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By: Kenneth P. Green
How quickly the red herrings die when reality intrudes.
Back in May 2025, British Columbia Premier David Eby said “we do have a pipeline… that is not being used to capacity and that feels like a much better place to start the conversation.” That same month, Steven Guilbeault, then a member of Prime Minister Carney’s cabinet, said “I think before we start talking about building an entire new pipeline, maybe we should maximize the use of existing infrastructure.”
They were talking about the Trans Mountain pipeline, which carries crude and refined products from Edmonton to the B.C. coast. Fast-forward to June 2026, and according to reports, the “Trans Mountain pipeline has reached full capacity for the first time since its expansion was completed, boosting the pipe’s total carrying capability to 890,000 barrels daily” and demand for the pipeline has exceeded capacity.
So, Premier Eby and Mr. Guilbeault, will you now withdraw your opposition to the proposed new pipeline the Alberta government hopes to get built from Alberta to a Pacific port to carry its oil exports to lucrative markets in Asia?
I’d guess not.
Of course, to be fair it’s silly to expect certain political figures to acknowledge the tactics they use to oppose pipelines and other energy projects—tactics of this sort, the red herring, the distracting canard, are all too often the primary stock-in-trade for Canada’s political elite. They wouldn’t have much to say without them.
But let’s hope Prime Minister Carney is not making equally insincere and meaningless noises about the proposed pipeline. Remember, in November 2025, the Alberta government and the Carney government hammered out a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which grants Alberta exemptions from certain federal regulations and offers the prospect of a potential pathway to a new pipeline to B.C.
In exchange, well, the Alberta government (led by Premier Danielle Smith) agreed to basically give away every bit of energy-sector autonomy other than the drapes, but that’s a discussion for another time. And Carney goes to great pains to point out that this pipeline plan remains highly contingent on buy-in from people such as Eby, First Nations and Guilbeault’s green constituency.
In the here and now, Canada’s most recent pipeline expansion (again, Trans Mountain) has filled up only two years after completion, with a large backlog of demand for still more pipeline capacity to get oil to lucrative markets somewhere other than the United States. Turbulence in world oil markets due to the Iran war have only made Canadian oil more attractive, and the Trans Mountain expansion has been instrumental in priming the pump for future sales to those Asian markets.
So, what’s it going to be? Are the most high-profile opponents of a new pipeline ready to retract their opposition in the face of reality? Prime Minister Carney, are you ready to stop with the constant qualifiers about Alberta compliance with the federal government’s onerous conditions for a pipeline?
Wait. Is that crickets, I hear?
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