weeks.
"I feel like we're pretty close to having either one or a consortium come forward," Smith said at the time. "I would hope that that would happen very soon, because we need to send a signal to Albertans very soon and test the new process the prime minister is putting forward."
No specific proposals were announced over the summer.
The federal government did announce in August, however, that its new Major Projects Office would be headquartered in Calgary and named Dawn Farrell, who served previously as board chair of the Trans Mountain Corporation, as its new CEO.
In September, Carney identified five "nation-building" projects that the federal government aims to fast-track in an initial tranche, but an Alberta-based project was not among them and the list did not include an oil pipeline.
[SRC] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-to-announce-new-project-aimed-at-strengthening-energy-infrastructure-and-economic-growth-1.7648135
