Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada is working to expand oil markets in Asia with the prospect of Venezuelan oil displacing Canadian product in the American market.

His remarks come as Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is urging Carney to “immediately approve a pipeline to the Pacific Coast” in an letter to the prime minister shared on social media this morning.

In Paris for talks on Ukraine, Carney was asked if U.S. President Donald Trump wanting to take control of Venezuela’s oil industry will heighten the need for a pipeline to B.C.’s northwest coast.

Carney says the government is working toward a potential new pipeline and expanding oil markets as part of signing a “comprehensive” memorandum of understanding with the Alberta government.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a social media post Monday that the events in Venezuela underscore the need to speed up work on a new oil pipeline to the Pacific coast.

She says the province is working to submit an application to the major projects office and “expects the federal government to move forward with urgency.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2026.

— With files from Lisa Johnson in Edmonton and The Associated Press