Doug Ford commits to footing part of the bill for proposed Alberta-Ontario pipeline

The Ontario government is prepared to foot part of the bill for a proposed pipeline that would carry crude oil from Alberta to Sarnia, Ont., Premier Doug Ford said on Monday.

Mr. Ford and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced the pipeline plan, called the Northern Shield Energy Corridor, in July. The 3,300-kilometre conduit would move roughly 500,000 barrels of oil per day across four provinces.

As for who’s going to pay for it, “We’re in,” Mr. Ford said at an energy services event in Calgary.

The provincial government is yet to determine its exact contribution. It wouldn’t seek to be a majority partner in the project, but the investment would be “substantial,” he told media after the event.

“I believe in getting the private sector to invest, but we’ll kick it off,” he said.

Mr. Ford said he believes investing public dollars in the Northern Shield project is the right decision, given the substantial economic gains the proposal presents Ontario and the rest of Canada.

“Like I said, any time I can clip a coupon and get a return on investment, I’m there,” he said.

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Filling the line, however, would require significant investment from oil producers to pump more barrels into the market. And it would be a major financial undertaking for a private backer at a time when domestic energy companies have shown little appetite for such risk.

For example, the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline – which runs roughly 1,150 kilometres from Edmonton to the West Coast – came with a $34-billion price tag when it was finished in 2024. A new West Coast pipeline proposed by the Alberta government would cost between $35.2-billion and $43.7-billion, the province said in its Major Projects Office submission.

Mr. Ford made the comments just days before the federal government is due to announce whether the new pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast will be designated a project of national significance.

Both the Northern Shield and Western pipeline proposals are being positioned as projects that could be fast-tracked as part of Ottawa’s push to boost national infrastructure and increase global exports in response to the trade war with the United States.

But unlike the West Coast pipeline, the Alberta-Ontario proposal has no formal federal backing.

Ms. Smith said on Monday at the same Calgary event that she is “more and more confident every day” that the West Coast oil pipeline will not only receive a major project designation from Ottawa, but will be one of the first of those projects to go ahead.

With global oil markets in turmoil because of the Iran war, potential customers around the world are realizing that they lack secure supplies of energy.

“They’re looking to diversify,” Ms. Smith said, adding that Canada is one of the best countries to look to. That in turn has Ottawa pushing to get a pipeline built, she said.

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Both the Northern Shield and West Coast pipelines are “absolutely critical” for Canada’s energy sovereignty, Mr. Ford said. Invoking Canada’s construction of a cross-country railroad in the 1900s, he said the two oil conduits should be built simultaneously.

Despite continuing trade tensions with the U.S., Mr. Ford said he still believes in “Fortress North America – in supporting each other, putting a ring around” the continent.

“We’re stronger together. Not just with Alberta, but everyone across the country, including our American friends,” he said.

“Make no mistake about it. The world is watching Canada and the U.S. right now. The world is watching to see what happens.”