Alberta and Ottawa have signed a sweeping new energy accord that Premier Danielle Smith says marks a “new starting point for nation building,” including a pledge from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to shelve its oil and gas emissions cap, suspend clean power rules, and back a major indigenous-owned pipeline to get oil to Asian markets.The agreement, signed Thursday, clears the way for a privately financed, indigenous co-owned bitumen pipeline capable of moving more than one million barrels per day to a deep-water port on the Pacific coast. Ottawa formally declared the project to be in the national interest, while also signalling it will adjust the tanker ban to allow Alberta’s oil to reach Asia. The line would come on top of the Trans Mountain expansion’s additional 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day."It's a great day for Alberta and a great day for Canada," said Carney..HANNAFORD: Ottawa finally backs Alberta oil — but at what cost?.The deal promises major regulatory changes aimed at reducing uncertainty that industry groups say has crippled competitiveness and stalled projects. In return, both governments agreed to long-term carbon tax rules under Alberta’s TIER system, methane reduction targets of 75% by 2035, and support for the Pathways Alliance to build what they describe as the world’s largest carbon capture, utilization and storage project.Smith called the agreement Alberta’s “moment of opportunity” to prove that resource development and environmental improvement can advance together. “I think that's going to cause a lot of really interesting conversations now that they've seen the structure of this agreement,” Smith said.“We'll know in the coming weeks and months about final investment decisions. But I've been encouraged to see that even with the announcement in the budget that they were looking at not implementing the emissions cap... You've seen Enbridge talk about 400,000 barrels a day on their main line, and they want to expand. TMX has talked about an additional 400,000 barrels per day they want to optimize.”Carney’s government, for its part, committed to not implementing the federal emissions cap — a move industry leaders celebrated as a green light for major growth. Alberta is now targeting daily oil production of six million barrels by 2030 and eight million by 2035.The new accord also includes an immediate suspension of the Clean Electricity Regulations in Alberta, a step Alberta argues is essential to stabilizing the grid and enabling thousands of megawatts of AI computing development, including sovereign computing capacity for Canada and its allies.A centrepiece of the agreement is fast-tracking Pathways Plus, touted as the world’s largest carbon-capture, utilization and storage project. Ottawa and Alberta say it will cut emissions, add more than $16 billion to GDP, and support over 40,000 jobs each year..Oil and gas industry leaders 'skeptically optimistic' on Carney-Smith energy accord.Indigenous leaders welcomed the framework, with Alexander First Nation Chief George Arcand Jr saying the pipeline represents a chance to build lasting economic partnerships and ensure communities have “substantial benefit” from major projects. Consultations with First Nations and the Government of British Columbia will begin immediately, both governments said.“What this agreement shows is that we're going to work collaboratively to work towards a bitumen pipeline to Asian markets on the West Coast… We're beginning with a spirit of goodwill... I think that we will find, over time, that there are many nations who are also interested in these kinds of projects so they can bring prosperity to their people," Smith said.She addressed questions about British Columbia’s role in the process, saying there has to be trilateral discussions with Premier Eby's government to find common ground.“Some projects in British Columbia may have started off with a lot of opposition, that over time, have got a lot of enthusiasm,” Smith stated.“You have to prove that you're listening and prove that you are being genuine in the consultation, and in addressing the environmental and other issues that are raised. That's what we intend to do.”Business groups applauded the rollback of federal restrictions. The Explorers and Producers Association of Canada said the deal shows Canada is ready to address “regulations and policy that are impacting competitiveness and spending,” while the Business Council of Alberta called the end of the emissions cap a victory for production, jobs and prosperity..Carney and Smith set to announce new energy deal on Thursday despite Eby's concerns.However, the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI) said the signing of the MOU is a good first step but the proposed pipeline could be dead on arrival without Eby's assent.“This marks a clear change to Ottawa’s long-standing hostility to pipelines, and is a significant step for Canadian energy,” Gabriel Giguère, senior policy analyst at the MEI said.“However, Premier Eby seems adamant that he’ll reject any such project, so unless he decides not to use his veto, a new pipeline will remain a pipedream.Giguère also pointed out that a broader issue remains unaddressed which is investors continuing to view Canada as a high-risk environment due to federal policies such as the Impact Assessment Act.“Even if the regulatory conditions improve for one project, what is Ottawa doing about the long-term uncertainty that is plaguing future projects in most sectors?” he asked.“This does not address the underlying reason Carney has to fast-track projects piecemeal in the first place.”Both Alberta and Ottawa said the agreement will help Canada grow oil and gas production, expand AI and associated industries, strengthen national security, and cut emissions intensity through CCUS, nuclear power and other emerging technologies.The Pathways Alliance said it looks forward to finalizing details, calling the accord a sign Canada is serious about becoming an energy superpower.The Canadian Taxpayers Association warns of carbon tax hits."Hidden carbon taxes will make it harder for Canadian businesses to compete and will push Canadian entrepreneurs to shift production south of the border," said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano."Politicians should not be forcing carbon taxes on Canadians with the hope that maybe one day we will get a major project built. Politicians should be scrapping all carbon taxes.""It doesn’t matter what politicians label their carbon taxes, all carbon taxes make life more expensive and don’t work."
