B.C. Premier David Eby is warning that Canada “cannot work” if “separatist premiers” receive attention from Ottawa over major projects.

Eby’s own record on pipelines looks a lot more like constitutional freelancing than anything Alberta is currently doing.

For years, British Columbia fought the federally approved TMX pipeline expansion through court challenges, regulatory barriers, and political opposition, despite interprovincial pipelines clearly falling under federal jurisdiction.

Courts repeatedly ruled that provinces do not have the constitutional authority to block federally approved interprovincial pipelines.

David Eby is the separatist.

He separated B.C. from the constitution, arrogating the power to block a pipeline, to spite a neighbour that he hates. He doesn’t have that power — that’s a federal power. But he’s acting like a king of a country, with Mark Carney’s approval. https://t.co/dH0BOO2l2F

— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) May 20, 2026

Eby is behaving like “the real separatist” — acting as though B.C. can selectively ignore federal constitutional authority when it dislikes a national project.

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By contrast, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith negotiated the proposed WEST pipeline memorandum of understanding directly with the federal government through existing constitutional and federal channels.

There is currently:

• no declaration of independence,
• no unilateral separation process,
• no referendum underway,
• and no confirmed private-sector proponent attached to the proposed project.

Meanwhile, British Columbia has already benefited significantly from Ottawa’s federal fast-track project system, securing multiple “nation-building” projects while Alberta only recently secured its first.

Verdict: Contradictory messaging

Eby is accusing Alberta of undermining national unity, while his own government previously challenged federal constitutional authority over interprovincial pipeline approvals, which has fueled separatist sentiment. 

Eby's approach treats British Columbia less like a province within Confederation and more like a jurisdiction entitled to opt out of federal decisions it opposes.