Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have committed to jointly advancing plans for a new pipeline route to the Pacific Coast, marking a major step in Canada’s push to diversify its oil export markets beyond the United States.
The memorandum of understanding, announced Thursday, also includes the possibility of modifying an existing oil tanker ban along parts of British Columbia’s coastline if the project proceeds.
The decision immediately sparked political turmoil in Ottawa, prompting the resignation of cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault, a longtime environmental advocate who had been serving as minister of culture.
Guilbeault said in a statement that he cannot support the agreement, stressing that the pipeline could cut through the Great Bear Rainforest and increase the risk of coastal tanker spills.
He added, however, that he understands the importance of national unity and will remain a Liberal Member of Parliament.
Carney thanked Guilbeault for remaining within the party’s ranks despite the disagreement.
The prime minister has set a target for Canada to double its non-U.S. exports over the next decade, arguing that rising tariffs from Washington have chilled investment and forced Canada to rethink its trade reliance.
Smith said the agreement would allow Alberta to ship more than one million barrels of oil per day to Asian markets, reducing what she described as the province’s overdependence on a single customer.
She said “our province and our country are no longer dependent on just one customer to buy our most valuable resource.”
Carney reinforced that message, noting that “over 95% of all our energy exports went to the States.”
He said the close relationship — once a strategic advantage — has now become a vulnerability.
Carney argued that a pipeline to the Pacific could reduce the price discount Canada faces when selling into U.S. markets.
He described the memorandum as the beginning of a long process.
“We have created some of the necessary conditions for this to happen but there is a lot more work to do,” he said.
Carney made clear that the pipeline will only proceed if a private-sector company steps forward as the proposer and builder.
The federal and Alberta governments will now begin outreach to British Columbia to advance the province’s economic interests, even as opposition to coastal tankers remains strong.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau approved the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in 2016, but the federal government ended up building it itself after heavy resistance from environmental and Indigenous groups.
At the same time, Trudeau rejected the Northern Gateway pipeline, a project that would have transported 525,000 barrels of oil per day through the Great Bear Rainforest for shipment to Asian markets.
Northern Alberta holds one of the world’s largest oil reserves, with roughly 164 billion barrels of proven deposits.
Carney’s announcement came shortly after British Columbia Premier David Eby warned that lifting the tanker ban would undermine projects already underway in the region and disrupt agreements with coastal First Nations.
Eby said he recognizes that the federal government could force the project through if it chooses.
“What this is about is the fact that this project has no company that’s advancing it. It’s got no money. It’s got no coastal First Nations support,” he said.
He described the agreement as a “distraction” from viable development initiatives.
Coastal First Nations President Marilyn Slett maintained strong opposition, saying “We have zero interest in co-ownership or economic benefits of a project that has the potential to destroy our way of life and everything we have built on the coast.”
The agreement links the pipeline proposal to a major carbon-capture project, with officials stating that both initiatives must move forward together.
It also commits federal and provincial officials to work with industry to identify additional emissions-reduction projects by April 1, with rollout planned from 2027 onward.
