Canada backs Alberta-Pacific pipeline while keeping northern tanker ban
Mark Carney unveiled a southern British Columbia pipeline route with Alberta's backing. The plan aims to expand oil sales to Asia while preserving the northern tanker ban.
Canada on Thursday moved to advance a new pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific Coast, as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to reduce the country’s dependence on the United States as its main oil customer. Standing with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Carney unveiled a proposed route through southern British Columbia and said the plan would help open more Canadian oil to Asian markets while keeping environmental protections on British Columbia’s northern coast in place.
The move also comes as Carney tries to ease separatist tensions in energy-rich Alberta without dropping the oil tanker ban off northern British Columbia. Carney has set a goal of doubling Canada’s non-US exports over the next decade, while Smith wants Alberta to double oil production to eight million barrels per day over the next 10 to 15 years.
Speaking in Calgary, Carney said, “The best route for a new pipeline is one that goes through one that already exists south through the Trans Mountain corridor, to our Pacific Coast, the gateway to the world’s fastest growing markets.” He has said a pipeline can reduce the price discount on current oil sales to US markets.
Smith said, “The world is asking Canada to step up and provide stable, democratic and reliable energy supply that countries around the world are looking for.” She added, “This is not just another energy project. It’s a nation-building project that will unlock wealth and opportunity.”
Smith said Pembina Pipeline Corporation will be involved as a partner with government. She said the size of the private sector stake has not yet been decided.
Smith has long accused Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau of holding back Alberta’s energy industry and fuelling separatist sentiment. Alberta is due to hold a public vote in the autumn on whether to hold a referendum on leaving Canada.
The proposed route through southern British Columbia comes amid opposition to a northern route from British Columbia and some First Nations. Earlier in Vancouver, Carney said, “The tanker ban will remain in place. We will be protecting the northern coast of British Columbia.” He also said the federal government would compensate British Columbia for environmental risks if a pipeline is built in the southern part of the province.
An earlier memorandum of understanding between Ottawa and Alberta had included an adjustment to the oil tanker ban off parts of the British Columbia coast. But British Columbia Premier David Eby said on Thursday that he had secured a commitment to keep the northern tanker ban in place. “It ensures that the northern tanker ban remains in place,” Eby said.
Trudeau had opposed a pipeline crossing northern British Columbia and the Great Bear Rainforest. While he approved the Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia’s southern coast, he rejected the Northern Gateway project after opposition from environmentalists and Indigenous communities.
Since the Trans Mountain expansion opened through British Columbia’s southern coast in 2024, about two-thirds to three-quarters of the crude shipped from Canada’s Pacific Coast has gone to Asia, helping the country reduce its dependence on the US market. Even so, the US still buys most of Canada’s crude. With one of the world’s largest proven oil reserves in Alberta, Canada is now pushing for greater access to Asian markets through the proposed new pipeline while keeping the northern tanker ban in place.
With PTI Inputs
Canada on Thursday moved to advance a new pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific Coast, as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to reduce the country’s dependence on the United States as its main oil customer. Standing with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, Carney unveiled a proposed route through southern British Columbia and said the plan would help open more Canadian oil to Asian markets while keeping environmental protections on British Columbia’s northern coast in place.
The move also comes as Carney tries to ease separatist tensions in energy-rich Alberta without dropping the oil tanker ban off northern British Columbia. Carney has set a goal of doubling Canada’s non-US exports over the next decade, while Smith wants Alberta to double oil production to eight million barrels per day over the next 10 to 15 years.
Speaking in Calgary, Carney said, “The best route for a new pipeline is one that goes through one that already exists south through the Trans Mountain corridor, to our Pacific Coast, the gateway to the world’s fastest growing markets.” He has said a pipeline can reduce the price discount on current oil sales to US markets.
Smith said, “The world is asking Canada to step up and provide stable, democratic and reliable energy supply that countries around the world are looking for.” She added, “This is not just another energy project. It’s a nation-building project that will unlock wealth and opportunity.”
Smith said Pembina Pipeline Corporation will be involved as a partner with government. She said the size of the private sector stake has not yet been decided.
Smith has long accused Carney’s predecessor Justin Trudeau of holding back Alberta’s energy industry and fuelling separatist sentiment. Alberta is due to hold a public vote in the autumn on whether to hold a referendum on leaving Canada.
The proposed route through southern British Columbia comes amid opposition to a northern route from British Columbia and some First Nations. Earlier in Vancouver, Carney said, “The tanker ban will remain in place. We will be protecting the northern coast of British Columbia.” He also said the federal government would compensate British Columbia for environmental risks if a pipeline is built in the southern part of the province.
An earlier memorandum of understanding between Ottawa and Alberta had included an adjustment to the oil tanker ban off parts of the British Columbia coast. But British Columbia Premier David Eby said on Thursday that he had secured a commitment to keep the northern tanker ban in place. “It ensures that the northern tanker ban remains in place,” Eby said.
Trudeau had opposed a pipeline crossing northern British Columbia and the Great Bear Rainforest. While he approved the Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia’s southern coast, he rejected the Northern Gateway project after opposition from environmentalists and Indigenous communities.
Since the Trans Mountain expansion opened through British Columbia’s southern coast in 2024, about two-thirds to three-quarters of the crude shipped from Canada’s Pacific Coast has gone to Asia, helping the country reduce its dependence on the US market. Even so, the US still buys most of Canada’s crude. With one of the world’s largest proven oil reserves in Alberta, Canada is now pushing for greater access to Asian markets through the proposed new pipeline while keeping the northern tanker ban in place.
With PTI Inputs
