'Fury from Alberta and Saskatchewan': Western patience wearing thin over lack of Alberta pipeline plan

Prime Minister Mark Carney rolled out a second wave of “nation-building projects” on Thursday and an oil pipeline from Alberta was not on the list.

Patience is wearing thin in western Canada, even as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says her government is “still working” with the Carney government to advance a bitumen pipeline to tidewater.

I spoke to Whitecap Resources CEO Grant Fagerheim, who warns we can expect “fury from Alberta and Saskatchewan” if a pipeline isn’t prioritized.

“What I want to hear from (Carney) is that we’re prepared to advance our products to international markets without a discount price,” Grant declared in a conversation last month, and that requires pipelines between provinces.

“Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only two provinces in Canada that are landlocked,” he explained, “that’s why we need (Ottawa’s) assistance to break down the regulatory barriers so we can get our products to market.”

For those not versed in pipeline economics, a quick reminder: The Americans sell our oil and gas as an export commodity to other countries, and also enjoy a domestic supply of cheaper gasoline for their cars, thanks to constraints on Canadian oil and gas producers’ access to markets.

Whitecap, the seventh largest oil and natural gas producer in Canada, is not a player in the oilsands, but Grant understands why Smith is pushing for a bitumen pipeline to tidewater on the West Coast. His preference? Don’t just build a pipeline; build an energy corridor to move a range of commodities — natural gas, oil, rail, electricity — across the provinces.

Grant also “thinks it’s a responsible thing to do, to link up very closely with the United States of America.”

“I don’t believe in the ‘elbows up’ analogy. I think that’s a mistake,” he states, emphatically. This from a guy who knows what it means to have your elbows up in the corner; he left his Estevan, Sask., home at age 17 to play hockey and played within the New York Islanders system until sidelined by an injury.

“You know, we’re continentally connected to the United States of America, the largest economy in the world. We’re going to say we’re going to go a different direction?” he says, with a shake of his head. “I don’t support that. I don’t live in that world. I prefer to keep your friends your friends, and not create enemies out of them.”

“Yes, we can look for other markets worldwide … but you know, we cannot divorce ourselves from being continentally connected to the United States of America,” he reiterates.

“I would like to accept what (Carney) is saying at face value,” Grant assures me, “and we’re hopeful that we can accept what he’s saying at face value.” He’s also optimistic Canadians are awakening to the fact oil and gas will be required for a “much, much, much longer period of time, and should be developed.” Even Bill Gates is shifting from “doomsday” climate warnings.

There’s still work to do, Grant acknowledges, to educate Canadians on how the sector operates. “If these resources were located in eastern Canada or central Canada,” Grant submits, “this would be a different game. This would be a different game, for sure.”

“I think we’ve been demonized. I think the energy sector has been demonized,” he laments. “They don’t recognize how responsibly developed our resources are in western Canada,” he says, “From an emissions profile perspective, I think that people think, ‘Well, it’s just dirty oil.’ It’s not.”

Oil and gas producers in western Canada spend a lot of time, money, energy and brain power figuring out how to reduce emissions, Grant asserts. “We have the largest carbon sequestration project in the world in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, but it doesn’t resonate,” he reports. “…I get more celebration when we talk about this in Europe or Asia than I do right here in Canada.”

Over a career spanning four decades, this 66-year-old oil industry dealmaker has learned how to survive the ups-and-downs of a volatile sector, starting with his first job in the patch at debt-stricken Dome Petroleum. Most recently, Grant was one of the key architects of Whitecap’s May 2025 merger with Veren Inc., combining the two companies in a $15-billion deal to create a leading Canadian light oil and condensate producer.

It’s a wobbly time in Canada’s oil and gas sector; I’m curious to understand how non-oilsands players like Whitecap navigate the uncertainties.

“We’re a light oil producer, primarily,” Grant explains, producing about 62 per cent light oil and liquids and 38 per cent natural gas. “What’s interesting about that, in this pricing environment,” he continues, “about 94 per cent of our revenue is driven from oil, and six per cent from natural gas,” even though natural gas comprises 38 per cent of Whitecap’s production. The conventional portion of their assets, Grant explains, “stabilizes the business for the longer term.”

In spite of a hectic work schedule — including managing a corporate merger — Grant accepted Smith’s invitation to join the 16-member Alberta Next panel this past summer. In town halls across the province, the panel hosted conversations with Albertans, talking about ways to strengthen provincial sovereignty, protect the economy from federal overreach and assert Alberta’s constitutional rights.

Grant’s conversant with these questions. In 2018, he was one of the founders of the Buffalo Project, a political action committee championed by former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall to protest federal policies obstructing energy development. Incidentally, Wall has been a director on Whitecap’s board since 2019.

Donald Trump’s “51st state” taunts have stirred up separatist sentiments on the prairies, and both Quebec and Alberta tabled legislation this fall pushing the edges on provincial sovereignty within Canada. I’m curious to know where Grant stands on these questions.

“I would not be a proponent of separation,” he responds. “The ‘51st state’ comment; I think that’s aggressive. I’m not personally a supporter of that.”

What Grant does support is the idea of a nation within a nation, “so you can develop your resources, monetize them effectively for the benefit not only of your province, but for Canadian citizens.” Although he’s not happy with equalization payments, as they presently play out, he insists, joining the United States isn’t the solution to what ails Canada.

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