Alberta executives skeptical private sector alone can fund proposed pipeline to BC coast

CALGARY — Several Alberta business leaders feel the proposed one million barrel-per-day crude oil pipeline to the BC coast could require significant taxpayer financing, despite insistence from Ottawa and Alberta that the project’s ultimate goal is to secure a private proponent.Speaking at the third annual Energy Connections Conference in Calgary on Wednesday, Deborah Yedlin, president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Gitane De Silva, founder and president of GDStrategic, and Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, were asked if the federal government should directly finance and build the pipeline as strategic national infrastructure, similar to Ottawa’s takeover of the Trans Mountain Corporation pipeline in 2018.Yedlin told the audience at the Calgary Petroleum Club she expected that the government would play a major role in reducing investor risk and uncertainty, even if the pipeline is not publicly owned outright.“It’s going to be an interesting financing structure,” she said.“I think [both the federal and provincial governments] will have to be very clear that they’re going to be part of the de-risking process. Then, we’ll see how the capital starts to come in to support the development of the pipeline.”She stated she remains optimistic that a pipeline will ultimately be built, but added she didn’t know if regulatory certainty exists for enough long-term oil sands production growth to justify the project economically.“We’re talking about a $30- to $40-billion price tag, but the capital we need to risk in the sector to fill it is about $100 billion,” Yedlin said.“Do we have the certainty that the producers need to increase production to fill the pipe? Not just a new pipe, but also the increased capacity of Enbridge and Trans Mountain Corporation. So that piece for me is still not quite as clear as it needs to be.”.The discussion comes days after Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Danielle Smith signed a massive energy agreement committing both governments to a target date of September 1, 2027, for construction approval on a BC coast oil pipeline and major changes to the industrial carbon tax system, which will see the levy increased to $130 per tonne by 2035.The new pipeline would represent one of the most significant new oil export corridor proposals since Northern Gateway pipeline cancellation.However, many oil and gas executives have stated any industrial carbon tax puts the industry at a disadvantage to the United States and other global competitors who do not implement a carbon tax.De Silva said some level of public financial involvement appears almost inevitable.“I think it’s highly unlikely that any pipeline goes forward without government money,” she said.“That can be direct funding, de-risking, indigenous loan guarantees. It can be through the Canada Infrastructure Bank [or] through Canadian pension funds. There's a whole bunch of public money out there, but I think it's very unlikely that it's entirely privately funded.”.Energy leaders say Ottawa-Alberta pipeline deal offers hope, not certainty .The Ottawa-Alberta agreement states the pipeline is expected to be privately financed with indigenous co-ownership, though both governments have indicated there is a possibility public entities could help facilitate investment and loan guarantees.The federal government already expanded its indigenous loan guarantee program to $10 billion in 2025, while Alberta’s Indigenous Opportunities Corporation was specifically created to support indigenous ownership stakes in major infrastructure projects such as pipelines and other energy projects.Legge told the audience another unanswered question is whether Canada would permit significant foreign ownership in the pipeline if both governments failed to secure a domestic proponent.“To what extent will we permit foreign investment to make significant positions in some of this trade infrastructure?” Legge asked.“Whether it is China, India, or Middle Eastern money — will we permit non-Canadian-based capital to come in, in a significant or even majority position? It’s unknown.”Currently, neither Ottawa nor Alberta has publicly identified a private-sector company prepared to take on the project.

Alberta executives skeptical private sector alone can fund proposed pipeline to BC coast

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