With Prime Minister Mark Carney expected to lay out a path forward for an oil pipeline to northwest B.C. on Thursday, senior people around him have had to assuage skittish MPs and at least one cabinet minister about the virtues of the forthcoming “grand bargain” with Alberta.One dynamic at play in this discussion is the future of Steven Guilbeault, the minister of Canadian identity and culture.Sources told CBC News there have been ongoing conversations between Guilbeault and the Prime Minister’s Office, with the lifelong environmental activist expressing concern about the compromises being made on the government’s climate policies to get to a deal with Alberta.There have been internal concerns that Guilbeault, who served as the environment minister in the last Liberal government, could resign over this.But as of right now, sources said Guilbeault is staying due to the belief he can do more at the table than by walking away.WATCH | Carney asked about nervous caucus members:Carney asked about caucus members hesitant about supporting oil pipeline to B.C. coastSpeaking to reporters on Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney says the Liberal caucus is diverse and features ‘open and engaged dialogue,’ adding that the government’s forthcoming memorandum of understanding with Alberta is about ‘much more than one thing.’ Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson also briefed B.C Liberal MPs Wednesday on the content of Ottawa’s forthcoming memorandum of understanding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith — an agreement that has rattled some politicians even before it has been released publicly.A government source told CBC News that Hodgson had a “good” and “substantive” discussion with caucus, some of whom have said they are skeptical of building a new pipeline to the Pacific.The meeting was lengthy as the minister fielded questions about what exactly Ottawa is proposing for Alberta — and what sort of commitments the federal government will get in turn, the source said.Hodgson told reporters after leaving the larger national caucus meeting that he had “a very good conversation” about what’s to be delivered in Calgary on Thursday alongside Smith.One B.C. MP inside the room, however, described the meeting with the minister as quite candid and at times tense, saying Hodgson seemed dismissive of the possible political consequences for Liberal MPs in B.C.Hodgson used words like “naive” and “ideological” when responding to MP concerns, the parliamentarian said.Another MP described the briefing as useful — and something that should have been done earlier than the day before the details are to be revealed publicly.Asked about tension in his caucus at a news conference on relief for tariff-affected industries like steel and lumber, Carney said he’s “blessed to be a member of a fantastic” team of MPs and there has been “very open and engaged dialogue” on what’s to come with the Canada-Alberta agreement.He said this memorandum is “about much more than one thing” — a pipeline — and he is working with Smith build up the Canadian economy in the face of U.S. trade aggression.”It’s about making Canada independent and it’s about making Canada more sustainable,” he said.Still, not all MPs are sold.Tim Hodgson, federal minister of energy and natural resources speaks regarding B.C softwood lumber in Vancouver earlier this month. (Ben Nelms/CBC)Nova Scotia Liberal MP Darren Fisher told reporters on Tuesday he’s “never been a huge pipeline guy.” Another Liberal, B.C. MP Gurbux Saini, said the pipeline must have affected Indigenous peoples and B.C. Premier David Eby’s “consent” before any shovels hit the ground. B.C. Liberal MP Wade Grant, the parliamentary secretary to the environment minister, was noncommittal on the prospect of Ottawa sanctioning an oil pipeline despite the Trudeau-era tanker ban.”I know that as a First Nations person that the title and rights of First Nations and Indigenous communities are of the utmost importance, and to ensure that as much consultation and agreement with First Nations is the most important for anything to go forward,” he said.Asked if he supports a pipeline like the one Smith has lobbied to get built, the Vancouver MP said he would confer with constituents before taking a stand.WATCH | Is a new pipeline to B.C. a political risk for the Liberals?:Could a pipeline cost the Liberals B.C.?B.C.’s minister of energy and climate solutions says there are consequences if Ottawa and Alberta go forward with a pipeline that runs through British Columbia. The Coastal First Nations, an alliance of nine First Nations opposed to a pipeline to the B.C. coast, released a statement Wednesday saying the proposed pipeline could lead to spills, and it will fight it tooth and nail.”We are here to remind the Alberta government, the federal government and any potential private proponent that we will never allow oil tankers on our coast, and that this pipeline project will never happen,” said Marilyn Slett, the group’s president.Smith, meanwhile, has urged Carney to unleash Alberta’s natural resources sector — to potentially add tens of billions of dollars into a tariff-hit economy and diversify Canada’s trading relationships by sending more oil to Asian markets.Former Alberta premier Jason Kenney told CBC News that a pipeline carrying about a million barrels of oil a day to the B.C. coast for export would generate about $25 billion for the economy — and some $5 billion a year in taxes and royalties for the federal and provincial governments.”With the big trade challenges coming from south of the border, I think we have to do things like this,” he said in an interview with CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live. The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which was built at huge expense using taxpayer dollars, is profitable.According to the company’s filings, in the first three months of 2025 alone, Trans Mountain generated some $568 million in earnings.Indeed, not all B.C. Liberals are opposed to what Carney has negotiated with Smith.Liberal MP Sukh Dhaliwal, who represents the Vancouver-area suburb of Surrey, said he “stands behind the prime minister on this.””There will be good news coming out tomorrow. The prime minister has a vision and something really good will come out of this,” he said.Liberal MP James Maloney, the party’s caucus chair, said what’s going on are “healthy” conversations with people who have some divergent views.”I have no caucus management problem whatsoever,” he told reporters, when asked if approving a pipeline could throw the caucus into turmoil. “I think we have a caucus which we should be very proud of, which has diverse views on a lot of topics. It’s not disagreement, it’s not dissension, it’s discussion.”Conservative MP Aaron Gunn, who represents the B.C. riding of North Island-Powell River, said Carney must greenlight a new Pacific pipeline to “end the U.S. monopoly on Canadian oil” and anything less would be akin to “selling out to the Americans.”According to the Canadian Energy Regulator, 93 per cent of Canada’s total oil exports went to the U.S. in 2024, which makes Alberta’s oilpatch in particular dependent on the whims of the American market.”Failing to act is a betrayal of our national interest, it’s a betrayal of our workers,” Gunn said in question period. “As long as the world needs these resources, as long as the world needs oil and gas — as much of those resources should come from right here in Canada.”
Carney’s expected green light for oil pipeline causes unease in caucus and cabinet: sources
