B.C. Premier David Eby, speaks during a Ksi Lisims LNG announcement of an environmental assessment certificate from the Government of British Columbia in Vancouver, on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
VICTORIA — Lifting the oil tanker ban off British Columbia’s North Coast for a nonexistent pipeline from Alberta would endanger billions in other real investments that Premier David Eby says will need the support of coastal First Nations.
“This is a pretty straightforward issue for British Columbia,” Eby said. “The oil tanker ban off the coast is the social licence with First Nations along the coast to be able to do significant economic development in the region,” he said on Tuesday at an unrelated news conference.
Eby said he’s asking the federal government to reaffirm its support for the tanker ban off the West Coast, after Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Friday that lifting the ban would depend on a number of factors.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been calling for the repeal of the tanker ban as part of her government’s proposal to build an oil pipeline to the coast in a pitch it plans to make to the Major Projects Office by next spring.
But Eby said scrapping the ban would jeopardize approval from coastal First Nations for mines and energy and other projects that represent up to $60 billion in capital investments.
“To have the premier of one of the wealthiest, if not the wealthiest province in Confederation insisting that the country does not work, and is broken unless she gets her way and gets this tanker ban lifted, even if it costs all Canadians tens of billions of dollars in major projects that actually exist with proponents, is absurd,” Eby said.
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 0093 Estevan OTS 20250093 Estevan OTS 2025
- 0103 OSY 2025 hockey draft0103 OSY 2025 hockey draft
- 0101 VP Energy Road to adventure0101 VP Energy Road to adventure
- 0100 Turnbull Project Manager0100 Turnbull Project Manager
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click Before You Dig0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click Before You Dig
- 0092 Turnbull projects big and small0092 Turnbull projects big and small
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0087 Lori Carr Coal Expansion0087 Lori Carr Coal Expansion
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001
Eby said the only possible reason why the North coast would be put at risk is because Smith “woke up one morning and thought that that would be a good idea.”
Smith’s proposed pipeline lacks a proponent, financial backing and a route, and instead is a form of “wedge politics” by a premier who is in “political trouble,” he said.
“So, with all due respect, we need to just forge ahead, build the country, build our economy, and keep the tanker ban in place,” Eby said.
The premier said he is glad to hear that at “least some members of the federal government” have indicated that the tanker ban is not at risk.
Federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson recently said questions about lifting the tanker ban were “hypothetical.”
But Hodgson made his statement before Carney’s recent comments, raising questions about Ottawa’s commitment to the ban.
Marilyn Slett, chief councillor of the Heiltsuk Tribal Council and president of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative, said in a statement that she welcomes Eby’s appeal to Ottawa to reaffirm the federal government’s support for the oil tanker ban.
“The oil tanker ban is foundational to building our economy and protecting our coastal waters, and we are calling on all political leaders and levels of government to support it,” she said.
— with files from Nick Murray
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 14, 2025.
The Pipeline Online podcast is now on Apple Podcasts, available in both video and audio. You can find it here. Please follow.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pipeline-online-podcast/id1791695209
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 0093 Estevan OTS 20250093 Estevan OTS 2025
- 0103 OSY 2025 hockey draft0103 OSY 2025 hockey draft
- 0101 VP Energy Road to adventure0101 VP Energy Road to adventure
- 0100 Turnbull Project Manager0100 Turnbull Project Manager
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click Before You Dig0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click Before You Dig
- 0092 Turnbull projects big and small0092 Turnbull projects big and small
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0087 Lori Carr Coal Expansion0087 Lori Carr Coal Expansion
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001