‘Borderline friendly’: Premiers of Alberta and B.C. meet with Carney, talk pipeline

OTTAWA, ON — The potential pipeline to the West Coast was one of multiple topics discussed Wednesday by the leaders of B.C., Alberta and Canada in what was described as a “borderline friendly” meeting.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith met with her B.C. counterpart David Eby and Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa.

The pipeline has the been the focus of sharp debate between Eby and Smith in recent months, but Eby told reporters Wednesday that “the tone was very civil in the meeting and borderline friendly.”

Eby has criticized the project and Smith’s urgency for it as being premature given that no private company has stepped up to finance it and no route has been nailed down.

Eby said he looked forward to hearing more from Alberta as work progresses, noting a commitment from Smith on Wednesday to keep him “in the loop,” but he said he wasn’t planning to enter into any negotiations about the project.

“It is (Alberta’s) responsibility. It’s their baby,” Eby said.

“They’re bringing it forward, they’re proposing it, they’re working with the federal government. They’re going to do that.”

Eby also reiterated concerns about a new pipeline, including his opposition to lifting the West Coast tanker ban and the damage such a project could have on relationships with First Nations.

But he said he recognized that Carney had the ultimate “constitutional authority” over a new pipeline and he understood the prime minister was committed to building it as part of the major energy deal Carney reached with Smith late last year.

“The goal here is to respect each other’s differences and move forward as best as possible,” Eby said.

“Premier Smith knows, absolutely, my position. I know hers. And we aren’t letting that interfere with our ability to work together on areas of shared interest.”

Smith told reporters after the meeting in Ottawa that the pipeline wasn’t the only topic of conversation, saying the three also spoke about electrical interties between B.C. and Alberta, nuclear energy and a possible expansion to the existing bitumen pipeline to the West Coast.

She didn’t say if she and Eby were close to reaching an understanding or agreement on the pipeline her government’s doing the groundwork for, but said there’s a lot of work still to be done before it’s submitted to Ottawa’s major projects office for potential fast-tracking.

“We’ve got some work to do, of course, and consulting with First Nations, but we’ve pledged to keep the premier in the loop as those conversations go on,” Smith said.

Carney said on social media that he had good conversations with both Smith and Eby on Wednesday and that the three leaders were committed to building a stronger economy for Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published January 28th, 2026.

— By Jack Farrell in Edmonton

The Canadian Press