Varcoe: New poll shows energy security, exports drive growing Canadian support for pipelines — as Smith pitches West Coast line
Alberta is speaking to major pipeline operators that have successfully built projects in Canada, and 'we hope that we'll be able to have more to tell you in a few weeks,' Smith told reporters.
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'We know that it's a chicken-and-egg problem, that no one's going to come forward with a project without some guarantee that it's going to be approved,' she added.
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'What we're going to do is walk with that group, to test out the two-year timeline and see if we can get on the project list.'
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At last week's first ministers meeting, Smith talked about striking a grand bargain that would allow new pipelines to move ahead along with decarbonization initiatives, such as the carbon capture network proposed by the Pathways Alliance consortium of oilsands operators.
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Federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson voiced support in Calgary last month for the group's $16.5-billion carbon capture development in northern Alberta.
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'At the moment, that's 100 per cent cost,' Smith said of the capital expenses tied to the massive proposal.
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'If you couple it with a million barrel per day pipeline, well, that allows you $20 billion worth of revenue, year after year after year, for the lifetime of that project.'
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Pathways is a consortium of the country's largest oilsands operators, including Cenovus Energy and Canadian Natural Resources, and it's been working on the carbon capture proposal for several years.
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However, the group has said it needs more government assistance before giving the project the green light.
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'If we are going to undertake major projects like Pathways, there has to be clear and concrete financial support at both the federal and provincial levels. And we're hopeful we can eventually get there,' Cenovus Energy CEO Jon McKenzie said Tuesday.
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Canada's track record for getting major pipelines built is complicated, with only two of five major developments pitched in the past 15 years being built.
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However, the tariff war with the United States has demonstrated the need for Canada to be able to provide domestic energy security to all regions of the country and to diversify its customer base, as more than 90 per cent of Canadian oil and gas exports head south.
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Several recent polls have shown a majority of Canadians back new oil and gas pipelines in the wake of the trade war with the U.S.
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A new survey by Nanos Research, conducted last month for the University of Ottawa's Positive Energy research program, highlights the evolving attitudes around pipelines.
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The Positive Energy poll found 42 per cent of respondents believe there is more agreement today between Canadians about building oil and gas pipelines than five years ago. That's up sharply from 16 per cent in 2021.
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