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OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney offered his clearest signal yet that his government could support a new oil pipeline, telling a Toronto business audience his government is “on top of the pipeline stuff.”
Carney made the comments Friday at the Canadian Club Toronto while promoting his first federal budget. It marks the strongest indication so far that Ottawa may be open to Alberta’s proposal for a new pipeline to the B.C. coast.
The remarks came as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she is working with Ottawa on a memorandum of understanding that could advance both a new bitumen pipeline and the Pathways Alliance carbon capture project.
Carney has faced pressure from industry groups and conservative critics to remove federal environmental laws they say block major projects. He has rejected those arguments, saying current rules still allow major energy developments to move forward.
The comments suggest a possible thaw in the long-frosty relationship between Ottawa and Alberta over energy policy, though any new pipeline would still face provincial and Indigenous approval hurdles.
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