Carney government to oppose Conservative West Coast pipeline motion
The Liberal government will vote against a Conservative motion on Tuesday that seeks formal House of Commons support for a new bitumen pipeline to the British Columbia coast despite signing the MOU.
The Liberal government will vote against a Conservative motion on Tuesday that seeks formal House of Commons support for a new bitumen pipeline to the British Columbia coast despite signing a memorandum of understanding with Alberta.
The non-binding motion mirrors key language from the memorandum of understanding (MOU) Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed on November 27.
It calls on MPs to “take note” of the agreement and endorse construction of a pipeline capable of exporting at least one million barrels per day of low-emissions Alberta bitumen from a deep-water port on the B.C. coast. It also references the need for an “appropriate adjustment” to the federal Oil Tanker Moratorium Act and affirms the duty to consult Indigenous peoples.
During a Tuesday morning press conference, Energy Minister Tim Hodgson called the motion a “cheap political stunt, so we will not be supporting the motion.” Edmonton-area Liberal MP Eleanor Olszewski echoed a similar sentiment at an earlier press conference.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who has promoted the MOU as an opportunity to expand access to Asian markets, said on X that “We need a new pipeline to the Pacific.” He added that Tuesday’s vote would allow MPs to decide whether to “bring home jobs” and “put Canada first.”
A senior government official, speaking to CTV News on background, said the Conservatives’ motion “ignores critical elements” of the MOU, including Alberta’s commitment to negotiate an industrial carbon pricing agreement with a $130-per-tonne floor, Indigenous co-ownership opportunities and engagement with British Columbia.
“By refusing to support all elements of this MOU, Conservatives are demonstrating their intent to divide Canadians and inability to get big things built,” the source said, adding the government must also consider the current trade dispute with the United States.
Under the agreement with Alberta, Ottawa has committed to suspend the proposed clean electricity regulations in the province and not implement the planned oil and gas emissions cap. The MOU also allows for an exemption to the federal tanker ban if required.
New Democrats signalled they will oppose the motion. Interim NDP Leader Don Davies said Monday the federal government is “violating a 50-year oil tanker ban — one they long defended and just enshrined in law — to satisfy Conservatives for a bitumen pipeline.” Davies said the NDP will vote to “protect the B.C. coast, defend Indigenous rights and address the climate crisis.”
Poilievre responded that New Democrats are “voting tomorrow to block a new pipeline to the Pacific and keep the costly Liberal oil tanker ban in place,” and accused the prime minister of avoiding the issue: “Meanwhile, Mark Carney is hiding under a rock refusing to tell us his position.”
The vote, expected late Tuesday, will mark the first time MPs formally weigh in on the Alberta–Ottawa agreement since its signing.