environment minister not worried about separatism amid efforts to build pipeline to west coast
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alberta’s minister of environment and protected areas says he isn’t worried about a separatist referendum affecting efforts to secure approval for an oil pipeline to the west coast.
his comments follow a poll released by the angus reid institute on friday that found that 60 per cent of albertans would vote no on the official question to be posed in the october referendum.
“there has always been a separatist sentiment,” mla grant hunter said during a lunch-and-fireside chat hosted by the calgary chamber of commerce at the hyatt regency on tuesday. “if that number of those who wanted to separate was closer to 45 or 50 per cent, i think that would cause an investment insecurity.”
hunter spoke on a memorandum of understanding struck by canada and alberta late last year and implemented this month, agreeing to collaborate on major energy, emissions and resource projects.
“it dominated the group last night,” hunter said, of the conversation between premiers at the annual western premiers’ conference in kananaskis. “the mou is forward-thinking, it’s innovative and i think it strikes the right balance.”
the separatist movement of today is built on grievances from the past 10 years, he said. “the fact is, we’re getting outcomes that we are looking for and we’ve been looking for, for a long time,” hunter said. “(prime minister mark carney) wants to see alberta thrive.”
the ottawa-alberta mou would advance major energy and infrastructure projects, including a proposed new oil pipeline, carbon capture expansion, electricity grid upgrades and emissions-reduction initiatives.
lower carbon pricing protects competition, says minister
the agreement also reforms alberta’s tier carbon pricing system by gradually increasing industrial carbon prices and strengthening carbon credit rules to encourage investment in emissions-reduction projects such as carbon capture.
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as part of the mou, the federal government accepted the province’s preferred headline price of $130 per tonne by 2030, instead of sticking to its own scenario of $170 per tonne.
the lower price, hunter said, protects competitiveness and local investment.
“we were the first to put an industrial price on carbon but our approach has been different than the trudeau or ndp price,” he said. “we believe that you put the money in and we basically give it back to you to innovate and make your position stronger in the world market, and that’s why we want to make sure we keep it in-house.”
hunter acknowledged the province has received mixed feedback on the carbon policy.
“we’re quite aware of the fact that if you want to build a million barrel per day pipeline to the west coast, you’ve got to build a field, you’re not competitive with other jurisdictions, that investment won’t happen,” he said. “devil’s in the details.”
grant hunter, alberta minister of environment & protected areas, speaks at a chamber of commerce luncheon in calgary on tuesday, may 26, 2026.
dean pilling/postmedia
concerns regarding water security, open-pit coal mining
in his address, the minister acknowledged increasing tensions around water security between residents, major infrastructure projects and recreation and tourism ambitions.
“i think the changes we made to the water act . . . was the right approach,” he said.
hunter was referring to the alberta water act amendment, implemented in march, that saw the province streamline water licensing and inter-basin transfers, expand reuse of non-traditional water sources, and increase reporting requirements.
“we had the most stringent approach when it came to inter-basin transfers out of any province, but we are allowing under a ministerial order to be able to do low-risk inter-basin transfers, and that’s going to save industries about $25 million,” he said.
he expressed faith in the province’s regulatory bodies to ascertain where open-pit coal mining should occur at the headwaters in the eastern slopes of alberta’s rockies, where several local residents and ranchers have expressed concerns on environmental and local impact.
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“i’m from downstream,” he said.
he justified the province’s ability to assiduously judge the situation by its investment in the region’s irrigation and dependence on crop export.
“we’re not going to mess that up,” he said. “whatever happens in the eastern slopes would have to be meeting very, very high standards.”
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