Premier Danielle Smith met with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Calgary Thursday evening to formally submit the proposal for the West Coast Pipeline project to the federal Major Projects Office as a project of national interest.
Pipeline Route and Partnership
The proposed route will follow the existing Trans Mountain corridor, running from Bruderheim, Alberta to B.C.'s southwest coast. The project, Carney said, will be an equal partnership between Canada and Alberta. The Trans Mountain Corporation will plan and construct the pipeline, working closely with Pembina Pipeline Corporation, which Carney said will bring its “private sector expertise (and) capital discipline” to the pipeline’s construction and operation.
National Interest and Economic Impact
“What we’ve agreed is that the time for action is now,” Carney said. “We will continue to work together, Albertans, British Columbians, with industry and Indigenous partners at one table instead of many to deliver.” Smith said that “there is no doubt whatsoever” that the project is of national interest, and will connect Alberta’s oil and gas industry to global markets. “This is not just another energy project, it’s a nation-building project that will unlock wealth and opportunity for millions of people across the country and provide desperately needed energy to millions more across the globe,” she said.
Route Selection and Advantages
Smith had previously touted a route through northern B.C. as the preferred option, but said the chosen southern route offered “key advantages,” including the existing infrastructure and relationships with Indigenous partners, and, ultimately, the ability to get the project to market quicker. The cost for both routes, she said, was “fairly comparable,” but the southern option would likely be completed sooner. “With the help of our technical advisory group made up of industry experts, we determined that this route offers the fastest, most cost-effective path to expanding Canada’s energy exports,” Smith said.
Northern B.C. Oil Tanker Ban Preserved
Earlier Thursday, Carney met with B.C. Premier David Eby in Vancouver to sign a multi-billion dollar agreement for several critical infrastructure, clean energy and natural resource projects — but included in the deal was a stipulation that the north coast tanker ban will remain untouched. The oil tanker moratorium prohibits vessels carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil or persistent oil products from stopping, loading, or unloading at ports along the section of B.C.’s coast north of Vancouver Island. “Today’s Canada-BC agreement will maintain the federal north coast tanker ban in accordance with the proposed route of a new trans-provincial pipeline under the bilateral agreement with Canada and Alberta,” Carney said.
