Upcoming Tory Motion Will Test Liberals’ Internal Division on Pipeline MOU

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during the Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner in Ottawa on Nov. 29, 2025. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby

News Analysis

The Conservatives say they will table a motion in the House of Commons next week asking whether MPs support an oil pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast and any “appropriate adjustment” to the oil tanker ban on B.C.’s north coast.

“We need a new pipeline to the pacific,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre posted on X Dec. 5. “Bring home jobs. Put Canada First.”

The motion, to be tabled Dec. 9, uses the language of the Nov. 27 memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between Ottawa and Alberta to ask for a “yes” or “no” answer on support for the agreement, which includes a proposal to build one or more oil pipelines from Alberta to the B.C. coast. The results could reveal potential fractures in support of the MOU within the Liberal Party, whose MPs have issued contradictory statements.

Following the signing of the MOU, former Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault resigned from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet as minister of culture and Canadian identity, saying he could not stay on due to environmental concerns regarding the agreement.

Although Guilbeault has stayed in the Liberal caucus, he has remained a vocal critic of his government’s MOU in media interviews, and has backed Green Party Leader Elizabeth May in her opposition to the agreement.

Mixed Messaging From BC Caucus

While the federal government and Alberta are supportive of the MOU, B.C. and coastal First Nations have strongly opposed it.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the MOU will move forward while “respecting Aboriginal and Treaty rights,” consulting with First Nations, and providing opportunities for indigenous co-ownership of energy projects. It also promises a “trilateral discussion” with B.C. to ensure the province benefits from a pipeline and is involved in the process.

The pipeline will help “make Canada an energy superpower” as well as growing its portfolio of export markets, according to Carney.

Energy Minister Tim Hodgson joined Carney in supporting the agreement, saying it represents an important step forward for Canada’s economy and geopolitical power.

“Together, Canada and Alberta will not only export critical energy to our customers, we will also support our allies, create hundreds of thousands of jobs here at home, and show that our energy sector can lead on a global stage,” Hodgson said in a Nov. 27 release.

However, the messaging from some Liberal MPs, especially those from B.C., have at times been contradictory with the public messaging of the Liberal government.

Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed, who represents Vancouver Granville, posted on X on Dec. 1 that a proposed pipeline requires First Nations’ “consent” to move forward. Although the Nov. 27 MOU talks about “consultation” and “co-ownership” with First Nations, it doesn’t mention “consent” as a necessary condition of moving forward with a pipeline project.

Liberal MP Gurbux Saini, representing the riding of Surrey, also said on Nov. 19 prior to the release of the MOU that a pipeline would require the consent of the B.C. government and First Nations to go forward, or else “there will be no pipeline.” In 2020, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling from a lower court, which held that B.C. has no legal right to regulate or limit oil shipments through the province, and that the issue falls within federal jurisdiction.

Liberal MP Will Greaves, representing Victoria, said prior to the release of the MOU that both he and his constituents are opposed to lifting the tanker ban.

“I have heard from my constituents on this today and for several months,” he said Nov. 19, according to the National Observer. “They, like me, are decisively not in support.”

Federal Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin has refused to state her position on a pipeline, saying Dec. 1 before the House of Commons environment committee that “it’s not for me to decide.”

“What’s important is for British Columbia and indigenous people to reach an agreement,” Dabrusin said.

The MOU

The MOU proposes the construction of one or more pipelines from Alberta to the B.C. coast should a private proponent come forward, and the rollback of several Trudeau-era regulations as well as a potential “adjustment” to the oil tanker ban. The first prospective pipeline would transport around 1 million barrels per day of bitumen to the B.C. coast, and would be paired with a carbon-capture system that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says would be funded through higher oil revenues.

An application to Ottawa’s Major Projects Office (MPO) is expected by July 1 of next year by the government of Alberta to pave the way for regulatory approvals for a proposed pipeline. If accepted by the MPO as a project of national importance, approval could come within two years.

The MOU also says Ottawa won’t implement its cap on oil and gas emissions or require Alberta to abide by the Clean Electricity Regulations, and will allow certain reforms to the Impact Assessment Act and give Alberta more decision-making power over its industrial carbon pricing system. Alberta agrees in return to charge at least $130 per tonne for its industrial carbon pricing and to reduce methane emissions by 75 percent from 2014 levels in the next 10 years.