AtkinsRéalis Canada president says Quebec mentality around pipelines changing

CALGARY – The head of AtkinsRéalis Group Inc.’s Canadian division is expressing optimism that Quebec would be receptive to a new pipeline through a province that staunchly opposed the now-defunct Energy East proposal about a decade ago.   

“The mentality is changing,” Stéphanie Vaillancourt told a business audience in Calgary on Thursday.   

“It’s important to talk about it much more…We are very lucky as Canadians to have so much natural resources.”

AtkinsRéalis, the Montreal-based engineering giant formerly known as SNC Lavalin, is among the firms the Ontario government has tabbed to conduct a feasibility study into a new west-to-east pipeline and energy corridor. 

The study into a pipeline’s potential location and cost is to be completed next year. 

Energy East, proposed by the company now known as TC Energy Corp. in 2013, aimed to deliver Alberta crude to eastern refineries, and to export terminals in Quebec and New Brunswick. It faced fierce environmental opposition and the company nixed the project in 2017. 

Quebec Premier François Legault has said recently his Coalition Avenir Québec government would be open to a similar proposal. 

In February, Legault suggested U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats could weaken Quebecers’ opposition to a pipeline he has previously said would carry “dirty energy” from Alberta’s oilsands.   

In an onstage discussion Thursday, Calgary Chamber of Commerce chief executive Deborah Yedlin pressed Vaillancourt on whether that more receptive attitude would still exist if Legault’s CAQ party loses next year’s election. 

Vaillancourt said the provincial Liberals, who she suspects would win, are an “economy-first” party and would understand that “we are a big part of Canada” and “we need to use our natural resources.” 

The president for liquids pipelines at crude shipping giant Enbridge Inc. said last week that it makes sense to pursue pipelines to the south and West Coast before looking east. 

“If you’re moving oil on water, you want to get to water relatively quickly,” Colin Gruending told reporters, noting the shorter distance from Alberta to Pacific waters versus the Atlantic.

“Pipelines are environmentally contentious and expensive to build on land.”

Enbridge is making southbound pipelines a priority, boosting capacity on its existing Canadian and U.S. networks to send more crude to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Meanwhile, the Alberta government is pursuing a proposal to the northern B.C. coast and expansions are in the works for the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Vancouver area. 

Also Thursday, Vaillancourt said rail, defence and nuclear projects are priorities for her company and she’s hopeful the new federal Major Projects Office will foster more certainty around regulatory timelines. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 20, 2025.

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