Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has revealed a comprehensive energy plan with the province of Alberta, outlining a path for a new oil pipeline, a substantial carbon capture project, and the development of nuclear power for data centres. The initiative seeks to decrease Canada’s economic reliance on the United States and aims to “unlock the full potential of Alberta’s energy resources”, while generating “hundreds of thousands of new high-paying careers for Canadians”, according to a news release from Carney’s office.
Carney emphasised to a Calgary business gathering that Canada’s close interdependence with the US, previously an advantage, has become a vulnerability. Last year, Canada directed over 95 per cent of its energy exports to the US, prior to President Donald Trump imposing tariffs on Canadian goods. “This is a rupture, not a transition, which means our economic strategy needs to change dramatically and rapidly,” Carney stated. “Nostalgia is not a strategy. The US has changed. That’s their right. We must respond. That’s our imperative.”
The plan commits the federal government to supporting one or more new oil pipelines with Indigenous ownership. These pipelines are intended to transport “at least 1 million barrels a day of low-emission Alberta bitumen with a route that increases export access to Asian markets as a priority”. The document indicates that should a pipeline project undergo proper consultation, secure federal approval, and involve Indigenous co-ownership, the Canadian government will facilitate its shipment from a deep-water port on the west coast and “adjust” a ban on oil tankers on British Columbia’s north coast if necessary.
