James Moore: Carney’s pipeline hesitation reveals limits of his ‘nation-building’ vision

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is urging Mark Carney’s government to approve a new oil pipeline if it is truly committed to ‘becoming an energy superpower.’

James Moore is a former federal cabinet minister under prime minister Stephen Harper, and a columnist for CTVNews.ca.

Recently I reconnected with a high school friend of mine who I long ago lost touch with. Turns out, about 15 years ago, Dave moved from Coquitlam, B.C. to go work in the energy sector in Alberta.

He was always a builder. He is the guy who aced every woodshop project and metal works project in high school and fixed cars on weekends. It made sense for him to take his skillset to Alberta and find opportunities there.

The other day I was scanning his social media profile and saw proud picture after proud picture of him in the field as an oil and gas drilling contractor. There’s one picture of him teaching colleagues on how to use new equipment with the caption: “teaching this roughneck to rig.”

Turns out, not everything has been so rosy along his journey. He works incredibly long hours on some of the most powerful and technically complicated equipment there is in the field. He typically goes to work in the dark, puts in a very long day, and drives back home from work in the dark; filthy and exhausted, but very proud of what he does for a living. Guys like Dave are the backbone of the Alberta economy from which all Canadians benefit enormously, whether they know it or not.

A few years ago, Dave lost two fingers and about a third of his right hand in a workplace accident. It was incredibly tough on him for all the reasons you might imagine. But after he got the ‘OK’ from his doctors, his employer found a new and appropriate role for him, and he returned to the workplace where he continues his tough and proud work every day.

I tell this story because I think about Dave (and the thousands of Daves) who work in the energy sector in Alberta often, particularly when pipeline politics floods our headlines as it has the past couple of weeks.

Back on Oct. 1, Premier Danielle Smith announced that Alberta is committing $14 million towards a revitalized pipeline to the northwest coast of B.C. The money and consultations announced is to plan and research a possible route and possibly submit an application to Prime Minister Carney’s new Major Projects Office sometime in the spring of 2026.

If you think this sounds unserious in actually building a pipeline, you’d be correct. But she is trying to make three serious points.

First, she is trying to give Albertans -- and the Daves of the energy sector -- some hope that bigger opportunities are ahead and that Canada works.

Second, she said at her press conference: “We won’t see a (private sector) proponent until we get our (federal) laws fixed, so we are prepared to be the proponent to get it to that point.” So, she’s trying to lure curious and serious investment to the table sometime down the line.

Fine. But third, she’s trying to smoke out Prime Minister Carney and his promise to “build baby, build.” She wants to see -- once and for all -- whether or not he will be a leader on the ‘yes’ side of building a pipeline or if he merely prefers to be seen to be in favour of energy exports without actually getting any new capacity built.

At a press conference on Friday, Prime Minister Carney was asked by CTV News’ Rachel Aiello: “Do you believe Canada should have another pipeline to the West Coast?” A perfectly tight and clear question.

Prime Minister Carney replied: “This government believes in nation building projects in both clean and conventional energy. Those projects have several characteristics: material economic benefits, linking together different parts of our economy, consistency with our climate objectives and benefits and participation for indigenous people. So those elements coming together can come together in a pipeline to the West Coast - depends on the specific proposals, depends on all those elements and this government will engage with proposals that have a possibility or prospect of achieving those.”

Clearly not a coded yes answer to the question. In fact, this barely qualifies as a maybe -- muddled in the cringey Trudeau-ish aspirational jargon that we have become too familiar with.

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In watching the press conference, I couldn’t help but contrast the obfuscation in the response above with the prime minister’s firm and direct clarity when he announced his first tranche of five major projects back on Sept. 11. In that press conference, the prime minister was commanding and unequivocal in his support for those projects. He went into detail on LNG Canada’s Phase 2 proposal in Kitimat; why it made sense, how it will contribute to Canada’s economy and well-being.

He is a substantive and detailed prime minister who clearly decided that he wants those projects and will fight for their successful completion and that he’s willing to risk some political capital to see them through.

I imagine we will see the same rhetorical and thus political commitment on the second bundle of projects when they are announced near the Grey Cup. This is good. But it clearly contrasts with the prime minister’s unwillingness to commit to a new pipeline in Canada.

If the prime minister really wanted to see a pipeline built, he would work to see one built. He would make the commitment with the tools at his disposal. He has Bill C-5, the “One Canadian Economy Act,” as well as clear court rulings affirming federal jurisdiction over international and interprovincial commerce. He could make the necessary and known changes to Trudeau-era regulations on the energy sector, and he could lift the ban on Canadian inbound and outbound tankers while making vessel passage the safest in the world through modern technology and navigation.

He could pursue thorough Indigenous engagement and private sector proponents -- all underpinned by sound economics and collaboration. These are the policy and political moves needed to build a new pipeline, and it can be done.

However, it requires an all-in leadership commitment by the prime minister because while it is easy to say, it is extremely difficult to achieve. It would require massive political risk for a Liberal prime minister and with his progressive voting base, and it would involve superb and unwavering leadership.

It can be done -- or at least it can be attempted. But it is clear to me that there will be no attempt by this government. It will not happen. And the Daves of Alberta will likely keep climbing into their trucks, day after day after long day, increasingly frustrated by endless rhetorical politics in the face of their daily sacrifices that benefit all Canadians.

More from James Moore:

• Canada Post, leadership and tough choices
• Carney’s ambitious ‘major projects’ is what Canada needs, but come with big risks
• The astonishing collapse of the NDP