Eby says it’s not B.C. blocking oil pipeline Alberta wants, it’s lack of money and proponent

By Wolfgang Depner The Canadian Press

Posted June 10, 2025 11:39 am

Updated June 10, 2025 8:52 pm

1 min read

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Click to play video: 'B.C. premier not backing pipeline proposed by Alberta’s premier' — Premier David Eby says he is not standing in the way of the proposed oil pipeline to the B.C. coast. The project is being proposed by Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith but Eby says he can't get behind a project that lacks an investor and sufficient support. Richard Zussman has more. – Jun 10, 2025

British Columbia Premier David Eby says it’s not him standing in the way of Alberta counterpart Danielle Smith’s longed-for oil pipeline from Alberta to B.C.’s north coast — it’s that there’s no proponent, no money and “no project right now.”

It’s Eby’s latest rebuff to the idea, coming after Smith said on Sunday she could convince him to allow such a pipeline.

Eby says that if Smith succeeds in finding a proponent and funding, and assembles a project, then B.C. “will certainly cross that bridge.”

But he says there are already “countless projects” that B.C. could work on with Alberta to create prosperity in Western Canada.

Click to play video: 'Can Canada really build another oil pipeline?'

1:54 Can Canada really build another oil pipeline?

Eby was speaking at a news conference on Monday from Seoul, South Korea, the final stop on a 10-day trade tour through Asia that has also included Japan and Malaysia.

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Asked about B.C.’s green light last week for a Prince Rupert gas pipeline, Eby said the province was not “in the business of turning away investments” — but wouldn’t speculate whether that applied to an oil pipeline from Alberta.