Canada advances Alberta pipeline to Pacific Coast to expand oil exports
beyond the US
[July 03, 2026] By
ROB GILLIES
TORONTO (AP) — Canada took a step Thursday toward opening a new route
for its vast oil reserves to Asian markets as Prime Minister Mark Carney
advanced a Pacific Coast pipeline from Alberta, seeking to reduce the
country’s dependence on the U.S. while easing separatist tensions and
preserving environmental protections.
Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith unveiled a proposed route
through southern British Columbia, saying the project would open more
Canadian oil to Asian markets while preserving a ban on oil tankers off
northern British Columbia.
“The best route for a new pipeline is one that goes through one that
already exists south through the Trans Mountain corridor, to our Pacific
Coast, the gateway to the world’s fastest growing markets,” Carney said
in Calgary.
Carney has set a goal for Canada to double its non-U.S. exports in the
next decade and has said a pipeline can reduce the price discount on
current oil sales to U.S. markets.
The line would follow closely along a route already traversed by the
Trans Mountain pipeline.
It would run from Bruderheim, northeast of Edmonton, Alberta, to the
southern British Columbia coast, delivering more than one million
barrels per day to tankers and then to Asian markets.
Smith said the Alberta government is partnering with the federally owned
Trans Mountain Corporation and Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline on what it
calls the West Coast oil pipeline. She said what the share of the
private sector stake will be remains to be seen.
“The world is asking Canada to step up and provide stable, democratic
and reliable energy supply that countries around the world are looking
for,” Smith said.
“This is not just another energy project. It’s a nation-building project
that will unlock wealth and opportunity.”
Smith wants Alberta to double oil production to eight million barrels
per day over the next 10 to 15 years.
Smith has long complained that Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau,
hindered the province’s energy industry and fueled separatist sentiment.
Alberta is holding a public vote in the fall on whether to hold a
referendum on leaving Canada.
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Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney announces a proposed pipeline
from Alberta to the B.C. coast in Calgary, Thursday, July 02, 2026.
(Todd Korol/The Canadian Press via AP)
 British Columbia and some First
Nations are against a pipeline through northern British Columbia.
“The tanker ban will remain in place. We will be protecting the
northern coast of British Columbia,” Carney said earlier in
Vancouver.
Carney also said Thursday he will compensate British Columbia for
environmental risks if a pipeline is built in the southern part of
the province.
A previous memorandum of understanding Ottawa and Alberta included
an adjustment of an oil tanker ban off parts of the British Columbia
coast, but British Columbia Premier David Eby also said Thursday he
secured a commitment to keep the northern tanker ban in place,
protecting the province’s pristine northern coast.
“It ensures that the northern tanker ban remains in place," Eby
said.
Trudeau opposed a pipeline that could cross northern British
Columbia and the Great Bear Rainforest. He approved one pipeline
from Alberta to the British Columbia southern coast, the Trans
Mountain pipeline, but rejected the Northern Gateway project amid
opposition from environmentalists and Indigenous communities.
Since the Trans Mountain expansion opened through the B.C. southern
coast in 2024, roughly two-thirds to three-quarters of the crude
shipped from Canada’s Pacific Coast has gone to Asia, helping Canada
reduce its dependence on the U.S. market.
The U.S. still buys most of Canada’s crude.
Alberta holds one of the world’s largest proven oil reserves, and
Canada is seeking greater access to Asian markets.
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