This announcement resolves two of the biggest irregularities in the pipeline file, the route and the route funding structure, both of which were unresolved as recently as this week, making this the most concrete step yet toward an actual construction timeline. Confirming the southern route through the existing Trans Mountain Corridor, rather than the more controversial northern option through British Columbia, avoids the fiercest opposition from Indigenous and provincial populations and improves the odds of Ottawa formally designating the project in the national interest by its self-imposed deadline. With Pembina now on board as a private sector partner, the announcement also addresses the “no private sector backer” gap that Carney pointed out just days ago, a prerequisite for the deal to go ahead.
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Carney says Canada, Alberta and the Oil Sands Alliance have agreed on terms to launch the Pathways project, in which Trans Mountain Corp. will build a new pipeline south to the Pacific Coast alongside the Pembina pipeline.
summary:
- Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada, Alberta and the Oil Sands Alliance have agreed to terms for launching the Pathways carbon capture project, which has long been treated as a prerequisite for a new pipeline.
- Carney emphasized that the best route for the new pipeline would be south through the existing Trans Mountain Corridor to the Pacific Coast, rather than the northern route through British Columbia.
- Trans Mountain Corporation will plan and build the new pipeline
- Trans Mountain will work closely with the Pembina Pipeline, which Carney said will bring private sector experience and discipline to its construction and operation.
- The announcement comes after Alberta’s self-imposed July 1 deadline to submit its pipeline proposal to the Office of Major Projects in Ottawa, after which the federal government has until October to define the project in the national interest.
- Alberta previously said design and construction of the pipelines could begin as early as September 2027 if the project continues on schedule.
Canada, Alberta and the Oil Sands Alliance have reached an agreement on terms needed to launch the Pathways carbon capture project, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said late Thursday, removing a major hurdle that had been treated as a precondition for approving a new oil pipeline to the Pacific Coast. Carney said the best route for the pipeline would be south through the existing Trans Mountain Corridor rather than the more controversial route through northern British Columbia, a route federal officials have long favored over Indigenous and provincial opposition to tanker movement north.
Under the terms set by Carney, Trans Mountain, the federally owned operator of Canada’s only oil pipeline to a Pacific port, will plan and build the new line. The company will work closely with the Pembina Pipeline, which Carney said will contribute private sector expertise and discipline to the construction and operation of the project. Involving a private sector partner addresses a gap that Carney himself acknowledged just days ago, when he stressed that the broader pipeline proposal still lacks a proven private sector backer.
The announcement comes after Alberta set itself a July 1 deadline to submit a formal proposal for the pipeline to the Office of Major Projects in Ottawa, a target set out in a memorandum of understanding between Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Ottawa now has until October to decide whether to classify the project as a matter of national interest. Carney and Smith previously said design and construction of the pipeline could begin as early as September 2027 if the project stays on track, though the timeline still depends on further negotiations with British Columbia and First Nations communities along the proposed corridor.
The Pathways project, proposed by a coalition of major oil sands producers, aims to capture and store a portion of the emissions generated by expanding oil sands production, offsetting some of the additional greenhouse gas impact of a new pipeline. Ottawa has repeatedly said it will not support new pipeline capacity without a parallel commitment to a carbon capture project, making Thursday’s agreement on financing terms a crucial step in strengthening both initiatives together.
