Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wants to see provinces unite behind energy resources benefitting all jurisdictions amid uncertainty with the Donald Trump administration.
“We were very successful in making the argument about energy resources,” said Smith in an interview with CTV Power Play host Vassy Kapelos.
“Let’s remember the definition of our energy resources is very wide. It’s oil, gas, electricity, critical minerals, uranium. So, every single province benefited from the recognition that the Americans need that.”
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Smith, among others, has reignited calls to dust off old energy projects previously not approved and get them constructed, such as Energy East and Northern Gateway.
“I hope that this has been a wake-up call to eastern Canada, that they are 100% reliant on oil coming in from foreign sources and gas coming in from foreign sources, and that we are the solution,” Smith said in a statement Tuesday.
“So we want to have a constructive conversation in the spirit of ‘esprit de corps’ for Canada because we want to help our eastern neighbours.”
The premier said she is looking forward to speaking with her counterparts in B.C. and Quebec about pipeline access on the east and west coasts.
“Building pipelines is not as easy as all that,” says Trevor Harrison, professor of sociology at the University of Lethbridge.
“There’s jurisdictions, there’s Indigenous peoples, as we’ve seen in the past. There’s environmental issues. And frankly, I mean, there’s just the mechanics of actually building pipelines.”
Harrison also suggests Canada’s reliance on oil may be a difficult pitch to other countries.
“Is Alberta kind of stuck with this one resource that we have relied on? Maybe. There’s not an easy way out of here, despite what Premier Smith wants.”
Federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, speaking at the Atlantic Council event in the U.S., highlighted the established reliance on Canadian heavy crude by U.S. refineries, calling it “by far the most affordable option for American companies and consumers.”
He advocates for a “U.S.-Canada alliance in energy and minerals,” focusing on enhancing existing infrastructure like the Enbridge mainline to increase crude flow and solidify North America’s position as a dominant energy supplier.
Wilkinson also acknowledged the risks of over-reliance on pipelines that flow exclusively through the U.S., pointing to LNG facilities on the West Coast as a potential diversification strategy.
Former executive vice president of Corporate Development at TransCanada Corporation Dennis McConaghy says he is skeptical about oil and gas companies reviving large-scale projects, calling the collapse of Northern Gateway “a great national tragedy.”
McConaghy believes incremental expansions of existing systems are the most likely path forward.
“Expanding the Enbridge system to go south and the existing Keystone system to go south is really the way this is going to unfold,” he said.
He also points to the challenges of interprovincial relations.
“Why would I want to take on Quebec risk?” said McConaghy.
He says that Energy East is a risk no one is willing to take on at the moment.
“The least reasonable of all of the alternatives that are in play,” he said.
“The producers, the refiners and the owners of this infrastructure, if there’s a business case for that, it will emerge.”
Quebec Premier François Legault on Monday said there is a current lack of “social acceptability” for Energy East and new pipeline projects in his province but leaves the door open for future change based on economic conditions and U.S. policy.
“But, of course, the situation, the economy, and what Mr. Trump is doing may change the situation in the future,” said Legault.
