Alberta’s renewed push for a new oil pipeline to the British Columbia coast has reopened one of the country’s most divisive debates, with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre insisting that only the prime minister has the power to decide such projects.
Premier Danielle Smith announced that Alberta will act as the proponent for a pipeline to the Port of Prince Rupert, working with technical experts and Indigenous participants. She said Alberta would not build the project itself, but hopes provincial backing will make it easier for private companies to step forward. Smith framed the initiative as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unlock Alberta’s vast oil reserves and strengthen Canada’s global energy role.
She also pressed Ottawa to revisit policies she says limit Alberta’s economic potential, including the tanker ban on the northern B.C. coast and the federal emissions cap on oil and gas. Smith wants the pipeline added to the list of “nation-building projects” the federal government is expected to update in November.
B.C. Premier David Eby responded sharply, warning Alberta not to confuse politeness with weakness. He said no private company has shown interest in building the pipeline and argued that Alberta’s proposal risks displacing other private-sector projects. “What’s on the table is more a political sketch than an economic plan,” he said.
At a news conference, Poilievre emphasized that it is not premiers but Ottawa that holds authority. “There’s only one person who will decide if this pipeline gets built and it’s Mark Carney,” he said. He urged Canadians to look past provincial rhetoric and focus on the federal government, which has constitutional control over interprovincial pipelines.
Prime Minister Carney has signalled openness to new proposals but has set conditions: environmental impacts must be offset through measures such as carbon capture, and Indigenous communities must be directly involved and supportive. The federal government’s project list released last month included no pipelines.
The debate highlights familiar tensions in Canadian politics. Previous projects have failed amid Indigenous opposition, environmental concerns, and federal restrictions. Therefore, Smith’s plan could face similar challenges unless a private proponent steps forward with a detailed and financially viable proposal.
Smith has framed the issue as a test of national unity, saying Alberta should not be left without export options while other provinces advance their own projects. “If everybody gets to move their products to market except Alberta, that’s not a country,” she said.
With Alberta and B.C. holding firm in their positions, Ottawa now faces pressure to decide whether the Prince Rupert proposal belongs on its priority list.