BREAKING: Guilbeault resigns from Carney cabinet calls Alberta pipeline deal a “serious mistake”
Shortly after the news broke, Guilbeault published a three-page resignation letter on X, stating he informed the Prime Minister “with great sadness” of his decision to step down from cabinet.
Canadian Identity and Culture Minister and former environment minister Steven Guilbeault has resigned from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet, hours after Ottawa and Alberta signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at advancing major infrastructure projects, including a potential pipeline to the West Coast.
Guilbeault will remain in the Liberal caucus and will continue to sit as an MP.
His departure came the same day Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the wide-ranging MOU, which commits both governments to collaborate on carbon pricing, clean energy development, and an approval pathway for a potential pipeline to tidewater—a project Alberta has sought for years.
The former climate activist had not spoken publicly about the agreement before stepping down, and previously refused to speak to True North about his view on the west coast pipeline proposal.
Shortly after the news broke, Guilbeault published a three-page resignation letter on X, stating he informed the Prime Minister “with great sadness” of his decision to step down from cabinet.
“I chose to enter politics to champion the fight against climate change and the protection of the environment,” he wrote, listing a series of climate and environmental measures he helped advance over the past decade, including emissions reduction plans, plastics bans, and the modernization of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Guilbeault said he could not support the new federal-Alberta agreement, writing: “That is why I strongly oppose the Memorandum of understanding between the federal government and the government of Alberta.”
He argued the deal lacked proper consultation with B.C. First Nations, warned that a future pipeline could “contribute to a significant increase in climate pollution,” and raised concerns about lifting tanker restrictions on the northern coast.
He also criticized the proposal to exempt Alberta from federal Clean Electricity Regulations in exchange for stricter industrial carbon pricing, calling it “a serious mistake.”
His resignation marks a significant shift in the Carney government’s climate and energy agenda. Even after being shuffled out of the environment portfolio earlier this year, Guilbeault continued to represent Canada internationally, including attending COP30 on the Prime Minister’s behalf as recently as last month.
Carney, speaking to reporters in Calgary earlier Thursday, framed the MOU as a strategic response to shifting global trade patterns and a way to expand export markets for low-emissions energy. The agreement includes federal support for Alberta’s Pathways Plus carbon capture network and promises an approval process for a private-sector–financed pipeline proposal if one is submitted next year.
Smith said the framework represents progress toward securing a pipeline corridor to Asia, arguing the province needs access to world pricing to remain competitive.
Guilbeault had been a central figure in the Liberal government’s climate agenda, serving as environment minister through most of the past decade before being reassigned earlier this year.
Did he give up his seat in the house? If not, then this means nothing. It's not like he was doing anything useful. Nothing has changed.
Another loud good-bloody-riddance from this corner. Steven Guil-ty should never have been elected, let alone in cabinet. You have to seriously wonder about people who would vote for a convicted criminal.