FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 3, 2026
Let Alberta Decide: Pipeline Announcement Shows Canada Still Does Not Work for Alberta
Calgary, Alberta — Let Alberta Decide says the pipeline announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Danielle Smith is not the victory Albertans are being told it is.
Keith Wilson, K.C., co-lead of Let Alberta Decide, said Albertans support pipelines, expanded market access, and getting Alberta resources to tidewater, but not under a system that keeps Ottawa in control while forcing Albertans to carry the cost.
“Albertans want pipelines built, but a pipeline is not a victory if Ottawa makes the product too expensive to produce and leaves taxpayers holding the bill,” said Wilson. “This announcement does not prove Canada works for Alberta. It proves the opposite.”
Wilson said it has taken more than a year of federal-provincial negotiations, political bargaining, B.C. compensation demands, carbon capture conditions, and major taxpayer commitments just to bring Alberta to an uncertain starting point.
“That is not a functioning federation,” Wilson said. “That is a province being forced to ask permission to develop the resources that built this country.”
The Canada-B.C. agreement confirms any new pipeline remains tied to the Pathways carbon capture project and consultation obligations. It also confirms the North Coast tanker ban remains in place, while B.C. continues seeking toll charges or compensation tied to Alberta’s ability to move its own resources through the province.
“Albertans are being asked to celebrate a pipeline that may never be built, to a coast where the tanker ban remains, through a province that says it does not want the project, under conditions that make Alberta less competitive,” Wilson said.
Let Alberta Decide said the announcement does nothing to fix the deeper problem: Ottawa’s regulatory and Net Zero framework has damaged investor confidence, increased costs, and made major resource projects dependent on government intervention instead of private capital.
“A pipeline does not create new barrels,” Wilson said. “Companies invest when production is competitive. If Ottawa’s Net Zero framework makes Alberta oil, gas, and electricity less competitive, this announcement becomes a political talking point, not an economic solution.”
Tanya Clemens, co-lead of Let Alberta Decide, said Alberta families will ultimately be the ones paying the price.
“As a mother, farmer, and wife, I ask one simple question: who is going to pay for all of this?” said Clemens. “Higher production costs, higher power costs, carbon capture subsidies, B.C. compensation, and federal borrowing all make life less affordable and push the bill onto our children and grandchildren.”
Clemens said Albertans should not mistake conditional permission from Ottawa for fairness.
“Alberta should not have to trade away more of its future just to get partial permission to develop its own economy,” said Clemens. “That is not partnership. That is control.”
Let Alberta Decide is campaigning for a Yes vote on Option 2 in the October 19, 2026 referendum.
“Albertans deserve more than conditional permission from Ottawa,” Wilson added. “We deserve control over our resources, our economy, and our future. Alberta’s done waiting.”
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