Eby doesn't get PM's focus on pipeline, not lumber

British Columbia Premier David Eby said he doesn't understand why the federal government continues to push a new oil pipeline from Alberta, while it fails to include B.C.'s softwood lumber industry in its latest round of tariff relief.

He said it's unclear to him why Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that a new pipeline is "more likely than not," when no private proponent for the project has yet come forward.

"We haven't seen anything to indicate that this project is any further along than it was a year ago now, with much hype, and not a lot of material reality," he told reporters Monday at the provincial legislature. 

Eby said he privately tells Carney that B.C.'s "real projects" in the energy sector "deserve at least as much respect" as the pipeline being touted by Alberta, which he says still remains unrealized in "any real way." 

The proposed pipeline is part of an agreement the federal government struck with Alberta last fall. It includes language that could lead to a pipeline carrying bitumen to B.C.'s northern coast for shipping to the Asian markets.

Carney has also said that the pipeline will not happen without a private proponent, and a July 1 deadline has been set for Alberta to submit a proposal to Ottawa's Major Projects Office for review.

A second pipeline from Alberta to B.C.'s northern coast would require Ottawa to lift a ban that currently prohibits tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of oil along the North coast. 

"We stand in strong opposition to any change to the tanker ban off the North coast," Eby said. "We have to protect that (local) economy, and we will continue to advocate for that, and we continue to insist that this project shows some air of reality before it gets priority over very real projects in British Columbia." 

Several First Nations along the northern and central B.C. coast have also said they're opposed to lifting the tanker ban. 

The federal government separately announced on Monday another $1.5 billion in tariff relief, but without any additional money for softwood lumber. 

It said $1 billion will be available to industries that manufacture and export products containing steel, aluminum or copper after the U.S. raised tariffs last month on those industries on national security grounds. 

The federal government is also providing an additional $500 million through regional development agencies for other industries affected by U.S. tariffs. 

The statement said that government will also continue to support other critical tariff-impacted industries, such as softwood lumber, without giving details. 

Eby said he keeps trying to figure out why softwood lumber is treated differently than other industries that have received support.

"I don't know what it's going to take to get the bureaucrats and the ministers in Ottawa to recognize that softwood lumber employs more people in Canada than steel and auto parts combined," he said.

He said unfair U.S. tariffs are decimating B.C.'s softwood industry, and it needs as much help as industries closer to Ottawa.

"I know we are a little further away, but the jobs here are just as important to Canadians as the jobs in the other tariff-affected sectors," he said.

The premier also called on Ottawa to prioritize softwood lumber in upcoming trade talks with the United States.

"I'm hopeful that we have actually made some progress in that with Ottawa," he said. 

Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said Monday that B.C. is ready to work with the federal government. He will be hosting a meeting in June with his provincial counterparts to discuss the industry. 

"My hope is the federal government will be participating in that, and hopefully, will not just be showing up with their smiles, but also with their chequebooks as well."

B.C. Conservative interim leader Trevor Halford said Monday that there is a "huge disconnect" in the relationship between Eby and Carney. 

"I have got that sense, that you have got a premier that's been left out of numerous important decisions, whether it's pipelines or energy infrastructure," he said. 

"I think the onus is on the premier to develop and foster that relationship, but he seems to be caught flat-footed every time the prime minister is involved in anything to do with B.C."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2026.

By Wolfgang Depner | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.