Trump’s threats put the controversial BC pipeline back in the political spotlight

The threat of a Canada-US trade war has put a long-dead pipeline project back in the political spotlight — with at least one former opponent now voicing support for the idea of ​​sending more oil through B.C.

On Tuesday, Union of BC Indian Chiefs president Grand Chief Stewart Phillip said he is now ready to consider supporting the Northern Gateway pipeline — a proposed project that would send Alberta bitumen to BC’s north coast, near Kitimat, for export overseas.

The project was effectively killed in 2016 when the federal government under a newly elected Justin Trudeau announced a moratorium on crude oil tanker traffic off British Columbia’s north coast to protect the coastal environment, even though it had already been shelved. then.

The pipeline had previously been approved by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, but the approval was overturned when the federal court found that Ottawa had not sufficiently consulted indigenous peoples along the project’s 1,177-kilometre route – prompting celebrations among those who had fought against the project.

But “it was a different time,” Phillip told a gathering of BC’s provincial cabinet and First Nations leaders in Vancouver.

“We are staring into the abyss of uncertainty” due to the combination of climate change and the “American threat” posed by US President Donald Trump, he said.

“I would suggest that if we don’t build that kind of infrastructure, Trump will. And there will be no regard for the environment or the rule of law or anything like that. I think we can do better.”

Smith, Poilievre bring pipeline back into conversation

His support for the idea follows days in which Alberta Premier Danielle Smith argued Canada needs to start building domestic pipelines in response to the threat of tariffs and a trade war from U.S. President Donald Trump.

After his inauguration, Trump told supporters he wants a 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods entering the United States by February 1.

Alberta politicians and industry leaders are particularly concerned about what this could mean for their economy, as energy exports from the province are highly dependent on the US buying their product.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith said while she hopes to avoid a trade war, Trump’s threats should also be a necessity to put projects like the Northern Gateway and the Energy East pipeline back on the agenda.

“We want to stop being so dependent on a single trading partner,” she said. “We need to remove internal trade barriers between Canadian provinces, start looking at how we can do big projects… so we can diversify our customer base around the world.”

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has also mentioned the pipeline in recent days while attacking federal Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney, claimed he opposed it and other projects that would have helped Canada financially.

Enbridge says it has ‘no plans’ to revive the project

Regardless of political support, the company that originally built Northern Gateway says it has “no plans” to revive it.

“There is plenty of capacity there that is efficient and less disruptive to communities and the environment,” spokesman Jesse Semko said in an email to CBC News.

“Our current efforts are focused on leveraging our pipeline in the ground and our existing rights.”

Those remarks echo those made in 2019, when the company’s then-CEO Al Monaco poured cold water on the idea that the pipeline could be revived.

“I think it’s probably sailed,” he told reporters at the time, noting that so much time had passed since the project was first approved that they would likely be starting at square one and unable to find enough investor support to make it viable.

Instead, he said, the company would be focused on smaller projects that were easier to finance and develop.

Federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson also appeared dismissive of the proposal when questioned by reporters outside cabinet meetings on Tuesday.

“President Trump will be in power for four years, building a pipeline takes a lot longer than that,” he said. “So anyone who tells you it’s a short-term answer to diversifying energy systems doesn’t really understand what they’re talking about.”

BC says the plan will still need Indigenous support.

Speaking with Chief Phillip, BC Premier David Eby said he agreed with the need for economic diversification, while stressing the importance of these projects not moving forward without consulting the Indigenous and local communities they would affect .

Terry Teegee, the regional chief of the BC Assembly of First Nations, echoed the sentiment, noting that there is often a diversity of opinion among Indigenous peoples when it comes to resource projects, and said the most important thing is to have an approval process in place, that takes these differences into account.

“If we don’t, we’ll end up in court,” he said.

Phillip, Teegee and First Nations Summit Chief Cheryl Casimer said to their knowledge, no one has yet approached local First Nations about reviving the Northern Gateway project.