October 3, 2025
Parteek Singh Mahal
The long-standing interprovincial dispute over pipelines has dramatically escalated following Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s announcement of a plan to push a new oil pipeline to British Columbia’s coast. Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney weighed in heavily on the matter, leveling a sharp political attack against B.C. Premier David Eby, accusing him of actively undermining the Canadian Constitution and national unity.
The latest confrontation began when Premier Smith announced plans this week to lead an application to the federal Major Projects Office for an oil pipeline to the West Coast. She was joined by representatives from Cenovus Energy and an advisory group including Indigenous partners and three major pipeline companies, committing $14 million for early planning work.
Premier Eby immediately rejected the proposal, stating the project was a “direct economic threat” to B.C.’s economy and value system. Eby argued: “There is no project. There is no bridge to cross – unless the Albertan government, and the federal Canadian government, are committing billions of taxpayer dollars to build this project. And if that is the plan, then they should be transparent about it.”
In response, Jason Kenney argued that David Eby poses a “much bigger threat to confederation, and to the rule of law, than Alberta separatists.”
Kenney dismissed the Alberta separatist movement as a “tiny minority,” noting their poor electoral performance and calling the movement largely composed of “grifters and cranks.” He contrasted this with Eby’s actions, which he claims “actively undermine the Canadian Constitution.”
Kenney, a former lawyer, referenced Section 92(10) of the Constitution Act, which grants exclusive authority over interprovincial infrastructure like pipelines to the federal government. He noted that when the B.C. NDP government previously challenged this authority regarding the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) Expansion, both the B.C. Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously upheld exclusive federal authority.”
Kenney accused Eby of being an “ideological zealot” who subordinates the Constitution and national prosperity to his personal ideology. He cited late Premier John Horgan’s past warning about his party’s “mud hut wing” of green extremists, suggesting Eby is part of this group.
Kenney further attacked Eby’s stance on First Nations, arguing that Eby holds a “condescending, outdated view” that seeks to “instrumentalize” First Nations as moral cover for urban green activists.
Kenney also pointed to a reported poll indicating a “super majority of British Columbians support an oil pipeline through Northern BC,” arguing Eby is ignoring public will and economic reality.
“He (Eby) doesn’t care that such a pipeline would generate $30 billion in export revenue for the Canadian economy annually, roughly equivalent to all of Canada’s lumber exports; or that it would create thousands of long term, good paying jobs – disproportionately for indigenous people,” Kenney said.
He also said that Eby is again demonstrating that he’s not really on Team Canada. “After all, this is the only Premier who missed the most important first ministers meeting in decades when he decided that wandering around Tokyo convenience stores mattered more than negotiating an agreement on internal trade,” he added.
Kenney said Eby authorized a multi-billion dollar shipbuilding contract to a subsidized Chinese shipyard linked to the Communist People’s Liberation Army, instead of boosting Canadian shipbuilding jobs.
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