Clash of Provinces: Alberta and British Columbia's Pipeline Standoff

Mon Nov 17 2025 04:45:39 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The ongoing dispute over a proposed oil pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia highlights Canada's struggle to balance economic ambitions with environmental responsibilities. Amid efforts to expand energy exports, Premier Eby of British Columbia dismisses the plan put forth by Alberta's Premier Smith, creating tension between the provinces.

As Canada seeks to diversify its energy exports away from the US, a proposed pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia sparks a heated dispute. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith champions the initiative as essential for accessing Asian markets, while British Columbia Premier David Eby vehemently opposes it, citing environmental risks and internal trade barriers. The ongoing feud underscores deeper economic and political divides in the country as it strives for energy independence.

As Canada looks to untangle itself economically from the US, the country's landlocked oil patch is eyeing new customers in Asia through a pipeline to the Pacific. Not everyone is on board.

The oil-rich province of Alberta has had one demand for Prime Minister Mark Carney: Help us build an oil pipeline — and fast.

It's no small task — in fact, some argue it has become near-impossible to build a pipeline in Canada because of laws designed to bolster environmental protections. Three oil pipelines have died on the vine in the past decade over fierce opposition.

But Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is not deterred.

Her conservative government has taken the unusual step of drafting its own proposal for a pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to British Columbia's northern Pacific coast, aimed at reaching Asian markets. Still in the early stages, Smith hopes that by doing the groundwork a private company will eventually take over and build it.

Neighbouring British Columbia, however, is firmly against it. Premier David Eby of the NDP has dismissed Smith's plan as fictional and political, arguing that no company wants the burden of taking it on. He also accused Smith of jeopardizing his own province's ambitions to expand liquified natural gas (LNG) exports to Asia.

Smith in turn has called him un-Canadian.

The feud between the Western provinces comes at a critical time. Canada is trying to wean itself off its economic dependence on the US amid President Donald Trump's tariffs, and Carney has signalled his desire to double non-US exports in the next decade.

That includes positioning Canada as a global energy superpower. Almost all of its energy exports, including crude oil, are currently sold to the US.

On Thursday, Carney unveiled new nation-building projects he says are key to Canada's growth. The list did not include a pipeline, but does include critical minerals mines and an LNG project in BC.

With Canada home to one of the world's largest oil reserves, Carney is now facing questions from Albertans over whether he can achieve his goals without first solving the internal rifts.

It is the perennial problem, said Heather Exner-Pirot, director of natural resources, energy and the environment at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute think tank, who is based in Calgary, Alberta.

It is unfortunately the main wedge issue in Canadian politics it seems like, and trust me when I say no one in Alberta wishes that their oil was the wedge issue in this country.

Asked about the divides on Thursday, Carney said the federal government and the provinces need to talk to each other.

We need to see where we can cooperate and build things, and we need to acknowledge where we can't.

Separately, Carney hinted that he wants to see another pipeline built: Keystone XL to the US. Sources have told the BBC that reviving the project was raised during the prime minister's last face-to-face meeting with Trump in October, before the US president halted trade talks with Canada over an anti-tariff ad.

For Exner-Pirot, the suggestion of Keystone XL may signal a resignation that the rift between BC and Alberta won't be resolved.

At the end of the day, it still looks like it's going to be easier to negotiate a new pipeline with the Americans than with British Columbia.

Carney has avoided siding with either province but has signalled his openness to a pipeline if Alberta can commit to also developing its carbon capture and storage programme. He stated discussions are going well.

In a statement to the BBC, Smith's office said it is working to address Premier Eby's concerns. It said it expects Carney's government to support their project.

We have to decide if we are going to operate like a country and trade with each other, tear down internal trade barriers and stop blocking each other's projects and opportunities to trade with the rest of the world, Smith's spokesperson, Sam Blackett, said in an email.

However, Premier Eby remains steadfast. There is no route, there is no proponent, there is no project, he said, expressing frustration with what he perceives as Smith's ongoing issue.

The disagreement reflects broader historical tensions between Alberta's oil-centric economy and British Columbia's environmentalist legacy, creating a complex and contentious situation for Canadian energy policy.