Alberta drafted Crown pipeline plan before premier publicly rejected it

A 46-page cabinet document obtained by The Narwhal and separately reviewed by The Globe and Mail shows Alberta’s Energy and Minerals ministry weighed a substantial rewrite of how natural gas pipelines are regulated and built in the province. The paper, titled “Building a modern natural-gas access framework for Alberta’s future,” lays out options for cabinet including a change to provincial law that would pull all gas pipelines under Alberta’s jurisdiction and away from the federal Canada Energy Regulator, followed by legislation permitting the creation of two Crown corporations.

According to the Globe’s reading of the document, one corporation would handle system-wide planning for gas infrastructure across the province, while the second would be empowered to construct, own or backstop pipeline projects that private utilities decline to build. That second entity could, in effect, compete directly with TC Energy, the company that owns and operates NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd., the largest gas transportation system in Western Canada. The Globe reported that full implementation of the plan was estimated to cost between $53.9 million and $162.6 million, a figure that excludes any actual pipeline construction.

The document’s core worry is capacity. The Globe and The Hub both reported that NGTL is expected to run at or near full capacity through 2029, with no confirmed expansion plans beyond 2030, partly because TC Energy earns a lower return on its Alberta assets than on its American pipelines. The document reportedly treats that constraint as a direct threat to Alberta’s ambition to attract AI data centres, arguing that without guaranteed gas access, investors could choose other jurisdictions instead.

Smith downplays the boldest option

Premier Danielle Smith addressed the leak on her radio program, Your Province, Your Premier, on 12 September. The Narwhal reported that when host Wayne Nelson asked her directly whether the government was considering spending billions on new pipelines for data centres, Smith answered, “Short answer, no.” She went on to say TC Energy holds what she called a monopoly over the gas pipeline system and that her government wants to open the door to competing builders, adding that a Crown corporation would very unlikely be needed to accomplish that.

The Hub later reported similar remarks from the same broadcast, in which Smith said Alberta does “things” differently from provinces such as British Columbia and Quebec, which rely on Crown-owned utilities, and that Alberta instead depends on the private sector for power generation, transmission and distribution. The Hub noted, however, that this public dismissal came after a document that spent dozens of pages examining exactly the scenario Smith was rejecting, complete with legislative options, cost estimates and legal risk assessments.

Neither The Narwhal nor the Globe reported that the Alberta government has denied the document’s authenticity. The Hub’s follow-up reporting suggests officials still regard expanded provincial control over gas infrastructure, short of full Crown ownership, as part of the government’s longer-term approach to courting data centre investment, even if the most dramatic option now appears politically shelved.