Unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territories [OTTAWA], 9 June 2026:
In a cross-country and cross-partisan show of solidarity today on Parliament Hill, civil society experts, backed by more than 120 organizations from coast to coast, and MPs from three parties called out the federal government’s reckless plans to support a new oil pipeline from Alberta to the West Coast.
At today’s press conference, legal, health, and environmental experts highlighted the risks posed that a new pipeline would pose, in advance of Alberta’s July 1 deadline for submitting a pipeline proposal to the Major Project Office for fast-tracking.
Bloc québécois MP Patrick Bonin, NDP MP Leah Gazan, and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May also spoke out against the pipeline plans.
More than 120 civil society organizations have signed on to an open letter expressing their solidarity against the imposition of new fossil fuel pipelines to the West Coast or anywhere in Canada.
As Asian markets accelerate their shift away from oil, a new oil pipeline would likely require large public subsidies to be viable. In recent polling from Liaison Stratégies in B.C. and Quebec swing ridings, 68 per cent of respondents opposed federal funding for a new pipeline, and six in ten indicated they would be less likely to vote for an MP who supported fossil fuel subsidies.
Today’s press conference comes after more than a year of environmental rollbacks. Most recently, the federal government proposed regulatory changes that would shred Canada’s environmental safety net, further enabling new pipelines to be fast-tracked without impact assessments, and allowed only a few weeks for public consultation. After widespread outcry, the government announced last Thursday that the consultation period would be extended to late July.
On Parliament Hill today, Emilia Belliveau, Program Manager, Energy Transition at Environmental Defence, said:
“There is no ‘good’ route for Alberta’s proposed bitumen pipeline. A new pipeline carrying a million barrels of oil a day, and the extraction required to fill it, will push Canada’s climate and nature targets even further out of reach. Failing to meet our targets is not an abstract loss. It will have devastating consequences for the ecosystems we rely on, and risks real harm to the places, nature, people and communities we love.”
Anne-Céline Guyon, Analyste climat-énergie, Nature Québec, said:
“Whether it’s an oil sands pipeline to the west or a gas pipeline to the east, all projects aimed at expanding fossil fuel production are on the wrong track. No project can serve Canada’s interests if it destroys what defines its identity: a deep connection to nature.”
Anna Johnston, Staff lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law, said:
“Pipelines pose major risks to the climate, waterways and species Canadians cherish and rely on. Environmental laws are not red tape – they’re a safety net. The Carney government is proposing a wholesale shredding of that safety net. We are calling on the government to go back to the drawing board and make sure Canadians have the legal safeguards they need to know that development is working for them.”
Robb Barnes, Climate Program Director, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, said:
“Whether it’s a new gas pipeline to the West Coast or new LNG projects in Quebec, the Carney government seems to be reverting to the “drill, baby, drill” philosophy that characterized the Harper era.
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment is calling on the Carney government to put the health and safety of Canadians at the top of its priorities. The health of our public finances is also at stake.
We must put a stop to the reckless expansion of oil and gas infrastructure.”
Speakers and supporters from 12 organizations gathered on Parliament Hill afterwards for photos, holding banners underlining the message: “No to pipelines, not here or anywhere.”
Photos from today’s events are available in this folder.
The recording of the press conference can be viewed here.
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Canada’s farthest-reaching network of organizations working on climate and energy issues, Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) Canada is a coalition of close to 200 organizations operating from coast to coast to coast. Our membership brings environmental groups together with trade unions, First Nations, social justice, development, health and youth organizations, faith groups and local, grassroots initiatives.
For more information, contact:
Audrey Robillard, Bilingual Communications Coordinator
audreyrobillard@climateactionnetwork.ca