Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are promoting a new west-east shipping corridor that would see a pipeline shipping Alberta oil to refineries in southern Ontario. The two provincial leaders appeared together in Calgary on Monday to announce the new Northern Shield Energy Corridor proposal, comprising a 3,300-kilometre oil pipeline running from Hardisty, Alta. to Sarnia, Ont.
Details of the Proposal
Ford said that critical minerals mined in Ontario would also be shipped west through the new energy corridor. The Ontario premier said at the announcement that Alberta oil should be refined in Canada. “If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s (that) we need to take action now to protect Canadian jobs and Canadian families,” said Ford.
Refineries in southern Ontario currently process an average of 386,000 barrels of oil per day. While the bulk of this oil comes from Alberta, it must pass through the U.S. before reaching Ontario. The new Alberta-to-Ontario pipeline would move between 500,000 and 800,000 barrels per day.
Background and Context
Monday’s announcement follows a July 2025 memorandum of understanding between Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan to work together on building a new west-east pipeline. The corridor would run through Regina, Winnipeg and around the Great Lakes near Toronto. The announcement did not include any details on the pipeline’s cost or a timeline for its construction.
Heather Exner-Pirot, the director of energy at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said the project reflects a prioritization of strategic considerations over economic fundamentals. “This (proposal) is largely about domestic energy security and hasn’t really been fleshed out in terms of a business case,” said Exner-Pirot. “We’ll see if it has legs.”
Comparison to Previous Projects
A previous proposal to build the Energy East west-to-east pipeline from Alberta to New Brunswick refineries was cancelled by its proponent TransCanada Corp. in 2017 in the face of opposition from Quebec and a challenging federal approvals environment.
