New Alberta pipeline, or is it a pipe dream?
Posted May 20, 2026 7:28 am.
Last Updated May 20, 2026 7:33 am.
Days after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney signed an implementation plan for a pipeline to the West Coast, some within the energy industry say they still don’t see that pipeline being built.
The prime minister said the pipeline remains dependent on the Pathways carbon-capture project in Alberta. That means the next step is reaching a mutual agreement with the Oil Sands Alliance, the consortium of major oil players behind the project.
There also needs to be consultation with First Nations on the pipeline, and Smith and Carney said they will continue engaging with British Columbia.
At a pipeline conference in Calgary on Tuesday, the head of oil and gas producer Advantage Energy, Mike Belenkie, says while it’s becoming more possible to build a new pipeline to the West Coast, at this current moment, it’s not “very probable,” especially with the carbon price.
“Really, what carbon markets do it makes industry and energy development, energy consumption more expensive, and it forces relocation to capital to jurisdictions that don’t have a carbon tax,” he said.
“Our competitors are not solar and wind; our competitors are the United States, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and a few others.”
The province and the federal government signed an implementation plan on Friday, with the effective price on carbon reaching $130 per tonne in 2040, and its headline price rising to $140 per tonne by 2040 from the current $95 per tonne.
The effective price refers to how much carbon credits are sold for on the market, while the headline price refers to how much companies pay the province to comply with emission limits.
The group representing pipeline companies says the implementation plan provides needed certainty for investment.
“We’ve seen countries across the planet come to Canada recently asking for energy we’ve had a profound challenge getting it to them. Now we think this is a great opportunity for us to seize on that potential that Canada has,” said Evan Bahry, the executive director of Energy Connections Canada.
The Alberta government is aiming to have a proposal to the major projects office on a pipeline to Asian markets by Canada Day.
