CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA - Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday to grow Alberta's oil exports while also committing to making it a world leader in green energy technology. Here are five takeaways from the memorandum of understanding: Big-Ticket Infrastructure: Both sides agree to work on approving a bitumen pipeline of one million barrels or more per day from Alberta to Asian markets via a port on the B.C. coast. The [Read more]

OTTAWA - Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to unveil an agreement with Alberta Thursday which could clear the way for a new oil pipeline in exchange for stronger environmental regulations, while also walking back some of Ottawa's climate policies. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has said her government has been negotiating with Ottawa a "grand bargain" which would see the proposed Pathways Alliance carbon-capture project move forward alongside a proposed oil pipeline to the West [Read more]

CALGARY - An oil and gas service industry group predicts lacklustre prices for those resources will weigh on spending and activity next year, but the prospect of new export infrastructure gives reason for optimism ahead. Enserva says in its annual State of the Industry report that total oil and gas capital spending is expected to drop by 5.6 per cent this year versus last, and by a further 2.2 per cent in 2026. Total wells drilled this year are on track to be nine per cent lower than a [Read more]

OTTAWA - Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson is set to brief B.C. Liberal MPs today on the government's expected energy deal with the province of Alberta. The move comes after B.C. Liberal MPs last week said any deal involving a pipeline to the West Coast would need consent from First Nations and the B.C. government, repeating talking points from the government in recent weeks. Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday in the House of Commons that B.C. "has to agree" to any [Read more]

MONTRÉAL - Quebec is beginning consultations at the provincial legislature on whether to revise its greenhouse gas emission reduction target. The province committed to reducing its annual emissions by 37.5 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030 in the wake of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Environment Minister Bernard Drainville told the consultation the province is about halfway to the target, with a 19 per cent reduction over 1990 levels. But he says achieving the other half [Read more]

REGINA - This year’s Saskatchewan budget is sinking deeper into the red, mainly due to the cost of fighting the summer’s wildfires. Finance Minister Jim Reiter, in a mid-term update on the budget, says the projected year-end deficit is expected to be $427 million. It's a major swing from when the budget was introduced in the spring. At that time, Premier Scott Moe’s government was projecting a $12-million surplus, but in August the bottom line was revised to a $349-million deficit [Read more]

OTTAWA - Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said on Monday the government is getting close to being able to provide clarity on whether Ottawa would repeal the West Coast oil tanker ban. Hodgson made the remarks while appearing before the House of Commons committee on natural resources, when he was asked about the status of the legislation prohibiting tankers from carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil in areas along the Northern coast of British Columbia. The [Read more]