Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta is close to a breakthrough on long-awaited pipeline projects that could expand oil and gas exports.But progress hinges on federal regulatory reforms and private-sector confidence.“We’ve been in active conversations with many pipeline companies,” Smith told reporters Tuesday afternoon at Heritage Park in Calgary.“I feel like we’re pretty close to having either one or a consortium come forward,” she said, adding she hopes to see that happen imminently.“I would hope that that would happen very soon, because we need to send a signal to Albertans very soon and test the new process the prime minister is putting forward.”“This can’t be a years-long process. That’s why we want to get underway very quickly.”.Smith, who has consistently called for Alberta to double its oil and gas production, linked the push for new infrastructure to broader economic and emissions goals.“We have been talking with all of the pipeline companies since I first got elected and said that we would like to double our oil and gas production as we seek ways to reduce emissions,” she said.She emphasized that while Alberta is willing to create the conditions for investment, it should not fall to taxpayers to fund new pipelines directly.“I’ve also (privately) said to the prime minister, as well as publicly, that if we have to get taxpayer dollars at the federal level to fund yet another pipeline, then that is a failure of the process. I think we failed at the exercise.”Smith said the goal is to foster an “investment climate where private sector partners will want to come forward.”That will require clear federal commitments to a two-year project approval window, and what she described as “a genuine commitment to get there.”The premier also stressed that any future project must include meaningful indigenous ownership.“I’ve also said with the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation, that’s our signal to First Nations, that we firmly believe that any major linear projects of this magnitude really do need to have indigenous equity stake.”.In terms of provincial support, Smith said Alberta’s role is to de-risk projects — not to replace private capital.“We don’t love getting involved in the private sector, and we do on occasion when we feel like there’s a need to de-risk a project,” she said.She pointed to Alberta’s Carbon Capture Incentive Program (ACCIP), which offers a refundable rebate on capital costs once projects are complete.“Once the project is built, we would then rebate 12% of the capital cost associated with that,” she said.Alberta is also looking at reforming how it uses industrial carbon tax revenues collected through the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program. The province has so far spent $1.8 billion on carbon capture, hydrogen, bitumen refining, geothermal , and small nuclear technology, among others.“But we’re thinking that that may be the way that we can support industries that invest in carbon capture — is recycling those revenues back to them. If they spend it on carbon abatement.”Smith noted that both Saskatchewan and Ontario already use this kind of revenue recycling to support emissions reduction technology.“That would be the way that, I think, we would be able to assist,” she said..She argued that the federal government, which collects far more revenue through higher personal and corporate income taxes, should take on a larger share of major infrastructure funding.“Because it is their policy that they want to pursue on an aggressive timeline, we feel that they would have to take on a larger share of the cost,” she said.Smith framed the potential returns on a new pipeline in stark terms: "If the project costs $10 billion to $20 billion, and then because of a new million-barrel-a-day pipeline, they’re able to get $20 billion a year in new resource revenues year after year after year. That’s a pretty good trade-off, I think, and that’s what we’re looking to do.”While the immediate focus is on securing a proponent, Smith made it clear that federal policy reform is also a critical prerequisite.“I’m dismayed, but not discouraged,” she said, referring to Ottawa’s inaction on environmental laws she says are obstructing major projects.“I know that, and (Prime Minister Mark Carney) knows, because I’ve mentioned it every week, he knows what the nine terrible laws are, and that we need to either have them repealed or substantially revised as a prerequisite to creating a climate that will allow the private sector to take on these major projects.”Smith said she’s willing to give Ottawa time, but not indefinitely.“He’s only been elected for two months. And so I understand how long it can take to put legislation together, which is why I can be patient for a few more months.”That timeline runs out in mid-September. “Session starts on September 15, so we’ll know in three months whether or not we’ve made some progress,” she said.
