The president of the Coastal First Nations in British Columbia says the signing of a memorandum of understanding by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on an proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast “does nothing” to increase the chances it will happen.
Marilyn Slett says in a statement that a tanker ban on the north coast “is not up for negotiation,” and the First Nations “will never tolerate any exemptions or carveouts, period.”
She also says the nations have “zero interest” in co-owning or benefiting from a project she says has the potential to destroy their way of life, citing the risk of a catastrophic oil spill.
British Columbia’s Energy Minister, Adrian Dix, says Canada needs to focus on “real projects” in contrast to “performative politics” after the signing of the deal.
Dix says a “Team Canada” approach should embrace projects that are creating jobs and unlocking financial opportunities, as opposed to “MOUs on projects that don’t exist.”
The memorandum of understanding inked by Carney and Smith in Calgary opens the door to changes to the tanker ban on B.C.’s northern coast, “if necessary.”
B.C. Premier David Eby has called the proposed pipeline “fictitious,” and Dix said in the B.C. legislature that the economic future of Canada and the province “requires seriousness.”
The MOU says Ottawa and Alberta will engage with Indigenous Peoples in both Alberta and B.C. and promises to offer the opportunity for Indigenous co-ownership and “other forms of economic benefits.”
Smith said earlier today that while there have to be discussions about the pipeline with B.C., there’s “no mention of veto” for that province in the MOU.
“I think British Columbia has tried to use every tool in the tool box,” she said after the signing ceremony, referring to failed efforts by B.C. to block the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.
“I guess that was the term that they used before, and failed. It was clearly affirmed by the courts that this is not British Columbia’s decision to make.”
Eby has pointed out that there is no proponent in place for the pipeline and warned that conflict with First Nations could derail other critical projects.
The MOU promises to collaborate with B.C. to ensure its residents “share substantial economic and financial benefits of the proposed pipeline.”
Smith said “a number of projects” that initially faced opposition in B.C. went on to get “a lot of enthusiasm,” citing LNG and other projects.
B.C. Conservative Opposition Leader John Rustad says he is pleased Alberta would be co-operating with the federal government to work with First Nations and get the necessary agreements in place to get the oil moving.
Rustad says the pipeline is the “right thing to do” for Canada, including B.C.
Simon Fraser University political science professor Andy Hira says he remains skeptical that a new pipeline would ever go forward despite the MOU, calling it “political theatre” and an attempt by the federal Liberal government to win support in Alberta, a Conservative stronghold.
“There are provisions in the federal proposal that suggest that there have to be some acceptance by First Nations and jurisdictions that will be affected by the pipeline,” Hira says. “And to me, that is going to be a poison pill for the whole deal.”
Hira says he was on a group call with several environmental and First Nations officials on Wednesday, and a Coastal First Nations representative made clear that the group “will never support” the pipeline.
He adds that the economic benefits to local B.C. communities from having the tanker ban, ranging from fishing to tourism, could already be equal to — if not greater than — oil revenue from a new pipeline.
“They (tourism and fishing) certainly create more jobs,” Hira says. “So, I think even the economic case for it is doubtful.”
An alternative, he says, could be the federal government pursuing the expansion of an existing pipeline.
Jason Alsop, president of the Council of Haida Nation and vice-president of the Great Bear Initiative, an alliance of Coastal First Nations, says he is disappointed in the MOU, calling it political theatrics that won’t advance a pipeline.
“We’ve been very clear that the Coastal First Nations, the Haida Nation, the people of the coast, will never allow oil tankers or this pipeline in our territory because of the risks to our culture, our way of life and our self-sufficiency,” he says.
“The ocean is what looks after us, and we have a responsibility to uphold that.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2025.
Ashley Joannou and Wolfgang Depner, The Canadian Press
