Alberta government welcomes ‘national conversation’ on energy corridor

An Alberta cabinet minister says it’s about time Canadians begin softening to the idea of a national energy corridor after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pitched the idea during a campaign stop Monday.

It also comes as polling suggests rising support for new pipelines across Canada — and even Quebec — against the backdrop of tariffs and a growing desire for less economic dependence on the United States.

“Having this national conversation is great because Alberta has been pushing this for years,” Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen said. “So it’s great to see the rest of the country come along.”

The Conservatives’ planned national energy corridor would expedite approval of transmission lines, railways, pipelines and other critical infrastructure. Canada needs big projects that connect western oil and eastern refineries, Poilievre said at an event in Saint John, N.B.

“We need to be able to get our resources across Canada, bypassing America, so we can trade more with each other and sell our resources to the world,” the Conservative leader said.

“The only way that you get the investment is to repeal the anti-pipeline law and bring in a pre-approved corridor so businesses know they will never again have to spend seven years and a billion dollars to get to a dead end.”

Dreeshen says Alberta has already signed agreements with Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories to promote new corridors, and is working with British Columbia as well.

But the minister adds that’s only one hurdle for Alberta oil.

“The West Coast tanker ban out of B.C., that stops any major projects going out to Prince Rupert,” Dreeshen explained. “So we need the federal government to repeal some of their anti-development policies in order for economic corridors to be a reality again in Canada.”

Liberal Leader Mark Carney has also promised faster energy projects, including pipelines. About a week ago, as prime minister, Carney announced he and the premiers have agreed to develop more corridors.

And during a recent stop in Edmonton, the Liberal leader specifically spoke about connecting a deep-water port in Nunavut to Alberta oil.

“We need to do things that had not been imagined or had not been thought possible at a speed we haven’t seen before,” Carney said on March 20. “And that’s the nature of the time.”

‘Smoke and mirrors’?

Energy journalist Markham Hislop says more corridors make sense, but he’s cautioning voters regarding the rhetoric of both the Liberals and Conservatives.

“There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors here,” said Hislop, with Energi Media. “There’s a lot of industry PR pushing projects that don’t necessarily have good economics attached to them and that’s what I fear the most.”

Alberta’s premier has made it no secret she wants the Conservatives to win the next election. Danielle Smith has threatened a national unity crisis if the next prime minister doesn’t grant Alberta’s demands – mostly on oil development.

And even though the Liberals helped get the Trans Mountain pipeline built to the B.C. coast, Poilievre says Canadians cannot trust them with the energy sector.

“They’ve blocked our projects, they’ve taxed away a half trillion dollars of investment that has now gone south, they’ve crippled and weakened our country,” the Conservative leader said.

Last year, 97 per cent of Canada’s oil exports went to the United States. A corridor, Poilievre promises, would open new markets in Europe and reduce Canada’s economic reliance on Trump’s America, which is expected to impose new trade tariffs Wednesday.