Carney says new oil pipeline proposal in Canada is highly important

7/7/2025 6:04

A new oil pipeline to the British

Columbia coast is highly likely to be included on a list of

projects deemed to be of national importance to the Canadian

government, Prime Minister Mark Carney told the Calgary Herald

newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.



"I would think given the scale of the economic opportunity,

the resources we have, the expertise we have, that it is highly,

highly likely that we will have an oil pipeline that is a

proposal for one of these projects of national interest," Carney

said in a Saturday interview.



The prime minister said that it would be up to the private

sector to make the proposal, rather than a "top-down approach"

from the government, saying "we want this, we want that."



Carney, who was attending the annual Calgary Stampede, also

said that he supported a proposed C$16.5 billion ($12.14

billion) carbon capture system for Alberta's oil sands to merit

a spot in the list of projects.



Carney's comments come weeks after Canada's Senate passed a

bill to fast-track approval for natural resource and

infrastructure projects. The bill speeds up approval of projects

deemed of national interest, potentially including mines and oil

pipelines, and eliminates some trade barriers between provinces.



Canada is the world's fourth largest oil exporter. The oil

and gas initiatives being put on the list come as Canada is

trying to wean itself from economic dependence on the United

States, where it sends some 75% of its exports.