{"id":396080,"date":"2025-11-22T03:43:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T03:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/396080\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T03:43:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T03:43:12","slug":"alberta-pushes-back-on-b-c-s-opposition-to-proposed-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/396080\/","title":{"rendered":"Alberta pushes back on B.C.\u2019s opposition to proposed pipeline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says that if the province is going to get a deal with the federal government ‘it will be in a matter of weeks.’Sean Kilpatrick\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith<\/a> is pushing back against British Columbia\u2019s opposition to the prospect of an oil pipeline to the coast, saying that being part of \u201cTeam Canada\u201d means co-operating on getting her province\u2019s oil to market.<\/p>\n

The Alberta and federal governments have been working to strike an energy accord, long sought by Ms. Smith to boost her province\u2019s oil and natural-gas sector.<\/p>\n

Part of that agreement may involve a new pipeline from Alberta to the north coast of B.C., The Globe and Mail first reported on Wednesday<\/a>, which would also require an exemption to the federal government\u2019s ban on oil-tanker traffic. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re going to get a deal, it will be in a matter of weeks,\u201d Ms. Smith told reporters in Calgary Friday.<\/p>\n

Opinion: New northwest pipeline risks hazard of landslide tsunamis<\/a><\/p>\n

A concrete plan for such a pipeline does not yet exist; there is no route and no proponent. Yet the idea has drawn unequivocal opposition from B.C. Premier David Eby<\/a>. <\/p>\n

After Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he was also involved in the Alberta-Ottawa discussions, Mr. Eby said Thursday that Mr. Moe and Ms. Smith were jeopardizing major economic development by engaging in what he called \u201csecret\u201d talks on oil pipelines through his province.<\/p>\n

While Ottawa has not publicly weighed in on the bubbling tensions between the provinces, Ms. Smith shot back Friday that there should be a Team Canada approach on pipelines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what Team Canada looks like: That when you\u2019ve got provinces that don\u2019t have access to a shoreline, we co-operate to make sure that we can get our product to market,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people wrap themselves in the flag, talking about how much they support Canada and want to work together. And then, when it comes right down to it, not everybody lives up to that commitment.\u201d <\/p>\n

Andrew Coyne: Danielle Smith\u2019s pipeline ransom note to Mark Carney is using Canada as her hostage<\/a><\/p>\n

As for discontent from B.C. on the pipeline issue, Ms. Smith said \u201cthe ball is in Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s court\u201d to calm tensions. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe all saw that there was also a lot of sabre-rattling in previous iterations of the British Columbia<\/a> government. And in the end, the decision is the federal government\u2019s to make based on their assessment of what\u2019s in the national interest,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Prime Minister\u2019s Office said it had no comment on Ms. Smith\u2019s remarks, nor the concerns being raised by B.C. that it is being left out of talks about a pipeline or partial lift of the tanker ban. <\/p>\n

A source familiar with those discussions, however, said Mr. Moe is not involved in the Alberta-Ottawa negotiations. The Globe is not naming the source, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the status of the talks.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the week, Mr. Moe said he was \u201cat least part of that discussion over the last while\u201d with the federal government and Alberta.<\/p>\n

Both Alberta and Saskatchewan want to significantly boost oil production, and the pipeline sector sees that potential growth as a huge opportunity. <\/p>\n

Enbridge Inc. recently announced<\/a> that it will spend US$1.4-billion on pipeline networks to boost oil flows to U.S. refiners. And at South Bow Corp.\u2019s first investor day on Wednesday, chief executive Bevin Wirzba said the company expects Western Canadian production to grow by one million barrels a day over the next 10 years. <\/p>\n

Asked under what conditions South Bow would consider investing in a new oil pipeline to the West Coast, Mr. Wirzba said, \u201cit really starts first with customers feeling confident that they actually have the barrels to commit to a project of that scope and scale.\u201d <\/p>\n

Such a project would also need strong alignment between governments, regulators and Indigenous communities, he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not for the faint of heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

The B.C. government said this week<\/a> that it is backing a proposal to increase the capacity of the Trans Mountain pipeline system by roughly 40 per cent, with results as early as 2026. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s a sharp reversal from a government that once fiercely opposed the initial Trans Mountain expansion, arguing when it was proposed that increased shipping traffic would put B.C.\u2019s marine environment at risk.<\/p>\n

The turnaround is part of B.C.\u2019s effort to counter pressure from Alberta for an entirely new pipeline, but Ms. Smith said Friday that boosting capacity on the Trans Mountain system \u201cis the beginning \u2013 not the end of it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Campbell Clark: Alberta gets oil pipeline politics bouncing again<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see pipelines in all directions: north, east, south, west,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne declined to answer questions about why B.C. has not been a party to federal-provincial talks about oil pipelines. <\/p>\n

Asked repeatedly about the matter Friday, he said Ottawa has a \u201cgood relationship\u201d with those provinces and intends to ensure that all the voices are listened to. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t speak really to the discussion that Premier Eby may have had or not. But what I can say is that people see Canada as an energy superpower, both in conventional and renewable energy,\u201d Mr. Champagne told The Globe at an unrelated event in Winnipeg. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou want the voice of the leaders in the nation, particularly the premiers, to be part of the discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n

With reports from Temur Durrani in Winnipeg and Stephanie Levitz in Ottawa<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says that if the province is going to get…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":396081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2148,2138,671,104,2132,692,2147,2131,2143,2144,2140,2133,2130,79,407,746,2142,2137,2159,2134,2135,454,2139,1165,728,2149,108,2154,2155,50,2157,2152,2156,2150,2153,2136,85,2146,80,2145,2151,1458,158,1164,2141,1154,107,2158],"class_list":{"0":"post-396080","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-environment","24":"tag-federal-government","25":"tag-foreign-news","26":"tag-globe-and-mail","27":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","29":"tag-government","30":"tag-life-news","31":"tag-lifestyle","32":"tag-local-news","33":"tag-manitoba","34":"tag-national-news","35":"tag-new-brunswick","36":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","37":"tag-news","38":"tag-northwest-territories","39":"tag-nova-scotia","40":"tag-nunavut","41":"tag-ontario","42":"tag-pei","43":"tag-photos","44":"tag-political-news","45":"tag-political-opinion","46":"tag-politics","47":"tag-politics-news","48":"tag-quebec","49":"tag-sports-news","50":"tag-technology","51":"tag-travel","52":"tag-trudeau","53":"tag-us-news","54":"tag-world-news","55":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/396081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=396080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}