Prime Minister Mark Carney is rolling out his government’s new list of so-called “major projects of national importance.” LNG plants, copper mines, modular nuclear reactors, and even a high-speed rail corridor between Toronto and Quebec City make the cut. One thing that doesn’t is a single new oil pipeline.That’s not just an omission. It’s a deliberate political statement. And it could deepen Canada’s growing unity crisis.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been crystal clear. She laid down nine core demands, giving Ottawa six months to act. These aren’t radical ideas. They’re about fairness, jobs, and national prosperity..EDITORIAL: Alberta teachers union selfishly puts itself before students.She wants guarantees on oil and gas corridors to the north, east, and west. She wants the repeal of Bill C-69 — the so-called “no more pipelines act” that has choked investment. She insists the federal emissions cap be scrapped because it’s really a production cap in disguise. She’s calling for an end to the Clean Electricity Regulations, the BC tanker ban, and the plastics ban. She wants Ottawa to stop micromanaging carbon taxes, vehicle sales, and even how energy companies communicate with the public.In other words, she’s defending the sector that pays Canada’s bills. Without energy royalties, equalization transfers dry up. Without pipelines, we remain landlocked while the United States, our biggest customer, is turning into our biggest competitor..Now compare Smith’s list to Ottawa’s new “major projects.” Phase two of LNG Canada? Fine. The Darlington nuclear project? Sure. Container terminals and copper mines? All well and good. But where is the pipeline that could get Alberta’s oil and gas to tidewater? Where is the project that would give this country real leverage in global markets, instead of surrendering the field to OPEC and Washington?Ottawa talks about an “Arctic corridor” and “carbon capture” in Alberta. But these are distractions. Pipelines remain the most direct, efficient, and secure way to get resources to market. Yet they’re absent from the list. The message is clear: oil and gas are being sidelined, no matter how many billions in revenue they generate..EDITORIAL: When Carney says 'Buy Canadian', he isn't talking about the West.The International Energy Agency (IEA) itself acknowledges that global demand for oil and gas will remain strong for decades to come in an IEA report. China and India aren’t shutting down fossil fuels. The United States isn’t capping production — it’s breaking records. And yet Canada, sitting on the third-largest reserves in the world, is being told by its own government to keep it in the ground.Smith has warned about equalization, about Ottawa’s mismanagement of Jasper and Banff, about export taxes that could cripple our trade with the US. Carney’s project list doesn’t address any of these. Instead, Ottawa is busy building a Toronto to Quebec rail line. That may excite Bay Street, but it does nothing for the workers in Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, or Estevan..This is bigger than a policy disagreement. It’s about who gets to define Canada’s future. Smith is saying: respect the West, respect the industries that built this country, or risk a national unity crisis. Carney is saying: trust Ottawa, forget pipelines, and settle for symbolic projects.That choice should worry every Canadian. If Alberta’s energy wealth continues to be blocked, the entire federation suffers. If Saskatchewan’s potash and copper are treated as afterthoughts, we’ll keep bleeding investment south of the border..EDITORIAL: The assassination of Charlie Kirk: The Left’s war on dissent.Canada needs pipelines. Not tomorrow, not in some hypothetical “phase three” of Carney’s list. Now. Because while Ottawa dithers, capital is leaving, jobs are vanishing, and confidence in Confederation is eroding.Smith has laid down her marker. Carney has laid down his. The question is whether Canadians outside the Laurentian bubble will finally recognize what’s missing and what’s at stake.
