Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to reporters about Alberta's pipeline proposal in Kuujjuaq, Que., on Tuesday. The province had a July 1 deadline to submit a proposal for fast-track consideration.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed Tuesday that there is not yet a private-sector proponent for Alberta’s initial proposal for a new oil pipeline to the West Coast, but he said talks are going well and the process will run through the summer.
Mr. Carney was asked about the lack of a private-sector proponent after The Globe and Mail reported, citing sources, that one was not yet in place ahead of the province’s July 1 deadline to submit a pipeline proposal for fast-track consideration.
“I’m waiting for there to be a private-sector proponent,” Mr. Carney said in French while speaking with reporters in Kuujjuaq, Que. “That was the deal. It was in the memorandum of understanding.”
The July 1 deadline was included in the MOU Mr. Carney signed with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Nov. 27. The deal references one or more “private sector constructed and financed pipelines” with co-ownership and economic benefits going to Indigenous peoples.
“I’m up to speed on developments. Our teams speak often and I speak with the Premier frequently,” he said.
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Alberta tapped three energy infrastructure companies in October – Enbridge Inc. ENB-T, South Bow Corp. SOBO-N and Trans Mountain Corp. – to provide technical and regulatory expertise on its proposal for a new oil pipeline to the West Coast.
Greg Ebel, the chief executive of Enbridge, said during a February earnings call that the company was unwilling to take on the financial risk of developing the new line.
In May, during the company’s annual meeting, he said: “Enbridge is not a proponent of this pipeline. And frankly, nobody is at this point in time as the conditions just don’t exist to commercialize such a proposal.”
Asked during a May interview whether Trans Mountain would consider becoming the project’s proponent, CEO Mark Maki said the federal government – which owns the corporation – has “expressed a strong desire to have a private proponent move the project forward, but they know very well that we’re here and what we’re capable of doing.”
South Bow chief executive Bevin Wirzba said in May that he wouldn’t speculate “on anything to do with the West Coast pipeline,” including whether his company would pursue an ownership stake.
The Globe reported Alberta’s application will include various options for routes and marine terminals on B.C.’s northern coast. That region is highly contentious, as it is currently restricted by a federal ban on oil tankers loading and unloading, a moratorium that Coastal First Nations and the B.C. government want kept in force. Ms. Smith prefers a northern pipeline route over another option in the province’s south, partly because it would afford shorter sailing time to Asian markets, she has said. Such a path through B.C. would require the legislation governing the northern tanker ban to be eased or revoked.
Mr. Carney is planning to be in Edmonton for Canada Day, after attending events earlier in the day in Ottawa.
He said the plan is for Alberta to submit a proposal “on or around” July 1, and he said that is “tracking well.” The Alberta government is slated to announce the details of its pipeline application in Edmonton on July 2.
“But then there’s a process that takes a few months until October before a decision is made whether or not to refer to the Major Projects Office – a variety of things that have to be followed, a variety of stakeholders that have to be engaged,” he said.
Last week, the federal government named three northern projects that it intends to fast-track under the Building Canada Act. The process involves a period of consultation with stakeholders before those projects can be designated as being in the national interest under the act.
Such a process would likely apply to the proposed new pipeline.
Mr. Carney was asked whether Alberta’s pipeline pitch is connected to reaching a deal on a major carbon-capture project called Pathways in the Alberta oil sands. Last year’s MOU committed both governments to complete an agreement with a group of major energy companies known as the Oil Sands Alliance to fund the project, as a “prerequisite” to the pipeline’s approval.
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“You reference rightly Pathways in your question and it’s always been linked,” he said. “All aspects of the implementation – what is now an implementation agreement – are linked. So Pathways, the reforms to the carbon market, a potential pipeline, a series of other measures that are taken, including measures by the federal government.”
Mr. Carney did not directly answer when asked if he has seen Alberta’s proposal.
“We’ll wait until the process goes forward,” he said.
Also on Tuesday, the Prime Minister released a 17-minute video on YouTube called “Forward Guidance: Canada’s Energy Future,” in which he discussed the need for Canada to expand its production of clean and conventional energy.
He said this will mean Canada won’t meet the short-term greenhouse gas emissions targets approved under his predecessor, Justin Trudeau.
“We can’t afford to restrain the growth of an important part of our energy mix – oil and gas – to meet a short-term goal,” Mr. Carney said in the video. “The changes we have made will mean that our emissions will be higher in the next few years than they were projected to be under the previous government’s plan. But in my judgment, that plan was not sustainable over the long term.”
He said the previous plan would have been too expensive for Canadian consumers, would have “let down” Canada’s trading partners and would have been “too divisive” for the country.
The country’s emissions targets are set out under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act with the goal of meeting Canada’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.