With Tariffs Threatened, Northern Gateway Pipeline Project Resurfaces

An allusion from the Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, about the Northern Gateway pipeline project has revived discussions in British Columbia around this project abandoned in 2016.

Danielle Smith, who was speaking on the tariffs that the United States intends to put in place, argued in favor of a national infrastructure such as Northern Gateway. According to her, it would diversify Canada’s trading partners and reduce its dependence on the United States.

We need to discuss internally how we are going to approach this issue in the long termshe concluded in her speech.

For his part, the Premier of British Columbia, David Eby, who participated in the BC First Nations Leaders’ Council, stressed the importance of collaboration.

Moving the proposals forward requires provinces, Indigenous peoples and the national government to work togetherhe said, while emphasizing that discussions about Northern Gateway remain based on assumptions.

If he admitted that he and Danielle Smith have differences of opinionhe added that they are completely agree to stand together inside the country to defend jobs and economic activity.

The importance of indigenous participation

First Nations leaders present at the Leaders’ Council reiterated their historic opposition to Northern Gateway, citing environmental concerns and the importance of Indigenous participation. They said, however, that times are changing.

We must proactively create a space for collaboration, respecting First Nations environmental assessmentsdeclared Terry Teegee, regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations of British Columbia.

He also stressed the importance of respecting the guidelines of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, in order to avoid legal blockages.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, a former opponent of Northern Gateway, admits it was another time and that projects could be approved if done correctly.

If we don’t build this type of infrastructure, Trump will do it without regard for the environment or the rule of law. I think we can do better.

He also mentioned the need to think about the future in the context of climate and economic crises.

David Eby also emphasized the importance of indigenous voices in economic discussions. He said they needed to be at the “Team Canada” table during discussions on customs duties.

No interest from Endbridge

In 2024, Danielle Smith repeated her ambition to double Alberta’s oil and gas production. This involves adding export infrastructure, with the Prime Minister identifying the Northern Gateway pipeline as a potential project to achieve this.

Contacted, the initial promoter of the project, Enbridge, said it had not currently no Northern Gateway development plans. We are focusing our efforts on operating our existing pipeline system and existing rights-of-way. There is a large capacity there that is efficient and less disruptive to communities and the environmentadds the company.

-/CBC also contacted South Bowthe independent company that now runs TC Energy’s crude oil division, whose network is critical of Keystone. Danielle Smith had indeed suggested that oil companies dust off old projects.

In its response, the company confirms that the Keystone XL project was really canceled in 2021but emphasizes that South Bow aims to collaborate with its customers to strengthen energy security by increasing supplies of Canadian crude oil All using existing infrastructure.

With information from Julie Landry, Janet French and Tiphanie Roquette