Alberta Fact Check: Naheed Nenshi claims companies won’t invest in pipelines that cross borders. He's wrong
Plenty of companies are willing to invest in cross-border pipelines.
In a radio interview on a Northern Alberta radio station, NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi implied companies won’t invest in Alberta energy infrastructure due to the pending independence referendum.
He said, “Who is going to invest tens of billions into a pipeline if they don’t know what country that pipeline is in? Or if it has to cross an international border to reach tidewater?”
Dozens of companies are willing to invest billions of dollars to build pipelines that cross borders. Currently, there are over 200 major oil and gas pipelines operating or in planning that cross international borders to get products to foreign markets.
The Druzhba (Friendship) Pipeline carries 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels per day of oil from Russia and crosses over seven international borders. Those borders have changed many times over the years, but the pipeline has remained in operation. Pipelines can outlast countries in some circumstances.
Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline comes through Morocco and Spain from Algeria, and the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipelines bypass the Strait of Malacca.
Oil and gas companies are agnostic about international borders. Their interest is in producing product and getting it to market. They have and will participate in negotiations between countries for cross-border pipeline access and the host countries of pipelines benefit by allowing the pipeline to cross their territory.
Nenshi noted “There are lots of other places that don’t have to cross borders” in trying to make the case that investment will just go elsewhere.
The investment is already going elsewhere. RBC reported over a trillion dollars in capital flight from Canada due to terrible domestic policies and most of those dollars were to go toward energy development. It’s hard to believe crossing B.C. could become any more difficult post-Alberta independence than it already is.
As long as Alberta sits upon the third largest deposit of oil reserves in the world, companies will want to develop and sell that product. They don’t care if it must cross an international border. Canada’s domestic borders have proven to be more prohibitive than those from Russia. International negotiations for pipeline development have proven more fruitful than those within Canada.
Cory Morgan
Cory Morgan is an Alberta-based columnist, political commentator, and longtime advocate for Western Canadian independence. He is the author of the recently updated book The Sovereigntist’s Handbook, a grassroots guide for independence supporters and political activists.
http://sovereigntistshandbook.com/
COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2026-06-08 23:01:24 -0400What a nasty man Nenshi is! He’s so arrogant and pompous. His statements are also wrong.
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2026-06-08 15:25:52 -0400Nenshi and his ilk know absolutely nothing about the oil and gas industry. Companies in that business build pipelines where there’s easy route and ready right of way. Many of those firms have people on staff who negotiate with landowners for permission to cross their property and arrange for appropriate compensation.
Pipelines have been crossing borders since before he was born. I guess he hasn’t heard of the Trans Canada Pipeline.
