Canada’s energy minister says Alberta will need to get its neighbouring province on board in order to see its proposed pipeline project to the West Coast come to fruition.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced earlier this month that her government will get started on its proposal for a bitumen pipeline that would run across northern British Columbia to the Pacific Ocean.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said the Alberta government will need to get the approval of the B.C. government and affected Indigenous communities in order for the project to be built.
“To build, you need support of the jurisdiction you build through and you need the support of First Nations,” Hodgson said during an appearance before the Senate on Thursday.
“The proponent, in this case the province of Alberta, needs to attract that [support] if they want to build. That’s something between the province of Alberta and the province of British Columbia.”
Tensions have ramped up between B.C. and Alberta over the idea of an oil pipeline to B.C.’s North Coast, with Danielle Smith accusing David Eby of being “un-Canadian” and Eby slamming Smith for advancing what he calls a fictional pipeline. Katie DeRosa has more on a battle that’s pitting western provinces against each other.
Smith is planning to submit a formal application to the federal Major Projects Office (MPO) sometime in the spring of 2026, with the hope that a private sector proponent will pick up the project once it clears that hurdle.
So far, B.C. Premier David Eby has poured cold water on the idea of a new pipeline running through his province.
Eby has argued that pitching a pipeline before a proponent has been found threatens community support and social licence that would allow other major projects along the provincial coast to move forward.
The president of an organization representing First Nations along British Columbia’s north coast says it won’t support a new bitumen pipeline.
Hodgson said Thursday that Ottawa would act as a “constructive participant” in conversations between Alberta and B.C. but suggested that the pipeline proposal is still in its early stages.
“Alberta has some work to do … until they bring their proposal in 2026, it’s a hypothetical question,” Hodgson said.
Smith has met with Prime Minister Mark Carney a number of times in the past few months, including just earlier this week. Following a meeting in September, the premier said she is optimistic the concerns of Albertans were finally being heard in Ottawa.
But the Alberta premier has also framed the pipeline project as a “test of whether Canada works as a country.”
MPO head says pipeline approval could take ‘months’
Carney’s government launched the MPO in an effort to quickly approve “nation-building” projects.
Dawn Farrell, the CEO of the MPO, told the House of Commons environment committee on Thursday that it could take her office months to determine whether Alberta’s proposal would meet its criteria once it’s submitted.
“I can’t answer that with any credibility,” she said. “My aspiration would be four to five months.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Farrell’s aspirational timeline was too long and that it should be approved immediately.
“The federal government and Mark Carney need to do only one thing to make it happen — get out of the way,” Poilievre said. “If … they grant a permit, there will be billions of dollars of private money that will rush in and build this pipeline.”
