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Thursday marks a critical milestone for a proposal to construct a new bitumen pipeline from Alberta to Canada’s West Coast. <\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mark Carney is scheduled to join Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Fort McMurray at 9 a.m. MDT to “announce the next step to accelerate a major infrastructure project.”\u00a0 <\/p>\n
A May agreement between the federal and Alberta governments set an Oct. 1 deadline to decide<\/a> whether to designate the pipeline a project in the national interest under Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act<\/a> \u2014 a status that could make it the first project to have its federal approvals and regulatory reviews accelerated under the new law.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Carney was in Vancouver to announce $1.2 billion in ocean protection funding<\/a>, where he touted the pipeline proposal.<\/p>\n “This project would diversify our economy, create almost 150,000 new jobs right across Canada and make us much less dependent on the United States,” Carney said.<\/p>\n “The proposed route would follow a similar southern corridor to the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline, and the North Coast tanker ban will remain in effect.\u201d<\/p>\n WATCH | Alberta’s proposed new pipeline route: The crowded, muddy reality of Alberta\u2019s new pipeline route<\/p>\n Multi-billion dollar project<\/p>\n In July, the federal and Alberta governments revealed more details about the proposal<\/a>, estimated to cost between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion <\/p>\n The Alberta government and the federally owned Trans Mountain Corporation would each own 45 per cent of the pipeline, with the Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation owning a 10 per cent stake.<\/p>\n Alberta’s proposed 1,250-kilometre route would see the line would run from Bruderheim, northeast of Edmonton, to the Roberts Bank terminal in Delta, B.C.<\/p>\n Alberta has projected the pipeline would carry more than one million barrels of bitumen per day for export to Asian markets.<\/p>\n The agreement is conditional on the construction of a carbon storage project called Pathways that would use a pipeline network to carry carbon emissions from several sites in northern Alberta to an underground storage hub. <\/p>\n Smith has said she hopes to see the project break ground in 2027.<\/p>\n The deadline comes less than three weeks before Alberta’s Oct. 19 referendum<\/a>, which could trigger a second, binding vote on whether the province should separate from Canada.<\/p>\n Potential hurdles<\/p>\n In July, the federal government committed to upholding its North Coast tanker ban<\/a> while striking a separate multibillion-dollar agreement with B.C.<\/a> that included funding for mining, forestry and upgrades to the Massey Tunnel and Port of Vancouver. <\/p>\n At the time, B.C. Premier David Eby \u2014 who is now locked in a tight provincial election race \u2014 said he recognized that the province does not have the constitutional authority to stop the pipeline. <\/p>\n “We will not be going to court to fight a pipeline project,” he said.<\/p>\n WATCH | Optimism in Alberta over new pipeline deal: West Coast oil pipeline proposal brings cautious optimism to Alberta<\/p>\n However, if approved, the project could still face other hurdles. <\/p>\n Multiple First Nations groups have warned<\/a> that fast-tracking the project risks violating governments’ constitutional duty to consult with Indigenous peoples. <\/p>\n In August, the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs called for the proposal to be halted, <\/a>stating in a letter: “Consultation cannot be meaningful if First Nations are invited only to discuss how a predetermined project will proceed.” <\/p>\n Environmental groups have also expressed stiff opposition to the project. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1790864293_882_default.jpg\")
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