VICTORIA – Lifting the oil tanker ban off British Columbia’s North Coast for a nonexistent pipeline from Alberta would endanger billions in other real investments that Premier David Eby says will need the support of coastal First Nations.
Eby says he’s asking the federal government to reaffirm its support for the tanker ban off the West Coast, after Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that lifting the tanker ban would depend on a number of factors.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been calling for the repeal of the tanker ban as part of her government’s proposal to build an oil pipeline to the coast in a pitch it will make to the Major Projects Office by next spring.
But Eby says lifting the tanker ban would jeopardize approval from coastal First Nations for mines and energy projects that represent up to $60 billion in capital investments.
He says the only possible reason why the North coast would be put at risk is because Smith “woke up one morning and thought that that would be a good idea.”
Eby says Smith’s proposed pipeline lacks a proponent, financial backing and a route, and instead is a form of “wedge politics” by a premier who is in “political trouble.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2025.