Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith say their governments will begin studies for a proposed Northern Shield Energy Corridor that would transport crude oil along a 3,300-kilometre route stretching from Hardisty, Alta., to Sarnia, Ont. 

“The Alberta oil sands have gone from a target to a national treasure,” said Smith during the announcement Monday. 

The proposal comes on the heels of a separate one announced last Thursday, when Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled a route to B.C.’s southern coast that would follow the existing Trans Mountain corridor.

Ottawa and Alberta would initially hold the majority interest, with Pembina Pipeline the only private-sector partner so far, at a 10 per cent stake. No oil producers have committed to shipping on the line yet.

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That pitch is a priority for Alberta, Smith said, adding it is at a relatively more advanced stage than the proposal with Ontario.

“We have a project design, we’ve got a private proponent, we’ve got the federal government willing to partner with us,” she said. 

Meanwhile, the Northern Shield Energy Corridor is in a more exploratory phase, with a feasibility study underway, led by an advisory team of GHD, EY Canada, Mokwateh, AtkinsRéalis, Wood PLC and Turner & Townsen. 

Alberta and Ontario teams have begun to discuss the proposal with the federal Major Projects Office, according to the Premiers.

Ford said he hopes to have the study finished by year’s end. He said it will help governments assess whether they should invest in the project, covering construction and operation costs.

“We’ll reach out to the private sector, but we won’t hesitate to do what the Canadian and Alberta governments are doing, so let’s take a look at all options,” he said. 

Ontario and Alberta’s proposal echoes the cancelled Energy East line over much of its western route, though it stops well short of the Atlantic. Energy East was aimed at that same Saint John terminal before TransCanada abandoned it in 2017, felled by regulatory hurdles, weak economics and fierce opposition in Quebec — the kind of obstacles any eastern extension would likely face again.

The newly proposed corridor would carry about 500,000 barrels of crude a day — expandable to 800,000 — and end at Sarnia, with possible extensions to new and existing ports for overseas export still being explored.

Specifically, the proposal opens the door for Manitoba to study an extension to the Port of Churchill, though Premier Wab Kinew has so far declined to join the proposal, citing a need for more consultations with First Nations. His government is currently advocating for a liquified natural gas pipeline to the Port of Churchill as part of an expansion project.

Ford said it would be “absolutely beautiful” if the pipeline could reach all the way to the Irving refining facility in Saint John, New Brunswick, for export to European markets.

The two governments say they want to explore whether the project could anchor a strategic petroleum reserve of its own to act as a buffer against future oil shocks.

The enthusiasm for pipelines comes as Carney laid out the federal government’s position on energy, saying emissions will run higher in the coming years than under his predecessor’s plan, a trade-off he framed as the price of national unity and economic growth.

With files from Barbara Patrocinio