Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a proposal for a new west-east shipping infrastructure project during a joint appearance in Calgary on Monday.
The proposed Northern Shield Energy Corridor includes a 3,300-kilometer oil pipeline designed to transport between 500,000 and 800,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Hardisty, Alberta, to Sarnia, Ontario.
The infrastructure plan follows a memorandum of understanding signed in July 2025 by Ontario, Alberta, and Saskatchewan to cooperate on establishing a new west-east pipeline route passing through Regina, Winnipeg, and around the Great Lakes near Toronto.
Domestic Refining and Mineral Shipping
According to official figures, refineries in southern Ontario currently process an average of 386,000 barrels of oil daily, with the majority coming from Alberta via routes that must first pass through the United States.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford stated that the corridor would also serve to ship critical minerals mined in Ontario westward, adding that Alberta oil should be refined domestically.
"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.
The announcement by the provincial leaders did not outline specific project costs or a definitive timeline for construction.
Macdonald-Laurier Institute Director of Energy Heather Exner-Pirot indicated that the current initiative prioritizes strategic domestic energy security over established business cases.
"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."
A previous west-to-east pipeline project known as Energy East, which aimed to link Alberta to refineries in New Brunswick, was canceled by TransCanada Corp.
in 2017 amid opposition from Quebec and regulatory hurdles.
