Danielle Smith talks pipeline MOU at Calgary Chamber of Commerce
Posted May 21, 2026 1:00 pm.
Last Updated May 21, 2026 3:07 pm.
Alberta’s premier was in Calgary Thursday morning speaking at a Chamber of Commerce event focused on the province’s energy future.
“Alberta refused to back down, and today the picture has shifted dramatically,” Premier Danielle Smith told the audience at the BMO Centre.
She delivered a keynote and took part in a fireside char where she provided an update on the Alberta-Ottawa memorandum of understanding (MOU).
Smith said the agreement is designed to slow the rise of industrial carbon pricing while supporting major projects including the proposed West Coast Pipeline, carrying more than a million barrels a day.
READ MORE: Smith and Carney sign MOU carbon pricing deal ahead of future pipeline
“Our goal is to double oil and gas production in Alberta. When I became premier, we were close to 3.8 million barrels of oil per day. Today, we’re close to five million barrels per day,” she said.
“We have a clear path to produce eight million barrels per day by about 2035. Our goal is more from production, to pipelines, to exports, along with more jobs and revenue and the growth they create.”
Smith also pointed to global instability and growing demand as reasons Alberta needs to expand its energy exports.
“We now live in a very different reality with different demands from our friends and allies and trading partners,” the premier added.
She says the geopolitical stakes have never been higher and that everyone loses if we fail to develop the country’s resources.
