VICTORIA — The leader of British Columbia’s Official Opposition says his party has been talking with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith about her plans to build a pipeline to B.C.’s northern coast.
B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad says he has “of course been talking” with Smith about the proposed pipeline, adding he has also been talking with Saskatchewan and “all kinds of people” about the proposal.
Rustad’s comments come after Premier David Eby said the provincial Conservatives have been engaging in what Eby calls “secret conversations” with Alberta.
However, Rustad told media at the legislature that it’s not a secret and he has “of course” talked with Alberta and Saskatchewan premiers about the pipeline.
It comes as a report in the Globe and Mail this week said the federal and Alberta governments were close to signing a memorandum of understanding on a new pipeline, which would allow some tanker traffic on the northern B.C. coast.
While Rustad says he has not been involved in the MOU, he supports Alberta’s plans to get its oil to markets other than the United States, and get full value for it, benefiting Alberta and the rest of Canada.
Rustad says B.C.’s coast is also Canada’s coast, and it’s time for Eby to work with other premiers.
Eby has repeatedly said that the pipeline, coupled with lifting the tanker ban, would undermine the “fragile” consensus among First Nations for other resource projects in northwestern B.C.
In a statement issued Thursday, Eby says that the “unfunded proposal of a heavy oil pipeline” would put real jobs and prosperity at risk, adding that the northern coast is “not only precious,” but also “an economic driver that will provide a lifeline” for Canada.
Rustad disagrees, saying that Eby is exaggerating the opposition among First Nations and “fearmongering” about the potential effects of the pipeline, which is 100 per cent within federal jurisdiction.
B.C. Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon said Wednesday that the federal government should instead increase the capacity of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline.
At question period Thursday in the legislature, B.C. Conservative Peter Milobar said the premier should save everybody “two weeks of theatre” by just admitting that B.C. needs a northern pipeline and the tanker ban lifted.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2025.
Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
