{"id":762206,"date":"2026-06-26T10:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T10:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/762206\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T10:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T10:03:09","slug":"ottawa-nearing-major-projects-deal-with-b-c-as-alberta-closes-in-on-west-coast-pipeline-proposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/762206\/","title":{"rendered":"Ottawa nearing major projects deal with B.C. as Alberta closes in on West Coast pipeline proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney and B.C. Premier David Eby have held a quick succession of meetings since Ottawa\u2019s May 15 deal with Alberta, with the latest on June 18 and another set for next week.ETHAN CAIRNS\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The federal government is on the cusp of signing a sweeping agreement with British Columbia<\/a> on major projects, which could land as early as next week in parallel with Alberta\u2019s<\/a> proposal for a West Coast pipeline. <\/p>\n

But the Prairie province must reach a deal on a major carbon-capture project, called Pathways, at the same time as it submits its pitch for the new crude oil conduit, two government officials told The Globe and Mail. <\/p>\n

Ottawa has pushed for the two developments in concert to try to protect its environmental credibility, because Pathways would help control oil sands greenhouse-gas emissions as they rise through increased industrial activity. <\/p>\n

The pipeline has been a priority for the Alberta and federal governments at a time of rising separatist sentiment driven in part by a perception that Ottawa has opposed Alberta\u2019s resource industry. Ottawa also views the pipeline as an important plank in its plan to diversify the economy away from the United States amid the uncertainty driven by President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A group of oil sands companies pitched the Pathways project years ago, but has since soured on it, mainly because of the cost. One of the officials said Ottawa is open to further backstopping the multibillion-dollar project with pre-existing funds. The official said nothing has been finalized and industry is still at the table with the two governments as they near a July 1 deadline set by Alberta. <\/p>\n

The Globe is not identifying the officials, who were not authorized to disclose the confidential deliberations. <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Pipeline being moved in Acheson, Alberta, in 2019.Candace Elliott\/Reuters<\/p>\n

British Columbia has previously chafed at the idea of another West Coast pipeline, but Premier David Eby<\/a> has softened his opposition and on Thursday declined to comment at all about the pending proposal. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re focusing our conversations on B.C. projects,\u201d Mr. Eby said at a press conference in Vancouver, where he announced his province is close to signing a memorandum of understanding with Ottawa. <\/p>\n

B.C. First Nations voice opposition to potential pipeline routes revealed in Alberta draft maps<\/a><\/p>\n

He and Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/a> have held a quick succession of meetings since Ottawa\u2019s deal with Alberta for an industrial carbon price and crude oil pipeline was finalized on May 15. The two met in Vancouver on May 20, then again on June 18, and on the sidelines of Wednesday\u2019s FIFA game in the city. The Prime Minister\u2019s Office said they will have another meeting in Vancouver next week. <\/p>\n

Mr. Eby has put four key areas on the table for talks with Ottawa: the George Massey Tunnel replacement in the Vancouver region, the North Coast Transmission Line, and other unspecified clean-energy and critical-mineral projects. <\/p>\n

The Premier told reporters that the federal government had asked him to cut short a trip to China so he could be back in Vancouver late next week. He said he would be there by July 2 for a \u201cpotential announcement of a finalized MOU.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ottawa\u2019s pending deal with B.C. will \u201caccelerate the delivery of critical infrastructure and major projects in clean electricity and energy, critical minerals, and secure supply chains,\u201d Mr. Carney\u2019s press secretary, Sofia Ouslis, said in an e-mail. <\/p>\n

Opinion: Ottawa sacrifices climate goals for a pipeline nobody needs<\/a><\/p>\n

The federal government had hoped to announce the deal with B.C. this week but negotiations were not yet complete. Federal officials are now on split tracks, putting the finishing touches on the new MOU with Mr. Eby while also finalizing key details of the energy agreement they made with Alberta. <\/p>\n

While the proposed pipeline and its route have seized public attention, the project is inextricably linked with Pathways \u2013 a 400-kilometre-long line that would transport carbon trapped at oil sands facilities to an underground hub near Cold Lake, Alta. <\/p>\n

Mr. Carney has insisted<\/a> there will be no new pipeline without the carbon-capture project, which means Ottawa and Alberta are now racing to finalize the Pathways deal with industry. <\/p>\n

One of the two officials said Ottawa is open to supporting Pathways beyond the investment tax credits that have already been announced by Alberta and the federal government. For example, there is openness to using funds such as the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program and the Canada Growth Fund, they said. <\/p>\n

Ottawa-Alberta pipeline deal includes cancellation fee critics say is too low<\/a><\/p>\n

The official said any new funding would be on commercial terms, with strings attached. However, with talks still under way, the proposals remain subject to change, they cautioned.<\/p>\n

Mr. Carney reiterated his commitment to both the pipeline and the carbon-capture project at a Thursday press conference, saying they are examples of Ottawa\u2019s aim to deepen \u201cco-operative federalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

His government has not publicly said that it would provide more money to Pathways, but Energy Minister Tim Hodgson would not rule it out in a June 22 interview with CTV News. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to do what\u2019s right for Canada,\u201d Mr. Hodgson told host Vassy Kapelos.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be a benefit to Canada economically. It will be a benefit to Canada from a sovereignty perspective, and we will do it in a way that reduces emissions and gets us to net zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

Applying the Indigenous loan program to the Pathways project was previously suggested by Mr. Hodgson in a May interview with The Globe.<\/p>\n

Federal and provincial investment tax credits are already expected to cover much of Pathways\u2019 capital costs. While the project\u2019s original aim was to reduce emissions by 22 megatonnes a year, Ottawa and Alberta\u2019s May agreement scaled that down to 16 megatonnes a year. And it set the in-service date at 2035, rather than the previously stated 2030.<\/p>\n

Jon McKenzie, the chief executive of oil sands producer Cenovus Energy Inc., recently told the Global Energy Show in Calgary that Pathways would cost between $20-billion and $30-billion. <\/p>\n

Alongside finalizing the Pathways agreement, governments are working to nail down a general route for the pipeline, which would carry one million barrels of oil each day from Alberta to the West Coast. <\/p>\n

Alberta has floated a series of route options<\/a>, according to draft maps, but the two officials said nothing has been decided. <\/p>\n

However, Ottawa has asked the province to simplify its routing proposal, the officials said. Not only could multiple routes confuse the public, it would also lead to multiple levels of review and critique, slowing the process, one of the officials said. <\/p>\n

Ms. Smith has long talked up a northern route<\/a> to carry Alberta oil to the Port of Prince Rupert, B.C., or at least somewhere in that vicinity. Not only is it North America\u2019s closest port to Asia, it\u2019s also the continent\u2019s deepest, which would enable access for the large crude carriers that are favoured for transporting oil across long distances.<\/p>\n

But a northern route could jeopardize the federal tanker ban along that part of B.C.\u2019s coast, which is considered a non-starter by that province\u2019s government and many Indigenous groups. <\/p>\n

As previously reported by The Globe, the federal government favours a route<\/a> through southern B.C. Some in Ottawa believe it would face fewer environmental hurdles and less resistance from Indigenous groups than the northern route.<\/p>\n

With a report from Brent Jang<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney and B.C. Premier David Eby have held a quick…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194295],"tags":[49,48,20739,714],"class_list":["post-762206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ottawa","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ottawa","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=762206"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762206\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=762206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=762206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}