Canada’s unity test: Alberta pipeline pact signals a new energy path

Ottawa and Alberta signed a pact to fast-track a pipeline carrying more than 1 million barrels of oil per day to Pacific markets, a move the prime minister casts as proof of a “Canada that works” amid western alienation and a shift toward diversifying exports beyond the United States. The plan hinges on federal approval by October after Indigenous consultations and BC talks, a new emissions framework for Alberta’s oil-and-gas sector, and a carbon-capture hub; construction could begin in 2027 with first oil to a BC port by 2033–34, likely followed by private-sector ownership.