After years of Ottawa blocking Alberta s energy, the U.S. may be stepping in to finish the job. The real question now is: Did Alberta just go around Ottawa and negotiate it directly with Donald Trump and the United States to get a pipeline Canada refuses to approve? And if so, how is Canada s liberal government going to react?
00:00:00.000And that's a scrap that I'm willing to have with the federal government.
00:00:02.920This is their work, and they have failed to do this.
00:00:05.660We've been asking for them to do this since the 1930s.
00:00:08.260It's a win for Montana. It's a win for America.
00:00:12.960It's a pipeline project through one end of the state to the other, starting in Alberta.
00:00:17.200The 647-mile-long Bridger pipeline would move up to 550,000 barrels of crude oil a day through nine counties.
00:00:24.160TC Energy's controversial project dates back to 2008 and was to carry crude from Hardesty, Alberta to Nebraska.
00:00:30.960But it was rejected by U.S. President Barack Obama, then revived in Donald Trump's first term and cancelled again in 2021 under the Joe Biden administration.
00:00:39.900But Trump revoked that order this year.
00:00:42.160Here's what just happened. Donald Trump just joined forces with Alberta.
00:00:46.980And if this deal goes through the Keystone XL pipeline, yes, that pipeline Biden canceled back in 2021, is back on the table.
00:00:56.520After years of Ottawa blocking Alberta's energy, the United States may be stepping in to finish the job.
00:01:04.180The real question now is, did Alberta just go around Ottawa and negotiate it directly with Donald Trump and the United States to get a pipeline Canada refuses to approve?
00:01:13.220And if so, how is Canada's liberal government going to react to this?
00:02:48.260I've seen proposals for as much as 2.5 million barrels a day that would come from Canada, go to the United States,
00:02:53.960and most of that permitting would be under the authority of the Energy Dominance Council.
00:02:58.500But I think what it comes down to is we need reliable, affordable energy for people,
00:03:02.840because when people are hurting, that's when they put pressure on their politicians,
00:03:06.060and even the most left-wing ideological politician will realize boy i gotta i gotta moderate this and
00:03:11.960come back to center and that's what we're seeing in canada okay you just heard that 2.5 million
00:03:18.380barrels a day that's a massive amount of oil i mean seriously think about that for a second
00:03:24.720that is a game-changing amount of energy being moved from alberta straight into the united states
00:03:31.220And if something like that actually gets built, the levels of integration between Alberta and the U.S. would be greater than we've ever seen before.
00:03:40.180To the point where you kind of have to ask, what exactly is Alberta still relying on Ottawa for at that point?
00:03:47.220Because this isn't just a small side project.
00:03:50.040This is Alberta plugging directly into the largest energy market on the planet more than ever before.
00:03:56.380Years after Keystone XL was canceled in 2021 over environmental and indigenous concerns,
00:04:04.220Bridger Pipeline Expansion LLC has submitted a project proposal to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality
00:04:11.300for a 645-mile pipeline that would start near the U.S.-Canada border in Phillips County and make its way down into Wyoming.
00:04:20.640Keystone XL originally faced criticism over potential impacts to rivers, wetlands, wildlife habitats, and climate concerns associated with transporting oil sands crude.
00:04:32.520According to the project overview submitted to Montana DEQ, the Bridger expansion pipeline would transport about 550,000 barrels of crude per day,
00:04:43.180smaller than Keystone XL, and largely follow existing pipeline corridors to minimize new land disturbance.
00:04:50.640The overview includes modern safety features such as advanced monitoring systems and leak detection.
00:04:57.400Horizontal directional drilling is planned for river and wetland crossings to reduce environmental impacts.
00:05:03.720Montana DEQ says it has not received a formal application.
00:05:07.640However, Bridger has notified the agency it attends to submit in the coming weeks.
00:05:12.140A spokesperson told MTN, while the application review is occurring, DEQ and partner agencies will conduct a thorough environmental review of the proposal, which will include multiple opportunities for public review and comment.
00:05:25.960If approved, construction could begin as early as 2027.
00:05:30.400Supporters say the pipeline could increase Canadian crude exports to the U.S.,
00:05:34.540create construction jobs, and expand energy infrastructure
00:05:37.900while opponents continue to raise concerns about potential environmental and community risks.
00:05:43.240Here's why the timing of this matters so much.
00:05:47.140Right now, globally, everything is shifting.
00:05:50.940You've got countries in Europe actively trying to move away from the Middle East when it comes to energy.
00:05:56.720you've got demand going through the roof and you got the united states stepping in and saying
00:06:02.680we can supply it they're ramping up exports they're fast tracking permits what used to take
00:06:08.180years is now being pushed through in months even weeks sometimes so this isn't some slow moving
00:06:14.380maybe someday type of situation this is happening while the world is literally scrambling for stable
00:06:20.720energy and when that kind of demand shows up alberta becomes one of the most important pieces
00:06:26.940on the board because it's not just one pipeline being talked about anymore you've got multiple
00:06:33.200projects different routes hundreds of thousands even millions of barrels per day being planned
00:06:41.160out at a certain point you stop looking at this like a single deal and you start realizing this
00:06:47.440is an entire network being built well the alberta government says its pipeline plans are unchanged
00:06:53.520after the liberals strengthened their federal majority government with a sweep in those by
00:06:57.520elections on monday ctv's connor hogg tells us one political scientist thinks premier danielle
00:07:02.320smith will have to walk a delicate line as she navigates pipeline talks with ottawa
00:07:06.800and deals with the separatist movement so the pipeline being built to the south towards the
00:07:11.280the United States, in my opinion, is great news. It gives Alberta more independence from the rest
00:07:17.160of Canada, particularly considering situations like what we have right now, where Alberta wants
00:07:22.240to build a pipeline to the West Coast through BC and BC is making it nearly impossible. So this
00:07:27.940right here reminds Alberta that it might just be better to negotiate directly with the Americans
00:07:33.080than to continue to try with Canada. But what do you think? You think Alberta made the right move
00:07:37.820in trying to pursue the revival of the Keystone XL pipeline