Conservatives’ energy corridor proposal has ‘missing pieces’: energy expert

CALGARY — An energy expert says there are many missing pieces to the federal Conservatives’ election promise to speed along infrastructure projects by designating a corridor where they’d be pre-approved.

Andrew Leach, who teaches economics and law at the University of Alberta, says it’s not clear what would happen if several companies apply to build the same type of project, like an oil pipeline, along the same route, or if a firm wants to build on land owned by someone else.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told a news conference in Saint John, N.B., on Monday that First Nations would be consulted, but Leach wonders how any potential infringements on their rights can be addressed without a detailed application before a project is green-lit.

Poilievre says if his party is elected on April 28, it would require all levels of government to provide legally binding commitments to approve projects such as pipelines, power lines and railways within the corridor.

Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta, says anything that can improve federal-provincial co-ordination for major infrastructure projects is helpful, but only if it’s insulated from future challenges.

Legge says Canada should have been focused on building infrastructure to get its products to markets outside of the United States long before the current Canada-U.S. trade strife.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2025.

Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press