British Columbia Premier David Eby offered little support to Alberta's call to restart the cancelled Northern Gateway pipeline project during the Western Premiers Conference in Yellowknife on Thursday.While Eby did not directly reject Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's proposal, his careful wording suggested little enthusiasm for the idea."If Premier Smith is able to convince the federal government to build another pipeline through British Columbia, or a private proponent, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Eby during a joint press conference with Smith sitting next to him.Eby quickly shifted focus to areas where the provinces agree. He acknowledged Smith's goal of getting Alberta's heavy oil to coastal ports but emphasized his own priorities. "My priority is to decarbonize and drive our economy in British Columbia," Eby told reporters..Smith has been pushing hard to fast track the Northern Gateway project. Smith argues it offers the most direct route to ship Alberta oil to growing Asian markets through BC's northern coast.The original Northern Gateway plan would have carried Alberta oil through a pipeline to a deep water terminal in northwestern BC.From there, tankers would export the oil overseas. Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. proposed the project.Former prime minister Justin Trudeau killed Northern Gateway in late 2016. .This came one year after he banned crude oil tankers from BC’s north coast. The federal Liberals later made the tanker ban permanent through legislation.Eby expressed concerns about "opening up the pristine north coast to tanker traffic." He pointed to the new Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion (TMX) as an alternative that is not currently being fully utilized.The TMX pipeline, which ends in BC's Lower Mainland, has run at about 80% capacity since starting operations in May 2024, according to Canada Energy Regulator data.Industry experts note that oil pipelines typically operate below full capacity on purpose. This gives producers flexibility to redirect oil to different markets when needed..Despite the pipeline disagreement, Smith praised BC's northern coast as a potential export hub. She highlighted the Port of Prince Rupert's advantages for reaching Asian customers.Smith pointed out that products shipped from Prince Rupert arrive in Asia weeks sooner than those sent from US Gulf Coast ports.Enbridge remains cautious about reviving Northern Gateway and would need major policy changes before considering such a project again.The company wants clearer support from governments, faster regulations, and better indigenous participation programs before moving forward with any new pipeline to the coast.
