EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Daniel Smith says the American capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro underscores the urgency of building oil pipelines to export Canadian oil to new markets.
US President Donald Trump caused political shock around the world with a military raid over the weekend, saying Washington was seeking to seize the South American country's oil reserves.
Smith says these developments “underscore the importance of accelerating pipeline construction to diversify our oil export markets.”
This includes a new pipeline to the west coast of British Columbia to reach markets in Asia.
In November, Smith signed an agreement with Premier Mark Carney paving the way for a potential First Nations-owned bitumen pipeline and eliminating environmental policies standing in the way, including a ban on British Columbia tankers.
The deal aims for Alberta and Ottawa to agree on a price for industrial carbon by April 1, and also sets a July 1 deadline for submitting a pipeline proposal to Ottawa's Major Projects Authority.
“Alberta supports pipeline construction in all directions to bring our products to market, and we look forward to continuing to work with provincial and federal partners to advance these projects,” Smith said in a statement Monday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2026.
