Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, delivers speech at the Global Energy Show in Calgary, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
By Lauren Krugel
Federal natural resources minister Tim Hodgson came to the Global Energy Show with a message for international delegates: “Canada can be a supplier you need in a volatile world.”
But the CEO of a major oilsands producer cast doubt on whether Canada is rising to the occasion by making its support for a new West Coast oilsands pipeline contingent on a multi-billion dollar emissions-reducing project and an industry carbon levy.
Hodgson told the opening session at the conference and trade show on Tuesday that Canada is reliable, democratic and “once again open for business.” The event takes place as ongoing strife in the Middle East rattles energy markets and the federal government looks to bolster Canada’s status as a reliable global energy supplier.
This year’s event was expected to attract 30,000 attendees — with a larger portion from abroad than in years past, organizers said.
“We all know energy policy is now economic policy. It is security policy. It is trade policy. It is investment policy,” Hodgson told the crowd.
“The world is not waiting for Canada. But Canada is not waiting either. We’re rising to the moment.”
- 0126 Steel_Reef_Promo_0126 Steel_Reef_Promo_
- 0125 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_20250125 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_2025
- 0123 Pride Upkeep 2026 packages0123 Pride Upkeep 2026 packages
- 0118 IBEW 30 sec0118 IBEW 30 sec
- 0114 Prospera Bold Vision0114 Prospera Bold Vision
- 0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 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
- 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
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 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
At last year’s event, Smith made an early push for a new bitumen pipeline to the northwest coast to be ultimately led by industry.
The Alberta government is aiming to file an application by July 1 to the federal major projects office for the pipeline, which so far has no private-sector backer.
The province and Ottawa signed a sweeping energy accord late last year setting out the conditions for a new West Coast oil pipeline. That pursuit is contingent on the massive Pathways carbon storage project moving ahead and vice versa.
Cenovus Energy Inc. CEO Jon McKenzie said the “new-found sense of co-operation and purpose” from the federal and Alberta governments is encouraging.
But McKenzie said the memorandum of understanding, and a subsequent agreement on implementing a new carbon pricing regime, does not instil confidence in oilsands producers, whose investment would be needed to fill a new pipeline.
“Industry has been clear that the industrial carbon tax is insidious and it should be revoked. Just as the retail carbon tax made life unaffordable for Canadians, the industrial carbon tax makes investments in Canadian energy and particularly our oilsands less competitive and drives out capital,” he said.
“The confirmation of the carbon tax does not provide certainty for investment. It provides certainty that a regulatory regime is increasingly out of step and uncompetitive.”
Alberta and Ottawa have agreed to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 16 megatonnes by 2045 with the Pathways project. Cenovus and four other oilsands peers are spearheading the plan to pipe CO2 captured from several oilsands sites in northeastern Alberta to a storage hub near Cold Lake, Alta.
“But the question is really, how will Canada and Canadians benefit from this project? The reality is this is a project with no revenue. It is simply another cost burden that will be borne by industry and the two levels of government,” McKenzie said.
He estimated a project the size of Pathways would cost $20 to $30 billion while reducing global emissions by an infinitesimal amount.
- 0126 Steel_Reef_Promo_0126 Steel_Reef_Promo_
- 0125 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_20250125 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_2025
- 0123 Pride Upkeep 2026 packages0123 Pride Upkeep 2026 packages
- 0118 IBEW 30 sec0118 IBEW 30 sec
- 0114 Prospera Bold Vision0114 Prospera Bold Vision
- 0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 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
- 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
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 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
“It’s difficult to imagine anybody would believe that this is a good use of funds regardless of their political orientation.”
The pipeline itself, McKenzie said, is “unfinanceable” by the private sector under current circumstances.
“To date it has been assumed that the Canadian oil and gas producers will invest tens of billions of dollars necessary to grow production and make the one-million-barrel-a-day pipeline to the West Coast a reality. It is assumed that Canadian oilsands producers will bear the cost of the Pathways carbon capture project to make it a reality,” he said.
“But the reality is Canadian oilsands producers are not investing much beyond sustaining capital today without a competitive investment regime.”
The Alberta government, meanwhile, is aiming for the pipeline being designated a project of national interest by October and getting shovels in the ground as early as September 2027.
“I recognize that putting it on paper is one thing, execution is another,” Smith said during an onstage discussion during the conference.
“But I think the fact that we put it on a paper, signed an agreement, demonstrates that we’re both committed to achieving that outcome. And once we start demonstrating that we are meeting those targets, I think that the proof will be in that to the business sector and hopefully the investment will follow.”
- 0126 Steel_Reef_Promo_0126 Steel_Reef_Promo_
- 0125 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_20250125 SASPO-2896_Right of Way_Awareness_2025
- 0123 Pride Upkeep 2026 packages0123 Pride Upkeep 2026 packages
- 0118 IBEW 30 sec0118 IBEW 30 sec
- 0114 Prospera Bold Vision0114 Prospera Bold Vision
- 0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer0113 Miller Epic Cinematic Hollywood trailer
- 0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended0102 Lori Carr Coal Extended
- 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
- 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
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 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