On frigid winter nights in northern Alberta, the glow from the outdoor hockey rink warms Tyler Letendre’s heart. 

This year more than ever, the lights are bright, the ice is smooth, and the boards are solid — built to last, not patched together year after year like they used to be.

For Letendre, the operations manager and economic development officer for Peerless Trout First Nation (PTFN), the rink is more than a place for friends and families to get together to skate. It’s proof that something fundamental has changed in his community.

“Two years ago, this wouldn’t have been possible,” Letendre says. “Now, it’s something our kids can rely on.”

The transformation didn’t come from a one-time grant or a short-term program. 

It came from equity ownership in energy infrastructure — a model that is quietly reshaping how Indigenous communities build wealth, plan for the future, and assert economic self-determination.

Why ownership matters in remote communities

Photo courtesy Peerless Trout First Nation

Peerless Trout First Nation is a rural, semi-isolated community in northern Alberta. Its two main settlements sit 29 kilometres apart, meaning the Nation must often build and maintain two of everything, from roads to recreation facilities.

“In communities like ours, location matters,” Letendre explains. 

“If you’re near a major city, like Tsuu T’ina or Enoch, business development is easier. If you’re not, it’s very hard to generate own-source revenue.”

For PTFN, oil and gas development in the region created opportunity.

In 2023, the Nation and 11 other communities acquired an 85 per cent stake in $172 million in oil and gas pipeline assets operated by Tamarack Valley Energy in the Clearwater play. The deal was supported by the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation.

Since closing, the 12 First Nations and Métis communities have secured stable revenue streams that have proven more valuable than traditional impact benefit agreements (IBAs), long central to Indigenous engagement in the energy sector.

Photo courtesy Tamarack Valley Energy

“IBAs fluctuate with oil and gas prices,” Letendre says. “You can’t borrow against them. Banks won’t look at you.”

Equity ownership, by contrast, creates a tangible asset.

“With equity, you have ownership and predictable returns,” he says. “Banks recognize that.”

A ‘significant shift’ in energy development

Indigenous ownership of oil and gas projects has surged in the past five years, according to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER).

The CER reports that since 2021, Indigenous communities have acquired ownership interests in more than 5,000 kilometres of pipelines across the country. 

This is in addition to ownership stakes in four LNG terminals in B.C. and Manitoba at various stages of development. 

Many of the agreements are supported by government loan guarantee programs like the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation. 

“Overall, the growing role of Indigenous ownership in pipelines and LNG projects in Canada marks a significant shift in how major energy projects in the country are developed, financed, and managed,” the CER said.

Turning revenue into community infrastructure

Over the past two years, PTFN and the other communities have used Clearwater equity revenues to support education initiatives, emergency preparedness, wildfire evacuations and other community priorities without the restrictions that often come with government funding.

“There are no strings attached,” Letendre says. “We decide what our community needs most.”

One of the most visible examples is the Nation’s upgraded outdoor hockey rinks — $1.4-million structures with shells, lighting, boards and higher construction standards.

“These aren’t temporary fixes,” he says. “They’re built to last.”

Letendre says the energy partnership has strengthened and diversified PTFN’s economic base. 

While the community’s locally owned construction company creates much-needed jobs and builds capacity, expansion also brings added risk and expense.

“The equity deal is straight revenue. It did in one year what our construction revenue did in three – more than $500,000 a year – and if the company does well in production, it could be more,” he says.

A pattern repeating across Canada

Peerless Trout’s experience is not unique.

At Willow Lake Métis Nation, ownership of energy infrastructure has been transformative in similar ways. 

After investing in Suncor Energy’s Northern Courier Pipeline, the Nation was able to purchase 205 acres of land near Fort McMurray — its first modern homeland — now known as Sohkastwâwin, a Cree word meaning “resilience.”

Astisiy Limited Partnership, representing eight Indigenous communities, acquired Suncor’s 15 per cent interest in the Northern Courier Pipeline. Photo courtesy Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation

Revenue from that deal has since been used to support housing, cultural programming and the purchase of a campground and RV park that Willow Lake plans to redevelop into an Indigenous tourism destination.

“For us, ownership means stability, being able to plan for the long term and invest in what matters most to each community,” says Justin Bourque, former CEO of the Nation who now leads a consulting firm specializing in negotiation and management of meaningful Indigenous-led industry partnerships. 

“Equity ownership doesn’t replace consultation requirements for energy companies. When you add the two together, it’s a deeper relationship that’s more well-rounded and more engaged.”

That same principle underpins Enbridge’s Project Rocket, a landmark partnership that saw 23 First Nations and Métis communities acquire an ownership stake in seven major pipeline assets in northern Alberta in 2022. 

One of the largest Indigenous equity transactions in North America, the deal has provided about $25 million over the last three years – steady, long-term revenue that communities are using for housing, education, elder supports and economic diversification.

Enbridge’s latest Indigenous partnership saw 38 First Nations acquire 12.5 per cent equity ownership of the company’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system in British Columbia for approximately $736 million.

Squiala First Nation Chief David Jimmie said the deal will generate sustained economic benefits for the community from an asset that has operated within its traditional territories for more than 65 years. 

“People often ask what economic reconciliation for Indigenous Peoples looks like. This is it,” he said when the partnership was announced last May.

From ‘too good to be true’ to a new normal

Photo courtesy Peerless Trout First Nation/Facebook

For Peerless Trout First Nation, equity ownership has also unlocked the ability to think beyond immediate needs.

The Nation is now in the design phase of a fishing lodge and resort, a project aimed at diversifying the local economy and creating sustainable employment based on the fantastic fishing in the area’s lakes and rivers.

With equity in energy assets under its belt, the community is now able to leverage other financing for business ventures that were previously out of reach.

“At the beginning, it felt too good to be true, but it’s not,” Letendre says.

“Now we’re not just sitting back waiting for opportunities to arrive. We have the experience to be able to go out and approach industry on our own and pursue more partnerships,” he says.

“If we can do 10 more deals like this, it will benefit our people hundreds of times over for generations.”

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Greg Kist has seen plenty of change during more than three decades working in the energy industry. But the former executive with Petronas and Progress Energy has rarely experienced a history-making moment.

That happened in July 2024, when the B.C. government awarded the Halfway River First Nation what’s known as oil and gas tenure in the heart of the Montney play.  

It’s an agreement that grants the Nation decision-making authority over the exploration and development of petroleum and natural gas resources on more than 34,000 hectares of Crown land in its traditional territory, located approximately 1,000 kilometres northeast of downtown Vancouver.

That agreement is now moving further into action with a deal between Halfway River-owned Tsaa Dunne Za Energy (TDZE) and ARC Resources. 

Members of the Halfway River First Nation participate in a field tour with the BC Energy Regulator in June 2025. Photo courtesy BCER

The agreement, signed earlier this year, will see TDZE work with Calgary-based ARC to develop about 25 per cent of the tenured land. 

The region is adjacent to ARC’s existing Attachie natural gas operations, which are rich in high-value natural gas liquids. 

The company describes Attachie as one of its most profitable assets, which can be expanded thanks to the TDZE agreement. 

“This land was deferred from development for more than two decades while sitting in the premier natural gas play in North America,” says Kist, one of TDZE’s managing executives. 

“Unlocking it will generate all kinds of economic activity and royalties for the B.C. government that help pay for schools and health care. But it will also generate the same benefits for the Halfway River First Nation.”

ARC plans to integrate the new areas using existing roads, pipelines and other infrastructure from Attachie.

Developing the land will still require consultation with the Halfway River First Nation. 

Drilling in the Montney play straddles the border between northeast B.C. and northwest Alberta. Photo courtesy ARC Resources

“This is very much about Tsaa Dunne Za Energy delivering the best return on this particular asset for its shareholders, which are the members of the Halfway River First Nation,” Kist says. 

In addition to granting tenure to develop oil and gas on the land, the B.C. government and Halfway River have implemented a landscape planning pilot to mitigate the impacts of development on the Nation’s Treaty 8 rights and manage potential cumulative effects of new development.

“The tenure award and landscape planning pilot will help to ensure that oil and gas development in these areas is sustainable and managed in accordance with the values of the Halfway River First Nation,” Chief Darlene Hunter said in a statement.  

Kist sees the agreement as a template for other governments, energy companies and First Nations to follow.

“This has the potential to be the model for cooperative development so that we can develop resources in the right way that benefits governments, First Nations and industry. I’m proud to be a part of this because everybody involved wins from this.”

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The head of the National Coalition of Chiefs (NCC) is calling for the repeal of the oil tanker ban on B.C.’s north coast as Canada seeks “nation-building” projects to strengthen economic independence.

With short shipping times to hungry Asian markets, ports like Prince Rupert or Kitimat offer a strong business case – but only if the tankers can dock. 

“No proponent is going to look at investing in a pipeline to the north coast with that kind of legislation in place,” says NCC founder and CEO Dale Swampy.

Formed in 2016, the NCC is a group of pro-development First Nation leaders including some who were equity partners in the cancelled Northern Gateway pipeline from Edmonton to Kitimat.

Canada’s Indigenous communities need projects, not lawsuits that hold them up, he says.

Original map of the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline, submitted to regulators as part of a preliminary information package in October 2005. Map courtesy Canada Energy Regulator

Northern Gateway and the tanker ban

The tanker ban and Northern Gateway are intrinsically linked. 

The moratorium contributed to the loss of Indigenous ownership stakes and an estimated $2 billion in economic opportunity for First Nations and Métis communities.

“We have consistently spoken up against this legislation, which directly affects the ability of our communities to participate in developing resources,” Swampy says.

With the aim to diversify markets for Canadian oil by reaching customers in Asia, Enbridge announced Northern Gateway in 2004. 

The project’s 7,800-page regulatory application to the National Energy Board (NEB) – including more than 1,600 pages specific to marine safety – followed in May 2010. 

In December 2013, after extensive assessment and public hearings, including with Indigenous communities, a three-member Joint Review Panel from the NEB and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency recommended the project to go ahead. 

In June 2014, the federal government approved Northern Gateway with 209 conditions, including a requirement to fulfill over 400 voluntary commitments, many tied to marine safety.

After receiving approval, Northern Gateway’s management team and the project’s Aboriginal Equity Partners proposed an increase in Indigenous ownership from 10 per cent to 33 per cent. 

They also created a joint governance structure where the communities and the company would have an equal voice. 

The modified project would also incorporate First Nations and Métis environmental stewardship and monitoring using traditional science. 

Meanwhile, legal actions were underway by environmental groups and Indigenous communities outside the equity partners. 

By December 2014, the Federal Court of Appeal had consolidated multiple cases challenging the project’s approval. 

Blocking the Northern Gateway pipeline and enacting a moratorium on oil tanker traffic on B.C.’s north coast became cornerstones of the Liberal Party’s 2015 election platform.

Oil Tanker Moratorium Act legislated moratorium area, 2017. Map courtesy Transport Canada

In November 2015, just a week after being sworn in, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructed his transport minister to “formalize” the ban, a major setback for Northern Gateway. 

Five months later, in June 2016 the Federal Court of Appeal overturned the government’s approval for the project, ruling that Canada had failed to fulfill its constitutional duty to consult Indigenous communities. 

In November 2016, Trudeau officially rejected Northern Gateway, devastating hopes for the bands that would have become equity partners.

“Thirty-one of the 40 First Nations and Métis communities who were located on Northern Gateway’s right-of-way supported the pipeline, but a couple of communities backed by environmental groups were able to stop the entire project,” Swampy says. 

“That’s not fair or democratic.”

In May 2017, Bill C-48, also known as the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, was formally introduced in the House of Commons.

Indigenous communities stripped of opportunity

At the time, Swampy told the Financial Post that the communities saw the decision to reject Northern Gateway as political and not acting in the best interests of Canadians.

“They weren’t asked about the financial effect, the lost employment,” he said. 

The implications of the tanker ban go far beyond the West Coast, Indian Resources Council CEO Stephen Buffalo told the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications in March 2019. 

Buffalo joined Swampy and other Indigenous leaders to speak to the committee as part of its consideration of Bill C-48. 

Representing more than 130 First Nations that produce or have the potential to produce oil and gas, he said community prosperity is closely tied to the sector. 

“The industry is suffering greatly from the lack of pipeline access…We need access to new markets to obtain fair value for our oil resources,” Buffalo said.

“We are struggling with addictions and depression, and people are losing hope. If we are ever going to make faster progress on these issues, our First Nations communities need more own-source revenues to fund cultural programs, sports programs or health activities for our young people,” he said.

“We need more jobs available for our people. We need them to earn good wages — wages that can support their families. Right now, Bill C-48 and other policies threaten all of that for us.”

Buffalo questioned the necessity of the tanker ban.

“I think all First Nations would support development of strict regulations that protect the environment, but that’s different from arbitrarily stopping just Canadian oil tanker activity,” he said.

The Senate approved the tanker ban and it became law upon Royal Assent on June 21, 2019. 

Shifting times and new pipelines

Six years and the threat of U.S. tariffs later, the view on Canadian oil pipelines — and, potentially, the tanker ban itself — is shifting. 

Growing public support for pipelines in recent opinion polls has encouraged Swampy. 

So, too, has the change in attitudes towards development by coastal First Nations that have experienced the benefits of working with industry.

“Many of the coastal First Nations in northwestern B.C. are either building or looking at building LNG facilities. They appreciate the fact prosperity can be gained by partnering on these projects,” he says.

The NCC wants to see that same opportunity for the communities that would have benefited from Northern Gateway, through a new oil pipeline proposal to either Kitimat or Prince Rupert. 

“We are hoping providing some certainty with Indigenous consultation and participation will give proponents some certainty they have a willing partner,” Swampy says. 

To avoid lawsuits that delay or cancel projects and drive developers out of Canada, Swampy says agreements must, from the outset, unite leadership from proponents, governments and affected First Nations.

“We hope governments hear our message: we want projects, not lawsuits,” he says.

“Communities don’t need a cheque or a handout. They need the opportunity to participate in a meaningful way.”

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The first pipe is officially in the ground for the natural gas line that will supply the world’s first Indigenous-led LNG project. 

Eight kilometres of steel — known as the Cedar LNG pipeline — will connect the Haisla Nation’s floating LNG export terminal at Kitimat, B.C. to the Coastal GasLink pipeline, delivering natural gas produced nearly 700 kilometres away in the province’s northeast. 

The project posted an image of the new pipeline construction to its social media feeds on July 10. 

First pipe is installed for the Cedar LNG pipeline. Photo courtesy Cedar LNG

The Cedar LNG pipeline connects to Coastal GasLink just outside the fence of the now operational LNG Canada terminal via a new metering station and a short system operated by TC Energy called Cedar Link.  

By enabling the development of Cedar LNG, a partnership between the Haisla and Pembina Pipeline Corporation, the Cedar LNG pipeline project will stand as a landmark in Indigenous ownership within Canada’s resource sector.

It’s the result of a deal engineered by the Nation, whose traditional territory spans the Kitimat coast. 

In fall 2018, as part of a benefit agreement with the LNG Canada project, the Haisla negotiated space on Coastal GasLink for its own LNG project.

That agreement laid the path for Cedar LNG, which started construction in July 2024. 

“I think the uniqueness of Cedar is that it was Indigenous-owned from the beginning,” Haisla Nation chief councillor Crystal Smith said on a recent ARC Energy Ideas podcast.

“[For] a little over 10 years, it’s been in our sight and in our vision.”

Site preparation work to support the Cedar LNG floating terminal. Photo courtesy Cedar LNG

Construction of the $4.6 billion Cedar LNG project is part of what TD Securities analysts called “a new era for Canadian natural gas” ushered in by the recent completion of LNG Canada. 

Since July 1, three separate LNG carriers have left the $18 billion facility with shipments destined for Japan and South Korea.   

“The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin is on the cusp of experiencing the largest increase in natural gas export volume in its history,” TD Securities said in a research note. 

Pembina said Cedar LNG can help achieve higher prices for Canadian natural gas while enhancing global energy security. 

The company expects it to go into service around 2028. 

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Sinbad may have sailed the seven seas, but he never saw as much of the briny deep as Shawn Jones.

Jones, who has spent almost three decades working on ships around the world, had both of his feet firmly planted ashore on an early April afternoon as HaiSea Marine tugboats escorted the first LNG carrier into its berth at LNG Canada’s marine terminal jetty in Kitimat, B.C.

The vessel safely arrived in the traditional territory of the Haisla Nation carrying a cargo of liquefied natural gas that was offloaded into the facility for equipment testing in advance of the terminal’s first LNG export cargoes.

It was a historic moment even for the experienced seafarer, who now serves as HaiSea’s senior operations manager.

“Our crews have been training and preparing for this moment for a very long time. Everyone, from the tug crews to the shore team came together and it went seamlessly,” said Jones, who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification as a master mariner.

“This import cargo was a trial run, as soon many of these LNG carriers will come through the channel and sail off to markets around the world.”

Spanning the length of about two and a half football fields, the first LNG carrier, called Gaslog Glasgow, is targeted to arrive on June 29, according to Reuters news.

Shipments will gradually increase to 180 vessels a year coming through the channel. And all of them will be guided by HaiSea tugboats.

“We have two escort tugs to guide them through the channel and then three harbour tugs working with shore teams to help dock and undock them,” said Jones.

“There’s not a lot of large commercial traffic. We see private boaters and fishermen along with supply vessels, but nothing as big as these LNG carriers. That’s why we spent a year training for this.”

HaiSea is a joint venture between Vancouver-based Seaspan Marine and the Haisla Nation, whose traditional lands oversee the Douglas Channel.

Bearing Haisla names, the company’s five tugboats reflect the blend of tradition and state-of-the-art technology.

“The three electric harbour tugs are able to run completely on battery power while the two escort tugs have the ability to run on LNG or diesel,” said Jones, who moved to Kitimat last year from South Korea, where he commissioned oil and gas ships at the Hanwha Ocean shipyard.

“I graduated from a maritime academy back in 1995 and I would have never believed I would see the day when boats ran on batteries or LNG.”

The California native, whose career has taken him into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean and off the coast of Africa, has developed a deep respect for the Haisla Nation’s seafaring ability.

“About 20 per cent of HaiSea’s workforce is Indigenous and the majority of those employees are members of the Haisla Nation,” said  Jones.

“Being on the water is in their DNA. They are a seafaring nation because they have grown up next to the water so they’ve spent time fishing and boating. There are skills they have to learn but they want to learn and progress and we will help them with that. We are working with BCIT [the British Columbia Institute of Technology] to get training courses locally.”

And with construction now underway on the Haisla Nation’s own Cedar LNG project, Jones expects more opportunities for community members, both onshore and in the open water.

“Our plan is to keep the positive momentum going and focus on additional training to prepare for the first LNG export cargo, which will be history in the making for Canada, LNG Canada and HaiSea Marine.”

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The first federally backed Indigenous loan guarantee paves the way for increased prosperity for 36 First Nations communities in British Columbia.

In May, Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV) announced a $400 million backstop for the consortium to jointly purchase 12.5 per cent ownership of Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system for $712 million.

In the works for two years, the deal redefines long-standing relationships around a pipeline that has been in operation for generations.

“For 65 years, there’s never been an opportunity or a conversation about participating in an asset that’s come through the territory,” said Chief David Jimmie of the Squiala First Nation near Vancouver, B.C.

“We now have an opportunity to have our Nation’s voices heard directly when we have concerns and our partners are willing to listen.”

Jimmie chairs the Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance, which represents the communities buying into the Enbridge system.

The name Stonlasec8 reflects the different regions represented in the agreement, he said.

The Westcoast pipeline stretches more than 2,900 kilometres from northeast B.C. near the Alberta border to the Canada-U.S. border near Bellingham, Wash., running through the middle of the province.

It delivers up to 3.6 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas throughout B.C. and the Lower Mainland, Alberta and the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

“While we see the benefits back to communities, we are still reminded of our responsibility to the land, air and water so it is important to think of reinvestment opportunities in alternative energy sources and how we can offset the carbon footprint,” Jimmie said.

He also chairs the Western Indigenous Pipeline Group (WIPG), a coalition of First Nations communities working in partnership with Pembina Pipeline to secure an ownership stake in the newly expanded Trans Mountain pipeline system.

There is overlap between the communities in the two groups, he said.

CDEV vice-president Sébastien Labelle said provincial models such as the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) and Ontario’s Indigenous Opportunities Financing Program helped bring the federal government’s version of the loan guarantee to life.

“It’s not a new idea. Alberta started it before us, and Ontario,” Labelle said.

“We hired some of the same advisors AIOC hired because we want to make sure we are aligned with the market. We didn’t want to start something completely new.”

Broadly, Jimmie said the Stonlasec8 agreement will provide sustained funding for investments like housing, infrastructure, environmental stewardship and cultural preservation. But it’s up to the individual communities how to spend the ongoing proceeds.

The long-term cash injections from owning equity stakes of major projects can provide benefits that traditional funding agreements with the federal government do not, he said.

Labelle said the goal is to ensure Indigenous communities benefit from projects on their traditional territories.

“There’s a lot of intangible, indirect things that I think are hugely important from an economic perspective,” he said.

“You are improving the relationship with pipeline companies, you are improving social license to do projects like this.”

Jimmie stressed the impact the collaborative atmosphere of the negotiations had on the success of the Stonlasec8 agreement.

“It takes true collaboration to reach a successful partnership, which doesn’t always happen. And from the Nation representation, the sophistication of the group was one of the best I’ve ever worked with.”

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As construction gets underway on Cedar LNG, the world’s first Indigenous majority-owned LNG export terminal, a report from RBC highlights the project as a model of successful energy development in Canada.

“We broke a pattern that had existed for over a century,” said Karen Ogen, CEO of the First Nations Natural Gas Alliance.

“First Nations have been at the heart of the LNG opportunity, not on the sidelines or just on the job sites but in the boardrooms helping to make it happen.”

RBC said the Cedar LNG project in Kitimat, B.C. – a partnership between the Haisla Nation (50.1 per cent) and Pembina Pipeline Corporation (49.9 per cent) – is a model for Indigenous economic reconciliation in action.

“Canada’s future growth and prosperity depends heavily on getting Indigenous economic reconciliation right,” said report co-author Varun Srivatsan, RBC’s director of policy and strategic engagement.

“If not, the country’s ability to diversify our resource exports, enjoy independence and resiliency in strategic sectors, and improve productivity, which has lagged that of other countries for years, are all at risk.”

RBC outlined the enormous potential of Indigenous-led energy projects to drive economic growth.

Almost three-quarters of the 504 major resource and energy projects planned or underway in Canada run through or are within 20 kilometres of Indigenous territories.

The value of Indigenous equity opportunity from these projects is estimated at $98 billion over the next 10 years, with oil and gas projects dominating the list at $57.6 billion.

“It’s clear that First Nations are critical to LNG in Canada. It’s First Nations territory from where the gas is extracted in Treaty 8 territory, it’s First Nations territory across which gas is transported via pipeline, it’s First Nations territory where LNG terminals are located, and it’s First Nations waters through which carriers take LNG to market. This is why we say Canadian LNG is Indigenous LNG. And we are going to make history,” Ogen said.

Cedar LNG reached a final investment decision last June, following a permitting process that saw the Haisla Nation directly involved in planning the facilities and operations.

This includes a floating LNG terminal with emissions among the world’s lowest, at 0.08 per cent CO2 equivalent per tonne of LNG compared to the global average of 0.35 per cent. Operations are slated to start in late 2028.

“Our community felt it was important that our values of being Haisla, being Indigenous, were felt through every decision that was being made. That is what makes this project unique,” said Crystal Smith, the Haisla Nation’s elected chief councillor.

Central to the Haisla’s involvement in Cedar LNG are the jobs and ongoing revenues that benefit the nation and neighbouring communities.

This has included support for education and cultural programs and building a state-of-the-art health facility and a new housing development.

“Cedar LNG shows what is achievable when you have a shared vision,” Smith said.

“It is going to mean that my kids and grandkids have a different future from what I or anybody in my generation have experienced in our community. It is going to revive our culture, revive our language, and make us stronger going forward.”

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The CEOs of 38 of Canada’s largest energy companies have a message for the new federal government: after all the discussion on the campaign trail about the need to flex Canada’s role as a global energy superpower, the time is now to take action.

Heads of pipeline majors including Enbridge, TC Energy, Pembina and Inter Pipeline, chiefs of producers such as Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Tourmaline and ARC Resources released a joint letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney on April 30 with their “urgent action plan.”

The plan reflects a similar letter sent before the election from 14 heads of industry.

With the list of names more than doubling, the CEOs added their view of opportunities to work together with the federal government “to deliver on our shared objectives.”

“Many of these issues were talked about in your campaign and are of growing interest for Canadians as is evidenced by recent polling,” they wrote.

Here are their five priority areas:

1. Simplify regulation: The federal government’s Impact Assessment Act and West Coast tanker ban are impeding development and need to be overhauled and simplified. Regulatory processes need to be streamlined, and decisions need to withstand judicial challenges.

2. Commit to firm deadlines for project approvals: The federal government needs to reduce regulatory timelines so that major projects are approved within six months of application.

3. Grow production: The federal government’s unlegislated cap on emissions must be eliminated to allow the sector to reach its full potential.

4. Attract investment: The federal carbon levy on large emitters is not globally cost competitive and should be repealed to allow provincial governments to set more suitable carbon regulations.

5. Incent Indigenous co-investment opportunities: The federal government needs to provide Indigenous loan guarantees at scale so industry may create infrastructure ownership opportunities to increase prosperity for communities and to ensure that Indigenous communities benefit from development.

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(Updated June 6, 2025)

A consensus is forming in Canada that Indigenous ownership will be key to large-scale, nation-building projects like oil and gas pipelines to diversify exports beyond the United States.

“Indigenous ownership benefits projects by making them more likely to happen and succeed,” said John Desjarlais, executive director of the Indigenous Resource Network.

“This is looked at as not just a means of reconciliation, a means of inclusion or a means of managing risk. I think we’re starting to realize this is really good business,” he said.

“It’s a completely different time than it was 10 years ago, even five years ago. Communities are much more informed, they’re much more engaged, they’re more able and ready to consider things like ownership and investment. That’s a very new thing at this scale.”

Canada’s ongoing trade dispute with the United States is converging with a rising tide of Indigenous ownership in resource projects.

“Canada is in a great position to lead, but we need policymakers to remove barriers in developing energy infrastructure. This means creating clear and predictable regulations and processes,” said Colin Gruending, Enbridge’s president of liquids pipelines.

“Indigenous involvement and investment in energy projects should be a major part of this strategy. We see great potential for deeper collaboration and support for government programs that help Indigenous communities participate in energy development.”

In a statement to the Canadian Energy Centre, the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) – which has backstopped more than 40 communities in energy project ownership agreements with a total value of over $725 million – highlighted the importance of seizing the moment:

“The time is now. Canada has a chance to rethink how we build and invest in infrastructure,” said AIOC CEO Chana Martineau.

“Indigenous partnerships are key to making true nation-building projects happen by ensuring critical infrastructure is built in a way that is competitive, inclusive and beneficial for all Canadians. Indigenous Nations are essential partners in the country’s economic future.”

Key to this will be provincial and federal programs such as loan guarantees to reduce the risk for Indigenous groups and industry participants.

“There are a number of instruments that would facilitate ownership that we’ve seen grow and develop…such as the loan guarantee programs, which provide affordable access to capital for communities to invest,” Desjarlais said.

Outside Alberta, there are now Indigenous loan guarantee programs federally and in Saskatchewan. A program in British Columbia is in development.

In May, Canada Development Investment Corporation announced the first loan guarantee under the national program, providing a $400 million backstop for 36 Indigenous communities in B.C. to purchase a 12.5 per cent stake in the Enbridge Westcoast natural gas pipeline system.

Highlighting the benefits of these agreements, the Indigenous Resource Network points to a partnership between Enbridge and the Willow Lake Métis Nation that led to a land purchase of a nearby campground the band plans to turn into a tourist destination.

“Tourism provides an opportunity for Willow Lake to tell its story and the story of the Métis. That is as important to our elders as the economic considerations,” Willow Lake chief financial officer Michael Robert told the Canadian Energy Centre.

The AIOC reiterates the importance of Indigenous project ownership in a call to action for all parties:

“It is essential that Indigenous communities have access to large-scale capital to support this critical development. With the right financial tools, we can build a more resilient, self-sufficient and prosperous economy together. This cannot wait any longer.”

In an open letter to the leaders of all four federal political parties, the CEOs of 14 of Canada’s largest oil and gas producers and pipeline operators highlighted the need for the federal government to step up its participation in a changing public mood surrounding the construction of resource projects:

“The federal government needs to provide Indigenous loan guarantees at scale so industry may create infrastructure ownership opportunities to increase prosperity for communities and to ensure that Indigenous communities benefit from development,” they wrote.

For Desjarlais, it is critical that communities ultimately make their own decisions about resource project ownership.

“We absolutely have to respect that communities want to self-determine and choose how they want to invest, choose how they manage a lot of the risk and how they mitigate it. And, of course, how they pursue the rewards that come from major project investment,” he said.

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It’s likely 2024 will go down in history as a turning point for Canadian energy, despite challenging headwinds from federal government policy.   

Here’s some of the good news.

10. New carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects to proceed 

Photo courtesy Shell Canada

In June, Shell announced it will proceed with the Polaris and Atlas CCS projects, expanding emissions reduction at the company’s Scotford energy and chemicals park near Edmonton.  

Polaris is designed to capture approximately 650,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, or the equivalent annual emissions of about 150,000 gasoline-powered cars. The CO2 will be transported by a 22-kilometre pipeline to the Atlas underground storage hub.   

The projects build on Shell’s experience at the Quest CCS project, also located at the Scotford complex. Since 2015, Quest has stored more than eight million tonnes of CO2. Polaris and Atlas are targeted for startup in 2028.    

Meanwhile, Entropy Inc. announced in July it will proceed with its Glacier Phase 2 CCS project. Located at the Glacier gas plant near Grande Prairie, the project is expected onstream in mid-2026 and will capture 160,000 tonnes of emissions per year.  

Since 2015, CCS operations in Alberta have safely stored roughly 14 million tonnes of CO2, or the equivalent emissions of more than three million cars. 

9. Canada’s U.S. oil exports reach new record 

Expanded export capacity at the Trans Mountain Westridge Terminal. Photo courtesy Trans Mountain Corporation

Canada’s exports of oil and petroleum products to the United States averaged a record 4.6 million barrels per day in the first nine months of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  

Demand from Midwest states increased, along with the U.S. Gulf Coast, the world’s largest refining hub. Canadian sales to the U.S. West Coast also increased, enabled by the newly completed Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion. 

8. Alberta’s oil production never higher

A worker at Suncor Energy’s MacKay River oil sands project. CP Images photo

In early December, ATB Economics analyst Rob Roach reported that Alberta’s oil production has never been higher, averaging 3.9 million barrels per day in the first 10 months of the year.  

This is about 190,000 barrels per day higher than during the same period in 2023, enabled by the Trans Mountain expansion, Roach noted.  

7. Indigenous energy ownership spreads 

Communities of Wapiscanis Waseskwan Nipiy Limited Partnership in December 2023. Photo courtesy Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation

In September, the Bigstone Cree Nation became the latest Indigenous community to acquire an ownership stake in an Alberta energy project.  

Bigstone joined 12 other First Nations and Métis settlements in the Wapiscanis Waseskwan Nipiy Holding Limited Partnership, which holds 85 per cent ownership of Tamarack Valley Energy’s Clearwater midstream oil and gas assets.  

The Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) is backstopping the agreement with a total $195 million loan guarantee.   

In its five years of operations, the AIOC has supported more than 60 Indigenous communities taking ownership of energy projects, with loan guarantees valued at more than $725 million.  

6. Oil sands emissions intensity goes down 

Oil sands steam generators. Photo courtesy Cenovus Energy

A November report from S&P Global Commodity said that oil sands production growth is beginning to rise faster than emissions growth.  

While oil sands production in 2023 was nine per cent higher than in 2019, total emissions rose by just three per cent. 

“This is a notable, significant change in oil sands emissions,” said Kevin Birn, head of S&P Global’s Centre for Emissions Excellence. 

Average oil sands emissions per barrel, or so-called “emissions intensity” is now 28 per cent lower than it was in 2009. 

5. Oil and gas producers beat methane target, again 

Photo courtesy Tourmaline

Data released by the Alberta Energy Regulator in November 2024 confirmed that methane emissions from conventional oil and gas production in the province continue to go down, exceeding government targets. 

In 2022, producers reached the province’s target to reduce methane emissions by 45 per cent compared to 2014 levels by 2025 three years early.  

The new data shows that as of 2023, methane emissions have been reduced by 52 per cent.  

4. Cedar LNG gets the green light to proceed 

Haisla Nation Chief Councillor Crystal Smith and Pembina Pipeline Corporation CEO Scott Burrows announce the Cedar LNG positive final investment decision on June 25, 2024. Photo courtesy Cedar LNG

The world’s first Indigenous majority-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) project is now under construction on the coast of Kitimat, B.C., following a positive final investment decision in June.  

Cedar LNG is a floating natural gas export terminal owned by the Haisla Nation and Pembina Pipeline Corporation. It will have capacity to produce 3.3 million tonnes of LNG per year for export overseas, primarily to meet growing demand in Asia.  

The $5.5-billion project will receive natural gas through the Coastal GasLink pipeline. Peak construction is expected in 2026, followed by startup in late 2028. 

3. Coastal GasLink Pipeline goes into service 

Workers celebrate completion of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline. Photo courtesy Coastal GasLink

The countdown is on to Canada’s first large-scale LNG exports, with the official startup of the $14.5-billion Coastal GasLink Pipeline in November.  

The 670-kilometre pipeline transports natural gas from near Dawson Creek, B.C. to the LNG Canada project at Kitimat, where it will be supercooled and transformed into LNG.  

LNG Canada will have capacity to export 14 million tonnes of LNG per year to overseas markets, primarily in Asia, where it is expected to help reduce emissions by displacing coal-fired power.  

The terminal’s owners – Shell, Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and Korea Gas Corporation – are ramping up natural gas production to record rates, according to RBN Energy. 

RBN analyst Martin King expects the first shipments to leave LNG Canada by early next year, setting up for commercial operations in mid-2025.  

2. Construction starts on $8.9 billion net zero petrochemical plant  

Dow’s manufacturing site in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Photo courtesy Dow

In April, construction commenced near Edmonton on the world’s first plant designed to produce polyethylene — a widely used, recyclable plastic — with net zero scope 1 and 2 emissions. 

Dow Chemicals’ $8.9 billion Path2Zero project is an expansion of the company’s manufacturing site in Fort Saskatchewan. Using natural gas as a feedstock, it will incorporate CCS to reduce emissions.  

According to business development agency Edmonton Global, the project is spurring a boom in the region, with nearly 200 industrial projects worth about $96 billion now underway or nearing construction.  

Dow’s plant is scheduled for startup in 2027.  

1. Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion completed 

The “Golden Weld” marked mechanical completion of construction for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project on April 11, 2024. Photo courtesy Trans Mountain Corporation

The long-awaited $34-billion Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion officially went into service in May, in a game-changer for Canadian energy with ripple effects around the world.   

The 590,000 barrel-per-day expansion for the first time gives customers outside the United States access to large volumes of Canadian oil, with the benefits flowing to Canada’s economy.   

According to the Canada Energy Regulator, exports to non-U.S. locations more than doubled following the expansion startup, averaging 420,000 barrels per day compared to about 130,000 barrels per day in 2023.  

The value of Canadian oil exports to Asia has soared from effectively zero to a monthly average of $515 million between June and October, according to ATB Economics. 

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