Calgary, Nov. 27, 2025 — Canada and Alberta have signed a far-reaching memorandum of understanding (read the complete MOU from the Prime Minister’s Office here) aimed at reshaping the country’s energy landscape, accelerating major infrastructure builds, and positioning Canada as a global supplier of low-carbon resources and emerging technologies — while shelving several contentious federal climate policies.
The agreement outlines an extensive package of commitments from both governments, including support for a new Indigenous co-owned bitumen pipeline to Asian markets, large-scale carbon capture development, expanded power transmission across Western Canada, and massive new investments in AI-focused electricity demand and data-centre capacity. Both sides reaffirmed their goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, while also targeting significant growth in oil, gas, LNG, renewables, and critical minerals.
Pipeline to Asia Takes Centre Stage
A centrepiece of the deal is a privately financed pipeline capable of moving at least 1 million barrels per day of low-emission Alberta bitumen to the Pacific Coast for export to Asia. The project — additional to the Trans Mountain Expansion — would include Indigenous equity stakes backed by federal and provincial loan guarantees.
Alberta will act as the project proponent and seek designation under the Building Canada Act, with an application due by July 1, 2026. If approved, Ottawa commits to enabling bitumen exports from a deep-water port, including revisiting the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act if required.
The two governments also agreed to begin immediate trilateral talks with British Columbia and to meaningfully engage Indigenous Nations in both provinces.
Federal Climate Policies Shelved or Re-Designed
Ottawa made several major concessions as part of the deal:
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The federal Oil and Gas Emissions Cap will not proceed.
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Clean Electricity Regulations in Alberta will be suspended pending a new carbon-pricing agreement.
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Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program will be recognized as the primary regulatory tool for large emitters, including the electricity sector.
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Future amendments to the Competition Act will remove certain “greenwashing” provisions that Ottawa says have created investor uncertainty.
A new industrial carbon-pricing agreement, built around the TIER system and a minimum effective credit price of $130 per tonne, must be finalized by April 1, 2026. Both sides say the system will be tailored to oil and gas, electricity, fertilizer, cement, and other large-emitting sectors.
Acceleration of CCUS, AI Power Needs, and New Grid Interties
The agreement fast-tracks the Pathways Alliance’s massive carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) project — described as the world’s largest — with Alberta extending its ACCIP incentive program and Ottawa pledging federal tax credits and loan guarantees.
The Pathways project and the new bitumen pipeline are declared mutually dependent: neither will proceed without the other, and a trilateral MOU with Pathways companies must be completed by April 1, 2026.
To support rapidly rising electricity demand, including thousands of megawatts of planned AI computing capacity, the two governments committed to:
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Designing a nuclear generation strategy in Alberta by early 2027
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Building major transmission interties with B.C. and Saskatchewan
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Creating policies to stabilize power prices and attract investment
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Developing Canadian supply chains for CCUS equipment, steel, and pipe
Regulatory Overhaul and a 2-Year Approval Target
The governments pledged to streamline permitting processes across federal, provincial, and municipal agencies, targeting a maximum two-year timeline for major project approvals. They will also negotiate a single impact-assessment process to eliminate overlapping reviews.
Indigenous Partnership Requirements
Both governments committed to early, meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities and to expanding participation through ownership structures, benefit agreements, and federal-provincial loan guarantees.
Implementation Timeline
An Implementation Committee will oversee a series of deadlines, including:
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Carbon-pricing agreement: April 1, 2026
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Methane-reduction equivalency agreement: April 1, 2026
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Pathways trilateral MOU: April 1, 2026
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Impact-assessment cooperation agreement: April 1, 2026
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Pipeline application submission: July 1, 2026
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Alberta’s AI data-centre incentives framework: July 1, 2026
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Alberta nuclear strategy: Jan. 1, 2027
A New Federal-Provincial Energy Compact
The MOU marks one of the most comprehensive energy and infrastructure agreements ever struck between Ottawa and Alberta, aiming to balance economic expansion, emissions reductions, and investor certainty at a time when global demand for both traditional and low-carbon energy remains high.
Both governments framed the pact as essential to Canada’s ambitions to become a “global energy superpower” — and as a signal to global markets that Canada is prepared to move major projects from concept to construction at unprecedented speed.