Poilievre asks Carney to scrap B.C. north coast tanker ban

OTTAWA: Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has asked Prime Minister Mark Carney to repeal the oil tanker ban on British Columbia’s northern coast, months after Ottawa agreed in writing not to change it.

Poilievre was one of several Opposition MPs who signed a letter to Carney as a federal Conservative bill to scrap the ban heads to second reading this week, The Canadian Press reported Monday.

The MPs argue the ban “effectively donates” billions of dollars to the United States by forcing Canada to sell discounted oil that benefits American refineries.

They point to a proposal by Calgary-based Strathcona Resources to ship up to 250,000 barrels of Canadian oil a day by rail through Prince Rupert, B.C., and across the Pacific. For that proposal to be considered, the ban would have to be lifted, and the letter says the federal government is the only thing standing in the way.

Carney and then-B.C. Premier David Eby signed an agreement in July in which Ottawa promised to maintain the north coast tanker ban “without alteration, suspension, or narrowing of scope.”

The letter says the Opposition would be willing to discuss amendments to the ban that would let the Prince Rupert project move forward.

The request lands days after British Columbia voted out Eby’s New Democrats. Lorne Doerkson’s provincial Conservatives won about two-thirds of the 93 seats in the legislature on Saturday, according to The Canadian Press. Eby resigned as NDP leader after the loss.

After Carney signed the deal with B.C., Alberta formally submitted a pipeline proposal to the federal major projects office, but with a southern route. The plan would largely follow the path of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline from Bruderheim, Alta., to an export terminal in Delta, B.C.

The Opposition letter says lifting the tanker ban would give Alberta and British Columbia “an opportunity to build prosperity together.”

The federal Pacific Link project and its place in the pipeline debate have been a running story. See our earlier reporting on Pacific Link and taxpayers and on Métis leaders who say Ottawa shut them out of talks.

Source: The Canadian Press, published by CTV News, Oct. 26, 2026.

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