Canada advances Pacific pipeline plan to expand Asian oil exports

Canada has moved closer to building a major oil pipeline aimed at supplying Asian markets, as Prime Minister Mark Carney seeks to position the country as an “energy superpower” and reduce reliance on the United States.

Carney said Alberta has submitted plans to the Major Projects Office to begin construction of a pipeline exceeding 1,000 km in length, running to the Pacific coast of British Columbia, with work expected to start by September 2027.

“Canada has a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’. An opportunity that will determine our future,” he told reporters in Calgary late on Thursday, adding that the route would follow “one that already exists through the Trans Mountain corridor to our Pacific coast”.

The pipeline would be built by Trans Mountain Corp, a federal Crown corporation, with support from Pembina Pipeline Corp. Carney said the project would serve as “a gateway to the world’s fastest-growing markets”.

He added that Thursday’s announcements “will catalyse well over C$200 billion [US$141 bilion] in new direct investments in Canada” as Ottawa expands its trade links across Asia. Canada also plans to “more than triple” liquefied natural gas output by developing five terminals over the next decade, alongside C$10bn in upgrades to the Port of Vancouver.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said the province aims to double oil production and complete the pipeline by 2035, generating “billions in revenue over the coming decades”.

“There is no doubt whatsoever that this pipeline is a project of national interest, one that will help connect Alberta’s oil to global markets and strengthen our country’s economic future for decades,” she said.

The project forms part of Carney’s broader effort to diversify trade away from the US, which currently accounts for three-quarters of Canada’s goods and services exports. Nearly all Canadian oil exports—around 4mn barrels per day, or about 60% of US imports—are shipped south.

Carney has pledged to double non-US trade as President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs of up to 100% and questioned the future of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement. Trump this week declined to authorise its long-term renewal.

Most of Canada’s oil exports originate in Alberta’s oil sands, the world’s third-largest reserves, which are widely considered among the most carbon-intensive to process.

The proposed route would largely follow the existing Trans Mountain pipeline from Edmonton to southern British Columbia. Carney said Ottawa would maintain a tanker ban along parts of the coast, a measure supported by Indigenous and environmental groups.

“Today is a good day,” said Marilyn Slett, elected chief of the Heiltsuk Nation. “Oil tankers will never be part of our vision for a healthy, productive and sustainable North Coast.”

While industry groups welcomed the initiative, they raised concerns about environmental regulations and tax competitiveness. Carney, a former UN climate envoy, acknowledged that expanding fossil fuel production to counter US trade pressures would increase emissions.

“That plan was not sustainable over the long term,” he said, referring to previous policies under former prime minister Justin Trudeau.

By Tamilla Hasanova