Pipeline projects that once appeared to be permanently shelved are making an unexpected comeback.
Across Canada, governments are reviving long-abandoned ideas to move Alberta oil to new markets, although many of the latest proposals feature different routes, new partners and updated names. Unlike the original projects, however, much of the momentum is now coming from provincial governments rather than private energy companies.
A new push to the East
One of the most talked-about proposals is the Northern Shield Energy Corridor, unveiled by Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
The project would initially transport 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Hardisty, Alberta, to refineries in Sarnia, Ontario, covering roughly 3,300 kilometres.
The proposal echoes the former Energy East pipeline, announced by TransCanada (now TC Energy) in 2013. That project aimed to convert part of an existing natural gas pipeline into an oil pipeline connecting Alberta with New Brunswick, supplying eastern refineries while also opening export opportunities to Europe through terminals in Quebec and New Brunswick.
Energy East ultimately collapsed in 2017 after facing strong opposition from environmental groups and the Quebec government, combined with changing market conditions and lower oil prices.
The new Northern Shield proposal takes a different approach by avoiding Quebec during its initial phase. According to Smith, the project could eventually expand its capacity to 800,000 barrels per day, extend to Canada’s Atlantic coast and even help supply a strategic petroleum reserve in eastern Canada.
Ontario has already launched a feasibility study, although details regarding project costs, financing and private-sector involvement have yet to be announced.
Looking west once again
The renewed interest in pipelines doesn’t stop there.
Only days before unveiling the eastern proposal, Alberta submitted an application for a new pipeline to Canada’s West Coast through the federal major projects office.
While Smith had originally supported a northern British Columbia route that would offer the shortest shipping distance to Asia, the federal government’s decision to maintain its ban on oil tankers along the northern B.C. coast prompted Alberta to propose a southern route that would largely follow the existing Trans Mountain corridor.
The idea inevitably recalls Northern Gateway, Enbridge’s controversial pipeline project first proposed in 2010 to carry Alberta crude to Kitimat, B.C.
Northern Gateway faced years of opposition from Indigenous communities, environmental organizations and the British Columbia government. Although it received federal approval in 2014, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned that decision two years later, ruling that Indigenous consultation had been inadequate. The Trudeau government officially cancelled the project shortly afterward.
Instead, Ottawa moved forward with the Trans Mountain Expansion, purchasing the project from Kinder Morgan before completing the expansion in 2024.
Now, the federal Crown corporation that operates Trans Mountain is expected to lead development of a new one-million-barrel-per-day pipeline announced last week.
Alberta will participate through the commercial arm of its energy ministry, while Pembina Pipeline Corp. has agreed to acquire a 10% stake during construction, with the option to increase its ownership to 20% once the pipeline enters commercial operation. The partners also hope Indigenous communities will eventually join as equity owners.
Keystone XL finds a new direction
Southbound exports are also back on the agenda.
Although South Bow Corp., which was spun off from TC Energy in 2024, has said it has moved on from the cancelled Keystone XL project, the company continues to explore opportunities within the same corridor.
Originally proposed in 2008, Keystone XL was designed to expand Canada’s pipeline network into the United States, providing a direct route from Alberta to major refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast.
While Canadian regulators approved the project, it became one of North America’s most politically divisive energy projects. Former U.S. President Barack Obama rejected it, President Donald Trump revived it during his first term, and President Joe Biden cancelled it again on his first day in office in 2021.
Although Keystone XL itself is no longer moving forward, parts of the project are being repurposed.
Earlier this year, South Bow launched an open season for its new Prairie Connector pipeline. The company secured 20-year transportation commitments for crude shipments from Hardisty to the Canada–U.S. border, where the line would connect with a proposed pipeline being developed by Bridger Pipeline LLC into Wyoming.
The project will reuse approximately 150 kilometres of pipeline originally intended for Keystone XL. South Bow expects to make its final investment decision next year.
Growing production remains the key question
With multiple proposals now targeting eastern, western and southern export routes, questions remain about whether Alberta’s oil production can grow quickly enough to supply them all alongside existing pipeline expansions.
Smith remains confident the industry can meet the challenge.
“I feel like the industry was there 10 years ago,” she said. “They can be there again.”
Whether these revived projects move beyond the planning stage will depend on regulatory approvals, investment decisions, Indigenous partnerships and market demand. But after years in which pipeline expansion appeared to have stalled, the debate over Canada’s energy transportation future has clearly returned to the forefront.
