{"id":23369,"date":"2025-12-05T20:03:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T20:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?post_type=rbc_tl&p=23369\/canadas-place-in-a-new-nuclear-era"},"modified":"2026-03-27T14:10:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T14:10:59","slug":"the-canada-alberta-mou-a-new-energy-alliance","status":"publish","type":"rbc_tl","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/climate-action-institute\/energy-reports\/the-canada-alberta-mou-a-new-energy-alliance\/","title":{"rendered":"The Canada-Alberta MoU: A new energy alliance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) sets the stage for the province to become a continental energy superpower across both traditional and non-traditional energy forms. A key piece of the MoU centres around a bitumen pipeline project provided Alberta proceeds with several low-carbon projects and programs in parallel.

As it stands, the province\u2019s major projects inventory consists of almost 1,000 projects valued at $167 billion. Incorporating a new major bitumen pipeline, plus meaningful growth in data centres and accompanying power generation and distribution, could raise that figure to more than $400 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five themes that stood out to us from the MoU:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. A clear roadmap:<\/strong> The level of specificity within the document gives the MoU teeth. Unlike most MoUs that usually focus on outlining broad contours of areas of co-operation, this MoU sets out clear guidelines and targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Tight deadlines: <\/strong>The accelerated timelines suggest an urgency that puts the onus on Alberta to deliver, quickly, on several climate policies in order to secure expansion of its fossil fuel sector. Most of the key action items required on the Alberta side (carbon pricing equivalency, methane equivalency, tri-lateral Pathways MoU) have an April 1, 2026, deadline. It also brings an urgency in British Columbia where Premier David Eby would have to make some quick decisions on a new pipeline (and the proposed expansion of Trans Mountain pipeline) across his province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. A new bitumen pipeline:<\/strong> The success of the MoU, especially in the context of a new, large bitumen pipeline, revolves around the historically challenged duty to consult and the Build Canada Act to bypass future legal challenges, which at this point appear almost certain.

4. A 700,000-bpd proposition: <\/strong>The Alberta government is expected to remain the central pipeline proponent until all parties\u2014including Indigenous groups\u2014 are on board to reduce the possibility of delays and cost overruns that has plagued past pipeline expansions. In the nearer to mid-term (next five years), pipeline expansions across Enbridge\u2019s Mainline and the federal government-owned Trans Mountain will add up to 600,000 to 700,000 barrels per day in added capacity, which should be enough to support growth for the remainder of this decade.

5. Low-carbon boost:<\/strong> The space given to non-oil and gas commentary such as a substantial expansion of power generation for traditional heavy industry, but also around data centres, interties, and domestic supply chain capture (e.g., Canadian steel and pipeline), suggests that the federal government is creating linkages to ensure a potential Alberta boom cascades across industries and provinces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s being overlooked:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n