Premier Eby denies blocking pipelines but energy critics say otherwise

Eby told reporters there is currently “no project,” no funding, and no corporate proponent for a northern B.C. oil pipeline.

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From halfway around the world, British Columbia Premier David Eby insisted Monday that his government isn’t obstructing the development of an Alberta-to-Prince Rupert oil pipeline. But energy experts and critics say his words don’t match the restrictive regulatory reality established by the B.C. NDP.

Speaking from Seoul, South Korea, where he’s leading a trade mission, Eby told reporters there is currently “no project,” no funding, and no corporate proponent for a northern B.C. oil pipeline — and therefore nothing for his government to approve or reject.

His comments were a direct response to Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who earlier suggested she might be able to bring Eby onside for a new export route to Asia through Prince Rupert.

“If Premier Smith is able to find a proponent and financing, and bring a project together, we’ll certainly cross that bridge,” said Eby.

Eby argues that there are “countless projects” that BC and Alberta can collaborate on in the meantime instead of a major pipeline.

But critics say that kind of hedging speaks volumes.

Analysts such as Heather Exner-Pirot, natural resources fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute responded on X by pointing out two of the biggest obstacles: the federal oil tanker ban on BC’s north coast and BC’s own provincial emissions cap.

“We can’t expect a proponent to come forward while they’re in place,” she wrote, adding that it would help if investors knew whether B.C. plans to use “every tool in the toolbox” to block such proposals again” said Pirot.

That phrase echoes language from Eby’s predecessor, the late John Horgan, who in 2018 vowed to fight the Trans Mountain expansion using all available legal means.

Critics argue that Eby’s refusal to rule out similar tactics sends a familiar — and chilling — message to would-be investors: don’t bother.

Asked whether B.C.’s recent approval of a gas pipeline to Prince Rupert might set a precedent for future oil infrastructure, Eby responded that his government is “not in the business of turning away investments,” but declined to say whether that openness would extend to oil.