Definitive approval for a new pipeline from Canada's oil region in Alberta to the Pacific coast could come next year, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday, announcing progress on a signature project.
Carney has put reducing economic dependence on the United States at the center of his agenda. Exporting more energy products overseas is a crucial plank of his strategy.
Speaking in Alberta's oil hub of Fort McMurray, Carney said the proposed new pipeline, now dubbed Pacific Link, was the first initiative to be classified as being of "national interest" by his government's Major Projects Office.
Carney launched that office after taking power last year, promising to cut the red tape and bureaucratic delays that the private sector had said made Canada a difficult place to invest.
His support for a new pipeline has caused controversy, triggering furious reactions from environmental groups and the resignation of a cabinet member who had been among the leading climate advocates in Carney's Liberal Party.
But Carney said Thursday that "a pipeline to the West Coast is part of our mission to transform our economy to double our non-US exports over the next decade."
{{/usCountry}}But Carney said Thursday that "a pipeline to the West Coast is part of our mission to transform our economy to double our non-US exports over the next decade."
{{/usCountry}}The project will create "hundreds of thousands of good jobs" and "unlock the full potential of Canada as a global energy superpower," he said alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Carney said his Major Projects Office aims to finalize details for the pipeline by September 1 of next year.
The announcement came less than three weeks before Albertans vote in a non-binding referendum on whether they support separation from Canada.
Separatist leaders have cited a lack of investment in the oil industry because of environmental concerns as a major grievance, accusing former prime minister Justin Trudeau of stifling the provincial economy.
Asked about the upcoming referendum and his message to separatist sympathizers, Carney said progress toward the pipeline shows that "Canada works."
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