Alberta keeping an eye on American election in hopes of restarting pipelines

Donald Trump — the Republican nominee for president hasn’t forgotten about the Keystone XL pipeline — and neither has Alberta’s premier. 

“If it’s a Republican White House, we would have a conversation about restarting the discussion around Keystone and any other egress for oil,” said Premier Danielle Smith.

The once-permitted pipeline expansion — to move more Alberta oil to the United States — was cancelled by President Joe Biden three years ago. 

But Trump wants it built. Promising to reinstate the permit on day one, if he wins the White House again. 

Smith called both Keystone XL and the also-shuttered Northern Gateway pipeline through B.C. “excellent opportunities” at an oil conference in Lloydminster Wednesday. 

That is music to ears of workers in the border city. 

“Oh it’s a great plan. The more we can get out to global markets the better. For us here in Alberta producing it, all of our livelihoods depend on it,” explained Kyle Walden, with Techmation Electric.

Dean Segberg with Upstream Data adding, “The pipeline is the arteries of the oil patch. We need pipelines to get our oil to market. It’s more efficient than by rail and by car.”

But environmental groups on both sides of the border have protested the pipeline, arguing we should moving to renewables instead. 

Smith’s predecessor Jason Kenney lost more than a billion Alberta tax dollars when the Keystone XL project fell apart. 

The premier wouldn’t say if she’d be willing to invest again, instead blaming Ottawa for policies she says hurt the oil industry. 

“When you look at what happened with the federal government having to step in, having creating a project where no project would go ahead without some kind of de-risking from the government. I think we need to change the regulatory process. We need to give confidence to the industry,” said Smith.

If Trump loses and the Democrats win, Smith says there is still an opportunity to sell natural gas to Americans, as a cleaner and cheaper fuel. The U.S. election is on November 5.