Province has been talking with domestic energy companies about expanding export conduits
Alberta, holder of the world’s third-largest oil reserves, is one of the biggest foreign suppliers of crude to the U.S., and Smith is pushing for even more access. In previous U.S. administrations, Canada faced pushback in building new pipelines to its southern neighbour, which depressed Canadian oil prices and stymied investment.
“I know the Americans have increased production pretty dramatically in the last 10 years, but it might not always be that way,” she said, speaking after her province joined the recently established Governors’ Coalition for Energy Security as the first non-U.S. state member. “They need to know that if they’re looking for additional supply, they shouldn’t be looking to Iran or Venezuela. They should be looking to their friend up north.”
Trump has been a vocal advocate for oil and gas interests, pushing for more domestic drilling. During his previous term in office, from 2016 to 2020, Trump reversed the Obama administration’s rejection of TC Energy’s controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would have increased Canadian oil exports to the U.S. Later, U.S. President Joe Biden cancelled the approval on his first day in office and the pipeline was never completed.
Keystone XL would have opened a entirely new pipeline route to the U.S., making regulatory approval more challenging. Building future lines along existing pipeline right-of-ways would probably be easier as would including U.S. companies in projects to de-risk them, Smith said. “It would be helpful to have an American partner in the pipeline construction and so I think perhaps the energy companies might go about it a little bit of a different way,” she said.
Alberta is willing to join the federal government in a “Team Canada” approach to dealing with the Trump administration but the admissions cap must first be scrapped, said Smith, who plans to attend Trump’s inauguration and watch the swearing-in ceremony from the Canadian embassy. “If not, we’re going to continue to build our relationships with the U.S. on our own,” she said.
“For Alberta’s story to be told and Alberta’s interest to be represented, I’ve gotta do it myself.”