Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that the province is taking “the first steps toward building a new oil pipeline to the West Coast,” naming no private proponent. The province intends to do the work for a formal application to the federal Major Projects Office.
In her statement, Smith said Alberta will proceed “using the technical advice of major pipeline companies and with Indigenous participation,” with the objective to “submit a formal application for a project of national significance.”
The announcement did not sit well with British Columbia as the province signaled its immediate opposition.
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“As British Columbians we love our coast and will always protect it. The North Coast Tanker Ban also secures billions in shovel-ready projects. We won’t let this proposal, with no backer and no money, threaten real jobs for BC’s families,” BC Premier David Eby wrote on X.
While Eby asserted there is “no money,” multiple outlets report Alberta is committing $14 million to early-stage work.
In an earlier speech, Eby emphasized the contention with the proposal: “And so when I’ve said, let’s cross that bridge when we come to it, you know, we’ll see what the premier comes up with. I’m being polite. I am being polite.”
He further said there is “no project… unless the Albertan government and the federal Canadian government are committing billions of taxpayer dollars,” calling for transparency if public money is contemplated.
“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…” Eby also said.
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However, BC Conservative leader John Rustad made public his support of Alberta’s move, writing that it is time “to put Canada first.” Policy analyst Heather Exner-Pirot called BC’s stance “un-Canadian” given its own LNG royalties, arguing “it’s Canada’s coast.”
Observers further criticized Eby characterizing Alberta’s coastal pipeline as a direct economic threat as it sends the wrong signal to investors and aggravates Canada’s already weak record at attracting private capital.
Smith further framed the initiative as a national test: “This is a test of whether Canada works as a country… if we can’t build with collaboration… that’s not a country.”
First Nations were already opposing the coastal pipeline pitch while separate reporting highlighted Coastal First Nations reiterating “no support” for crude pipelines and tankers in their waters.
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