Canada advances Alberta-to-Pacific oil pipeline to cut US dependence
Canada is moving to send 1 million barrels of oil a day away from the US. PM Mark Carney secured a deal with British Columbia for a pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific coast, opening Asian markets and cutting reliance on the US, which now takes about 60% of Canadian oil exports.
Anyone watching North American energy trade just saw Canada move to loosen its ties to the United States. Prime Minister Mark Carney has secured an investment agreement with British Columbia to build a major oil pipeline that would carry about 1 million barrels a day from Alberta, across the province, to the Pacific coast, giving Canadian crude new access to Asian markets. The stated goal is to reduce economic dependence on the US amid Donald Trump's trade war. Washington currently absorbs roughly 60% of Canada's oil exports, some 4 million barrels a day, nearly all of it from Alberta's oil sands. Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith unveiled a proposed route through southern British Columbia, while keeping in place a ban on oil tankers off the northern BC coast. The timeline is still early. Ottawa expects the pipeline to be listed as a project of national interest by October 1, 2026. After Indigenous consultation and once approvals and permits are secured, construction could begin as early as September 1, 2027.