Striking A “Grand Bargain”: Alberta’s Bold Pipeline Pitch a New Model For Nation-Building Energy Projects? – McMillan LLP
October 24, 2025
In a move that could reshape Canada’s energy infrastructure landscape, the Alberta government has announced its intention to act as proponent for a proposed crude oil pipeline to British Columbia’s northwest coast. This approach—government-led, industry-supported, and early-stage Indigenous-partnered—is a novel approach for energy infrastructure and bears resemblance to the collaborative frameworks of public-private partnerships often used in public infrastructure projects.
This development builds on the framework outlined in our recent bulletin, A New Blueprint For Nation-Building Projects: Canada’s Major Projects Office Takes Shape. That bulletin explored the federal government’s efforts to streamline approvals and coordinate nation-building infrastructure through the newly established Major Projects Office. Alberta’s pipeline initiative may be one of the first major tests of that framework in action.
