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When premiers Doug Ford and Danielle Smith proposed the Northern Shield Energy Corridor, which would move 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta to Ontario, Ford said it would be \u201cabsolutely beautiful\u201d to see the pipeline extended to Saint John, N.B., which would open access to markets in Europe and beyond.<\/p>\n
A nationwide Canadian pipeline would do more than deliver oil. It would strengthen our independence and reinforce our sovereignty.The federal government needs to lead pipeline expansion to the East Coast just as it is leading pipeline expansion to the West Coast.<\/p>\n
The West Coast project, which Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney announced days before the Northern Shield proposal, will move Alberta oil to British Columbia and is being led by Trans Mountain Corp., a Crown corporation with a 90 per cent stake in the project.<\/p>\n
New Brunswick is poised to seize the opportunity of this nation-building project, and the timing has never been better.<\/p>\n
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt has already signalled her government\u2019s support for pipelines. \u201cWe\u2019re really interested in getting that kind of infrastructure from coast-to-coast-to-coast,\u201d she said at a first ministers conference in June. \u201cWe want to make sure all of Canada can benefit from its resources.\u201d<\/p>\n
The previous Energy East project, first proposed in 2011, would have built a pipeline to bring Alberta crude oil to Saint John. It enjoyed enthusiastic bipartisan support in both Alberta and New Brunswick, but it was abandoned in 2017, partly because of widespread opposition in Quebec, including the government of former premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault.<\/p>\n
But new Quebec Premier Christine Fr\u00e9chette, who was the provincial energy minister before becoming premier, indicated during her leadership campaign that because of geopolitical instability and economic uncertainty, she was willing to reconsider Quebec\u2019s position on energy issues.<\/p>\n
In addition to a Northern Shield pipeline extension from Ontario to New Brunswick, the same route should be used to extend the gas pipeline that currently ends at Levis, Que. This project, which was once the top national priority of Holt\u2019s New Brunswick Liberal government, would end the farcical practice of shipping Alberta gas to the Maritimes via the United States where its price skyrockets due to high transportation tolls.<\/p>\n
Since becoming premier, Fr\u00e9chette has met with New Brunswick\u2019s natural resources minister, John Herron, to discuss moving liquified natural gas (LNG) from Quebec City to Saint John for processing, a project that would require expansion of existing pipelines.<\/p>\n
For the Northern Shield Energy Corridor to meet the federal government\u2019s definition of a nation-building project, five requirements must be met, not least of which is that it must be \u201ca high priority for Indigenous leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith and Ford have both indicated that their provinces are consulting with Indigenous partners. For the pipeline to extend to Saint John, there needs to be meaningful consultation with First Nations, not just a cursory display of respect. Smith has suggested that First Nations could take an equity stake in the project, which may be a sign they are interested in the kind of true partnership necessary to move the project forward.<\/p>\n