Alberta to apply to Major Projects Office for new bitumen pipeline to northern B.C. coast

Alberta premiere makes vim promulgation

The Alberta government plans to develop and submit a formal application to the federal Major Projects Office for a new bitumen pipeline to the northwest coast of British Columbia.

The province announced Wednesday it will commit $14 million to the proposal and act as the proponent, leading a "technical advisory group" that includes three major pipeline companies — Enbridge, South Bow and Trans Mountain — although those companies would not necessarily be involved if the project were to proceed.

No specific route for the pipeline has yet been proposed; identifying potential routes will be part of the work the province plans to undertake.

It says both the federal government and the British Columbia government have been made aware of its plans.

Some Indigenous groups have already been involved, including the Fort McKay First Nation and the National Coalition of Chiefs.

"This project application is about more than a pipeline; it's about unlocking Canada's full economic potential," Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a statement. "By doing this the right way from Day 1 with Indigenous partners and industry expertise, we will deliver a proposal that proves this project is undeniably in the national interest."

The province says it needs to be the proponent for the application because private industry isn't currently willing to commit the necessary capital to a pipeline like this, given existing federal regulations, in particular the restrictions implemented in 2019 on oil tankers in B.C.'s northern waters.

Alberta plans to discuss those regulations with the federal government as part of the process.

The province says its goal is to ultimately find a company in the private sector, or a group of companies, to build and operate a new bitumen pipeline.

Larry Kaumeyer, Alberta's deputy minister of energy, says the province is confident there will be interest from the private sector and is not planning to develop or operate a new pipeline itself.

"At this point we have not considered that nor is it part of our discussion," he said.

The province expects to submit its application to the Major Projects Office in the spring of 2026.

The announcement comes after months of talks between the federal government, provincial governments and private industry over major project proposals as Ottawa looks to boost infrastructure construction across the country.

In June, Smith said the province is looking to entice a private-sector player to build a major crude oil pipeline to coastal waters, and that she expected a proposal to be brought forward within weeks.

"I feel like we're pretty close to having either one or a consortium come forward," Smith said at the time. "I would hope that that would happen very soon, because we need to send a signal to Albertans very soon and test the new process the prime minister is putting forward."

No specific proposals were announced over the summer.

The federal government did announce in August, however, that its new Major Projects Office would be headquartered in Calgary and named Dawn Farrell, who served previously as board chair of the Trans Mountain Corporation, as its new CEO.

The new federal Major Projects Office HQ to be in Calgary

In September, Prime Minister Mark Carney identified five "nation-building" projects that the federal government aims to fast-track in an initial tranche, but an Alberta-based project was not among them and the list did not include an oil pipeline.

Data Journalist / Senior Reporter

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