Canada’s federal government has not been presented with any private sector proposal to build a new crude pipeline to the Pacific coast, the country’s Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said on Friday.
Hodgson said in an interview in Calgary that the government is beginning to have “concrete discussions” with various proponents of projects that could get the go-ahead under new legislation
passed by Canada’s Senate in late June.
The legislation aims to fast-track approval for natural resource and infrastructure projects, part of a campaign promise by Prime Minister Mark Carney to transform Canada’s economy in
the face of U.S. tariffs.
Hodgson declined to provide specifics about the discussions under way, saying the government has done its part to give project proponents the clarity they need to invest. “Now it’s up to the private sector to make those decisions,” he said.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in June the province is working to present the federal government with a proponent and route for a potential new crude pipeline from Alberta to the
Port of Prince Rupert in British Columbia.
Smith said the pipeline would be built in tandem with the Pathways Alliance carbon capture and storage project.
Canada is trying to diversify oil exports to be less reliant on the United States, but has struggled to find private companies willing to build a pipeline.
Hodgson confirmed Friday that if there is to be a pipeline to tidewater, it must be built together with the Pathways project, which has been proposed by a consortium of oil sands companies to reduce emissions from Canada’s energy sector and which could cost between C$10 and C$20 billion to construct.
In recent years, major Canadian oil pipelines have faced years of regulatory delay and legal challenges, leading to cancellations for some projects and spiraling costs for others, like the Trans Mountain expansion.
Canada’s largest pipeline company, Enbridge, said in an emailed statement last week it would need to see significant provincial and federal legislative change — including changes to the country’s industrial carbon policy — before considering proposing a new pipeline.
Hodgson declined to say whether the government would consider changing or eliminating some of its existing environmental and regulatory policies in order to encourage a pipeline proposal.
