Premier Eby tells Carney it’s unacceptable B.C. has been cut out of pipeline talks

VICTORIA – British Columbia Premier David Eby says he told Prime Minister Mark Carney “how unacceptable” it was for Alberta and Saskatchewan to talk with the federal government about a potential pipeline without input from his province. 

Eby says such treatment would not happen to any other province, adding that he expects Ottawa to include B.C. and Coastal First Nations as full participants in any future talks.

The premier’s comments come as the federal government and Alberta are said to be finalizing a memorandum of understanding that could include a pipeline from Alberta to B.C.’s northern coast, along with exceptions to the ban of tankers off the coast. 

Eby declined to say what steps his government would take to stop such a pipeline, which he previously said could threaten thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in “real projects” that depend on consensus of First Nations. 

He says he is “not threatened by a project that doesn’t actually exist,” because it continues to lack a route and private-sector backer willing to put up money for a pipeline. 

Eby says the proposal from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is a “communication exercise” and he’ll reserve comment on the MOU until he has seen it.

Asked about Eby’s complaint, Federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson says the federal government will be talking to B.C. “in short order.” 

He says the province is the “beneficiary” of having more projects than anywhere else on Ottawa’s list of major projects under consideration for fast-tracking.

— With files from Nick Murray in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2025.