It’s been a relatively quiet decade in the Alberta oilsands, but the federal and provincial governments believe a new West Coast pipeline coupled with policy shifts might help turn up the volume.
Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Fort McMurray, Alta., this week to announce the first proposal to be deemed in the national interest under legislation passed last year: the million-barrel-per-day Pacific Link pipeline from Alberta to a tanker export terminal in southern B.C.
The designation means the proposal will be subject to a streamlined review process, shepherded by the Calgary-based major projects office.
The pipeline’s economic fate hinges on oilsands companies being willing to spend on expanding their output.
At a news conference, Carney was asked whether he expected a return to boom times in the northeastern Alberta oilsands hub city.
“I wouldn’t use the term ‘boom,'” he replied.
“I would use ‘sustained growth.'”
The last oil boom from the mid-2000s to mid-2010s came with the side-effects of cost inflation, labour scarcity and housing shortages. Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith say that if oilsands companies start building again — as they hope — it will be different this time around.
Oilsands companies have for years shied away from the multibillion-dollar megaprojects of more than a decade ago.
The last mine to be built from scratch was Fort Hills, operated by Suncor Energy Inc.
From when it got the final go-ahead decision in 2013 to its startup in 2018, its cost ballooned to more than $17 billion from $13.5 billion.
Lately, instead of so-called “green field” projects, companies have opted to instead tweak their existing operations to squeeze out more bitumen or add to their existing footprints.
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Executives have cited a dearth of pipeline capacity, a convoluted regulatory regime and onerous environmental regulations for the chill on large-scale growth projects.
But also around the time investment fell off a decade ago, global crude prices cratered amid a supply glut and didn’t have much of a chance to recover before the COVID-19 pandemic virtually obliterated demand.
Fast forward to 2026, and the Mideast war has laid bare the vulnerability of global energy supply chains and left countries clamouring for stable providers.
A host of Trudeau-era energy policies loathed by oilpatch players have been undone and Pacific Link has taken a big step forward to becoming a reality, potentially enabling more oilsands crude to reach lucrative Asian markets.
“We learned lessons from the past in building infrastructure,” Carney told reporters on Thursday. He said local mayors are thinking ahead for what their communities need and early participation from First Nations leaders means “a much broader spread of the economic benefits.”
He also cited “another phase of technical innovation” in the industry that didn’t exist previously.
At the news conference, Smith noted the autonomous oilsands haul trucks in the backdrop.
Previously, human drivers for those gargantuan vehicles would have received six-figure salaries and might have been flown in and out of the site from elsewhere in Canada, living in work camps, for a week or two at a time.
“(Companies) have managed to find a way to increase production without having the kind of dramatic pressure that we saw in the past of a large number of people moving here, not able to find homes,” Smith said.
The premier said she’s also talked to local municipal leaders about the bridge and road infrastructure that might be needed if production ramps up.
She mentioned upgrades to Highway 881, a road to the east of the main Highway 63 route north, that winds through several steam-driven oilsands sites south of Fort McMurray.
“There’s lots of ways that we can partner with the federal government to make sure those key infrastructure projects get built, so we build on a pace that allows us to keep up,” she said.
Andrew Botterill, who leads Deloitte Canada’s oil, gas and chemicals practice, said the Alberta oilpatch has matured since the last boom.
“What we have is a more efficient, far more aligned group of producers up there than maybe what it was 10, 15 years ago,” he said.
“They’ve come together as an alliance and really recognize that ‘We’ve got to share labour, we’ve got to be less competitive, we’ve got to find ways that we can do things together and not just drive up costs.'”
Oilsands properties are also concentrated in fewer hands than had been the case a decade or more ago.
Erstwhile producers including Husky and MEG Energy have been bought out and international players like Shell and Total have exited or sharply reduced their holdings.
Lance Mortlock, managing partner at EY Canada, flagged a bigger-picture concern over the availability of workers with multiple major projects in the works — not just the Pacific Link pipeline and new oilsands projects, but potentially mines, transmission lines and hydro dams.
“We’re going to need tens of thousands of workers across the country to build this stuff: engineers, professionals, welders, pipe fitters. I’m not sure where all these people are going to come from if we do half the projects that we have the desire to construct,” he said.
“So I’m hoping that there’s going to be more conversation about the workforce and more conversation about how do we sequence these things so we optimize the system from a labour force perspective?”
Even trudo gave us a pipeline.
Liberals are looking better and better. F.ck pee poli.
I am no more conservative supporter.
Freedumb.
Nothing will ever get built. All red tape. This is just useless talk from our useless PM. All double speak and only fools don’t see it. Bye bye Ottawa.
Yes, “Canada” will be ready, unlike before, when Liberals were running the show.
The new Keystone XL pipeline south to the US would be a much faster build. Send Carney back to England!
Charlie brown is Alberta, Lucy is Carney and the liberals and the football is the pipeline. WEXIT ASAP.
Just empty talks !
And I THINK that ALBERTA has missed the boat completely all thanks to our 12 years of rule by the DICTATOR Trudeau and his left handed henchman Guilbuealt holding back Alberta’s oil and gas industry same as Ontario and Quebec who decided that they did NOT want to help Alberta become more financially secure so we could continue to support all the HAVE NOT provinces like QUEBEC by letting our pipeline through their provinces. If I had the opportunity to say NO to anything they wanted from Alberta now I would tell them to get lost, they had their chance, they blew it (I would cancel all equalization payments ASAP during oil and gas crashes that is for sure).
Yawn. Liberals are dumb, useless people obsessed with what people think about them.
The new Keystone XL pipeline south to the US would be a much faster build. The pipe is already in the ground on the Canadian side of the border. Doesn’t need anymore Canadian approvals. Why don’t you get this one built first Carney?
You can’t please everybody — and this pipeline debate makes that obvious. Some people see Pacific Link as progress, others treat it like a disaster, and a few just want to fight for the sake of fighting. But constant division doesn’t build prosperity. Unity and shared purpose do. Canada moves forward when we stop splintering into individual outrage and start working together.
Ottawa isn’t operating under the old anti pipeline framework anymore. Carney’s government has reversed several Trudeau era policies and declared Pacific Link a national interest project. That’s a major policy pivot.
Tariff pressure from the U.S. makes this unavoidable. Canada needs diversified export routes or we end up economically dependent on one buyer during a trade war. Pipelines aren’t optional — they’re strategic.
And while environmental goals matter, Canada can’t change global climate outcomes alone. We need policies that balance emissions targets with economic security. The last decade of symbolic eco spending didn’t reduce global emissions, but it did weaken our infrastructure.
Right now Alberta has more influence inside Canada than it ever would trying to negotiate pipeline access as a separate country. The political reality has shifted — some folks just haven’t noticed.
Really Carney. You hate the industry but have suddenly discovered how bad your options are. Just another year of consultation to find out if that pipeline can be built 3 or 4 years from now… assuming there isn’t a mile long line up of lawsuits because of the regulatory nightmare you refuse to address
No more new plants being built up there.
Booms no more.
Too little, too late.
Canada is dead. Thank a liberal voter
The posionous, tar sands oil has to be banned from beautiful British Columbia. It is a hazardous material. Remember the Nathan E. Stewart.
Chased away business and left crippling taxes, have no way to get any oil ANYWHERE…How are they thinking anyone is “ready”?
The usual negative Carney/Pipeline comments. Think positive for a change. Who else would you like to lead the Country? What projects would you promote?
Carney has not removed the tanker ban. Carney has not promised an all in Canada trans-Canada pipeline. One for oil and one for Natural Gas. Carney is pushing to give money to natives to slow down the process.
(if we quit paying Chief and Councils to attend meetings in the city, and start charging them to host consultations on their reserve, I wonder if they would still want to pay to have consultations?)
How long will it take to build these pipelines? The existing infrastructure is already maxed out. – how are we ready if we cannot get the oil and gas to market for several years, and never with the Liberal anti-oil and gas mentality.
I see the CBC is reporting the new LNG pipeline is to be built with Chinese steel. Ahh, the hypocrisy of our friends on the coast. Natural gas pipelines good, oil pipelines bad.
Floating bomb LNG carriers good, leaky oil tankers bad.
What country did they source their new ferries from?
Notice the liberal haters are out in full force. It’s like beating a dead horse. Yada, yada, yada. Waaaa
This time they also show use proper cost overruns are created. Maybe even exceed Trans Mountain.
This time the federal government will maintain total control to ensure it is not to beneficial to the country. That most profit go to them and the Indians. They may throw some shackles to the rest of us if we behave.
Daniel Smith’s jaw must be sore after sucking Carney’s C0CK
All you elbows up are idiots . You all take take it in the azz
Alberta does not need another pipeline to enrich Canada. It needs INDEPENDENCE…
Notice how they don’t call it the tarsands anymore?
Clap Clap What A Joke…WE ALL HATE YOU DANIELLE SMITH…YOU MAKE ALBERTA SICK…CAN’T WAIT TO YOU AND TRUMP ARE GONE
He’s bloody bonkers this Mark Carney fellow,isn’t he.And what is with all of this Elbows Up sillyness? Only a madman would dabble in such lunacy.
They don’t care about the environment. The way they fix it is just tax it .ramp up production. Pump it under ground . Flood the country with immigrants in a subartic climate. Them more resources to heat all them houses
BUT THE ENVIRONMENT THE OZONE LAYER IS ALMOST GONE,,,,NEW YORK UNDER 3 METERS OF SEA
Send the 4 billion barrels going to USA first, and add premium price not discounted price just to sell Alberta’s oil to a customer who do not respect us.
Lack of private sector partner in the past yada yada yada.
Who said they want our oil? Specifically….this is all speculation. Inviting yourself to the party. Cart before the horse. All theory.
Libs held back our resource sector for a decade via lack of incentives and thanks to carbon taxes pushed for by Carney via Trudeau.
Sure Carney. To be ready we will need pipelines in many directions. Again, to date not one project has been approved . Talk is cheap
Corn hole thinks it’s a slam dunk. Elbows up!!……. move now alberta won’t separate lol
“lucrative Asian markets” such as CHINA.
“early participation from First *Uncivilized* Nations leaders means “a much broader spread of the economic benefits.” = robbing the tax payers putting up money for this pipeline and giving free “economic benefit” handouts to those who don’t pay taxes for these projects, and who already get billions
SHE GOTTA BE PLOISHING HIS BELL PEPPER KNOB , TO GET THIS SPECIAL TREATMENT !!! HE’S ALWEAYS GOT A S H I T EATING GRIN AFTER MEETING WITH HER