Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have announced plans to build a new oil pipeline from Alberta to British Columbia’s south coast through a public-private partnership aimed at expanding Canada’s energy export capacity.
Speaking in Calgary on Thursday, Carney said the federal and Alberta governments would act as equal partners in the project, with the federally owned Trans Mountain Corporation leading planning and construction alongside Pembina Pipeline Corporation, which will provide private-sector expertise and operational experience.
Carney said the partnership is designed to provide greater certainty for businesses and accelerate construction of nationally significant infrastructure.
The proposed pipeline would follow the existing Trans Mountain corridor from Bruderheim, Alberta, northeast of Edmonton, to a deep-water export terminal on British Columbia’s south coast capable of accommodating very large crude carriers (VLCCs). If approved, the pipeline is expected to transport more than one million barrels of oil per day to overseas markets.
Smith described governments as catalysts for investment, saying the partnership would help reduce financial risk for private capital while encouraging large-scale infrastructure development.
The project will immediately be submitted to the federal Major Projects Office in Calgary for consideration as a project of national interest.
A central component of the proposal is Indigenous participation. Both governments have committed to negotiating with First Nations with the goal of making them full partners in the project through meaningful consultation and long-term economic participation.
When asked about the level of taxpayer investment, Carney characterized the government’s role as an investment rather than spending, pointing to the profitability of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline despite its final construction cost exceeding $35 billion after Ottawa purchased the project in 2018.
Earlier in the day, Carney and British Columbia Premier David Eby signed a multibillion-dollar memorandum of understanding outlining how British Columbia would participate in future major infrastructure projects while maintaining the province’s ban on oil tanker traffic along its northern coast.
Under the agreement, British Columbia will not challenge a new pipeline project in court but will instead fulfill its constitutional obligations through permitting and consultation processes. Eby emphasized that the agreement does not commit the province to supporting a new pipeline but acknowledges federal jurisdiction over interprovincial pipeline approvals.
The memorandum also commits Ottawa to early and ongoing consultation with First Nations, establishes an economic and revenue-sharing framework for British Columbia, and includes plans for annual royalty payments from the pipeline operator, along with an environmental liability and emergency response fund accessible to both the province and participating Indigenous communities.
The agreement also recognizes Canada’s goal of increasing throughput on the existing southern Trans Mountain pipeline to approximately 1.2 million barrels per day from its current capacity of around 890,000 barrels.
The latest agreement builds on a memorandum signed seven months earlier between Ottawa and Alberta, which established July 1, 2026, as the deadline for Alberta to submit its formal pipeline proposal and October 1, 2026, as the target date for the federal government to determine whether the project qualifies as being in the national interest.
Beyond the proposed pipeline, the Canada–British Columbia agreement includes billions of dollars in federal commitments to support economic development across the province. Planned investments include the expansion of the Red Chris mine, completion of the George Massey Tunnel replacement project, support for the North Coast Transmission Line, investments in steel manufacturing and the forestry sector, deep-water port infrastructure, shipbuilding, affordable child care initiatives and environmental protection programs.
Carney described the agreement as a landmark partnership designed to strengthen economic growth and long-term prosperity between Canada and British Columbia.
