CALGARY — Coal industry insiders are warning that efforts to ban future coal development in the Rocky Mountains could create uncertainty for investors, workers and Indigenous communities going forward.
The warning comes after country music singer Corb Lund announced his campaign to stop new coal mining in the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains has gathered enough signatures to meet the threshold required under Alberta’s Citizen Initiative Act, although campaign organizers have yet to reveal the exact number of signatures.
Roughly 178,000 valid signatures are required for the petition to proceed to the next steps of the process.
The Water Not Coal petition specifically identifies Northback Holdings' proposed Grassy Mountain steelmaking coal project and Valory Resources' proposed Blackstone metallurgical coal mine as projects of concern.
Both projects have yet to be fully approved by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER).
W. Brett Wilson, a prominent Canadian entrepreneur who has invested in Valory Resources, said he was surprised by reports the petition had gathered enough signatures but welcomed a broader public discussion about coal development.
Wilson also argued that much of the public debate around Lund’s petition has failed to distinguish between historical coal mining practices and modern steelmaking coal projects.
"Corb doesn't seem to know the difference between thermal coal and metallurgical coal," he said.
"Nor does he respect the fact that underground mining of coal is very different than open-pit mining.”
Wilson said modern mining technology, environmental monitoring and water management systems are significantly different from those used in past decades and should be evaluated through Alberta's regulatory process rather than broad industry-wide prohibitions.
Speaking to radio show host Courtney Theriault on Monday, Lund dismissed industry arguments that modern coal projects operate under stricter environmental standards than historic mines, and accused coal companies of spending heavily on public relations campaigns while downplaying long-term environmental risks.
"I respond to [the criticism] by saying it's a billionaire coal magnate, a billionaire coal baron who's spending a ton of money on PR and propaganda," Lund said.
Lund argued proposed projects such as the Grassy Mountain mine would be significantly larger than historical mining operations and maintained that promises of safe development should be viewed skeptically given the financial interests involved.
"On one side, you have a coal baron from Australia with a team of high-priced lawyers, a team of high-priced PR people who stand to make billions off this," he said.
"On the other side, you've got regular Albertans."
He also addressed a recent argument he and Wilson had on social media platform X, when Wilson had commented on a previous article from the Western Standard detailing the overlap between the Water Not Coal campaign, green groups such as the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) and an NDP-linked organizing agency, Point Blank Creative.
In the X post, Wilson wrote: “Clearly Corb can deny he is aligned with US funded environmental extremists and with the Alberta NDP — but he can’t really deny the facts — his anti-Alberta alignment is both aligned without science and logic — but keep on humming my friend — the tune used to sound so palpable but the strings are stretching.”
Lund confirmed to Theriault that Water Not Coal has used an “organizing agency that had also worked with the NDP” for “a couple months,” but said that did not make him an NDP supporter.
“I'm no more NDP than I am UCP,” he said.
“I have no affiliation to any of them. I haven't worked with any of the parties. It's all BS.”
He also took a shot at Wilson, saying he was “heavily invested in the Blackstone mine” and that was why Wilson had “come out of hiding to try to defame me.”
Wilson told the Western Standard the core problem around Lund’s campaign was that it has been amplified by environmental organizations and political groups he believes are opposed to resource development in Alberta.
He also questioned why environmental opposition has focused on proposed Alberta metallurgical coal projects such as Grassy Mountain while existing steelmaking coal operations continue to operate in Sparwood, BC — a short drive from the proposed Northback project — where existing coal mines employ thousands of people.
“Corb can say he's not funded by the green groups, but the people who help him are the same people that fund the green groups, so I call that an alignment,” Wilson said, adding that there seems to be a selective focus on Alberta coal projects while thermal coal operations elsewhere have attracted far less scrutiny.
“The green groups have gone after Alberta coal. Why have they gone silent on Saskatchewan coal, which is thermal coal that has the highest issue of CO2 emissions?” he asked.
He also called out Lund’s hypocrisy on the subject, saying the singer relied on steel produced using metallurgical coal.
"It allows Corb to get spurs and bits for his horses, get his steel for his chain-link fence, get steel for his rodeos,” Wilson said.
“He needs it.”
Wilson isn’t the only one who disagrees with Lund’s stance.
Rina Blacklaws, vice-president of industry development for the Coal Association of Canada (CAC), also told the Western Standard that Lund’s campaign was seeking to prohibit entire projects before they had completed regulatory review, a move that could undermine confidence in Alberta's resource sector.
“It creates a lot of uncertainty,” Blacklaws said.
“It creates uncertainty for our province, it creates uncertainty for investors, and of course, it creates uncertainty for the workers and the communities and the Indigenous partners. Canada should be a country where projects are assessed through clear regulatory processes that are grounded in evidence.”
Blacklaws said the continued global demand for steelmaking coal remains strong and that Canada's environmental standards are seen by some investors as a competitive advantage.
"Given what's going on globally, we do need to continue to provide this," she said.
"Investors and purchasers of this critical mineral are looking at Canada because they understand that this is a country where we produce it responsibly."
She also rejected suggestions that support for coal development is incompatible with protecting Alberta's water resources.
"We very much understand and respect that Albertans care deeply about the water and the future of the Eastern Slopes, and so do we," she said.
"Protecting the water is not optional in modern resource development. Alberta can responsibly protect the water while continuing to support jobs and communities and the critical steelmaking feedstock needed to build modern infrastructure and economies.”
