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4h ago

Ottawa Says B.C. and First Nations’ Support Needed for Alberta’s West Coast Pipeline Bid

Alberta is preparing a 2026 Major Projects Office application without a private proponent.

A poll released showed strong support for a pipeline in Canada. Photo by Courtesy, Enbridge /Postmedia Network
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Workers lay pipe during construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion on farmland in 2023.
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Overview

  • Energy Minister Tim Hodgson told the Senate the project cannot proceed without the backing of the B.C. government and affected First Nations.
  • The Major Projects Office’s Dawn Farrell said her team would aim to decide within four to five months after Alberta files its proposal, which the province targets for spring 2026.
  • Alberta is fronting the effort for now, committing C$14 million to early technical and regulatory work and convening an advisory group with Enbridge, Trans Mountain and South Bow.
  • B.C. Premier David Eby has dismissed the idea as a fictional project under current conditions, and Coastal First Nations leaders say they will not support bitumen tankers on the north coast.
  • An Angus Reid poll shows majority support nationally and in B.C. for the concept, while the federal Oil Tanker Moratorium Act and environmental requirements remain significant hurdles and the prime minister says any bid must meet economic, climate and Indigenous benchmarks.