Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have jointly agreed on a path forward for a new bitumen pipeline to the B.C. coast — a hugely significant development that the federal government is framing as a chance to further develop Alberta’s energy sector, diversify Canada’s economy and lessen dependence on the U.S.
The two leaders are signing a memorandum of understanding that lays out how Ottawa will facilitate the construction of a pipeline that will carry a million barrels of oil a day from Alberta’s oil patch to an export terminal on the Pacific coast, where that product will be shipped mostly to Asian markets.
The agreement stresses that this pipeline will be privately constructed and financed — unlike the publicly owned Trans Mountain — and the intention is to have some Indigenous co-ownership.
Ottawa is prepared to designate this pipeline as a project of “national interest,” which triggers powers under C-5, the Building Canada Act that Carney’s government passed in June.
That designation means the pipeline — and possibly the tankers associated with transporting the oil — could be exempted from some federal laws. Those include the Fisheries Act, the Species At Risk Act and the Impact Assessment Act, among others.
Canada is committing to “collaborate with Alberta to provide a clear and efficient approval process for the Alberta bitumen pipeline.”
Importantly, Alberta is promising to “collaborate with B.C. to ensure British Columbians share substantial economic and financial benefits of the proposed pipeline.”
Once some Indigenous consultation and negotiations with B.C. take place, Alberta, as the current proponent of this pipeline, will present its plan to the Major Projects Office (MPO) for expedited review by July 1, 2026.
If approved by the MPO, “Canada confirms that it will enable the export of bitumen from a strategic deepwater port to Asian markets, including if necessary through an appropriate adjustment to the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act,” the agreement reads.
According to an Alberta official who spoke to reporters at a background briefing, the intention is to get shovels in the ground on this project by 2029.
Ottawa will also suspend the proposed federal oil and gas emissions cap and Alberta’s requirements under the Clean Electricity Regulations (CER).
But the two sides are committed to increasing the industrial carbon price in the province — moving it from $95 a tonne now to a minimum of $130 a tonne. The federal government had previously demanded that price rise to $170 a tonne by 2030.
Both sides say they are committed to net-zero by 2050, despite the MOU that has the potential to turbocharge conventional energy production.
To help achieve that goal, both Canada and Alberta are moving ahead with Pathways Plus, an Alberta-based carbon capture, utilization and storage project, which could reduce the emissions intensity of exports from the province’s oilsands.
The two sides are also agreeing to dramatically lower methane emissions associated with the oil patch — a 75 per cent reduction target relative to 2014 emissions levels by 2035.
More to come
