Premier Kenney addresses the province about a 1.5 billion investment in Keystone XL

From the Province of Alberta

Provincial investment kick-starts KXL pipeline

A $1.5 billion government investment in the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline project will accelerate construction, ensuring it is operational by 2023

The Government of Alberta has finalized an agreement with Calgary-based TC Energy Corporation to provide financial support to accelerate construction of the KXL pipeline starting April 1. This investment will include $1.5 billion in equity investment in 2020 followed by a $6 billion loan guarantee in 2021. The project is expected to be completed and in service in 2023.

This agreement is the culmination of six months of negotiations, as well as rigorous vetting by government officials and outside industry experts to ensure the success of this project, while minimizing risk to taxpayers.

The government is backstopping the project to enable TC Energy to begin immediate construction on the Alberta portion of the pipeline. This will ensure the earliest possible date of completion. The project will create over 1,400 direct and 5,400 indirect jobs in Alberta during construction and will generate an estimated $30 billion in tax and royalty revenues for future generations of Albertans and Canadians.

“We cannot wait for the end of the pandemic and the global recession to act. There are steps we must make now to build our future focussed on jobs, the economy, and pipelines. Today we are moving forward with a project that is essential to our future prosperity. This investment in Keystone XL is a bold move to re-take control of our province’s economic destiny and put it firmly back in the hands of the owners of our natural resources, the people of Alberta. The Government of Alberta is confident that this is a wise investment. After construction is complete, we will be able to sell our shares at profit. In addition, the project will have a net return of over $30 billion to the Alberta taxpayer through royalties and higher prices for Alberta oil in the next 20 years.”

Jason Kenney, Premier

Once operational, Keystone XL will provide North America with a stable, secure supply of crude oil, reducing reliance on supply from OPEC. The pipeline will carry at least 830,000 barrels per day of Alberta crude, significantly increasing the province’s takeaway capacity and helping to protect the value of its energy resources.

Right now Alberta’s oil export capacity is limited by the lack of pipelines. Without the ability to export more oil, there is no incentive for producers to invest in more production in Alberta. Completing KXL will signal to the oil and gas industry, and to investors around the world, that they have a future in Alberta. Without more pipelines, the future of our oil and gas industry is capped; with today’s announcement, employers and investors should have the confidence to maintain existing projects and to spend new money on new projects.

Construction will begin immediately in Alberta, at the Canada-US border, in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.

The Keystone XL Pipeline offers a safe, reliable and environmentally responsible way to deliver crude oil from western Canadian oil fields to Gulf Coast refineries in the U.S. The project will run from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska and will cover 1,947 kilometres.

Given the significance of this issue, the Government will present a related motion for debate and vote this week.

Quick facts

Project details

KXL will provide more than 830,000 barrels per day of crude oil to Gulf Coast Refineries
Covers 1,947 kilometres from Hardisty, Alberta, to Steele City, Nebraska
259 kilometres of pipelines will be constructed in Alberta
At least 6,800 direct and indirect jobs in Alberta and over 15,000 direct and indirect jobs in Canada
Project is expected to be completed in 2023

Financial details (CDN$)

Government of Alberta will contribute up to $1.5B (CAD) in equity investment in 2020
The government will backstop this project with a $6 billion loan guarantee in 2021
TC Energy will reimburse the government of Alberta 12 months after oil is flowing through the pipeline

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After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Alberta

Alberta is investing up to $50 million into new technologies to help reduce oil sands mine water

Published on June 17, 2025

Government of Alberta

Technology transforming tailings ponds

Alberta’s oil sands produce some of the most responsible energy in the world and have drastically reduced the amount of fresh water used per barrel. Yet, for decades, operators have been forced to store most of the water they use on site, leading to billions of litres now contained largely in tailings ponds.

Alberta is investing $50 million from the industry-funded TIER system to help develop new and improved technologies that make cleaning up oil sands mine water safer and more effective. Led by Emissions Reduction Alberta, the new Tailings Technology Challenge will help speed up work to safely reclaim the water in oil sands tailing ponds and eventually return the land for use by future generations.

“Alberta’s government is taking action by funding technologies that make treating oil sands water faster, effective and affordable. We look forward to seeing the innovative solutions that come out of this funding challenge, and once again demonstrate Alberta’s global reputation for sustainable energy development and environmental stewardship.”

Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Environment and Protected Areas

“Tailings and mine water management remain among the most significant challenges facing Alberta’s energy sector. Through this challenge, we’re demonstrating our commitment to funding solutions that make water treatment and tailings remediation more affordable, scalable and effective.”

Justin Riemer, CEO, Emissions Reduction Alberta

As in other mines, the oil sands processing creates leftover water called tailings that need to be properly managed. Recently, Alberta’s Oil Sands Mine Water Steering Committee brought together industry, academics and Indigenous leaders to identify the best path forward to safely address mine water and reclaim land.

This new funding competition will support both new and improved technologies to help oil sands companies minimize freshwater use, promote responsible ways to manage mine water and reclaim mine sites. Using technology for better on-site treatment will help improve safety, reduce future clean up costs and environmental risks, and speed up the process of safely addressing mine water and restoring sites so they are ready for future use.

“Innovation has always played an instrumental role in the oil sands and continues to be an area of focus. Oil sands companies are collaborating and investing to advance environmental technologies, including many focused on mine water and tailings management. We’re excited to see this initiative, as announced today, seeking to explore technology development in an area that’s important to all Albertans.”

Kendall Dilling, president, Pathways Alliance

Quick facts

All mines produce tailings. In the oil sands, tailings describe a mixture of water, sand, clay and residual bitumen that are the byproduct of the oil extraction process.
From 2013 to 2023, oil sands mine operations reduced the amount of fresh water used per barrel by 28 per cent. Recycled water use increased by 51 per cent over that same period.
The Tailings Technology Challenge is open to oil sands operators and technology providers until Sept. 24.
The Tailings Technology Challenge will invest in scale-up, pilot, demonstration and first-of-kind commercial technologies and solutions to reduce and manage fluid tailings and the treatment of oil sands mine water.
Eligible technologies include both engineered and natural solutions that treat tailings to improve water quality and mine process water.
Successful applicants can receive up to $15 million per project, with a minimum funding request of $1 million.
Oil sands operators are responsible for site management and reclamation, while ongoing research continues to inform and refine best practices to support effective policy and regulatory outcomes.

Related information

Alberta

Alberta announces citizens will have to pay for their COVID shots

Published on June 16, 2025

Todayville

From LifeSite News

By Anthony Murdoch

The government said that it has decided to stop ‘waste’ by not making the shots free starting this fall.

Beginning this fall, COVID shots in the province will have to be pre-ordered at the full price, about $110, to receive them. (This will roll out in four ‘phases’. In the first phases COVID shots will still be free for those with pre-existing medical conditions, people on social programs, and seniors.)

The UCP government in a press release late last week noted due to new “federal COVID-19 vaccine procurement” rules, which place provinces and territories as being responsible for purchasing the jabs for residents, it has decided to stop “waste” by not making the jab free anymore.

“Now that Alberta’s government is responsible for procuring vaccines, it’s important to better determine how many vaccines are needed to support efforts to minimize waste and control costs,” the government stated.

“This new approach will ensure Alberta’s government is able to better determine its overall COVID-19 vaccine needs in the coming years, preventing significant waste.”

The New Democratic Party (NDP) took issue with the move to stop giving out the COVID shots for free, claiming it was “cruel” and would place a “financial burden” on people wanting the shots.

NDP health critic Sarah Hoffman claimed the move by the UCP is health “privatization” and the government should promote the abortion-tainted shots instead.

The UCP said that in 2023-2024, about 54 percent of the COVID shots were wasted, with Health Minister Adriana LaGrange saying, “In previous years, we’ve seen significant vaccine wastage.”

“By shifting to a targeted approach and introducing pre-ordering, we aim to better align supply with demand – ensuring we remain fiscally responsible while continuing to protect those at highest risk,” she said.

The jabs will only be available through public health clinics, with pharmacies no longer giving them out.

The UCP also noted that is change in policy comes as a result of the Federal Drug Administration in the United States recommending the jabs be stopped for young children and pregnant women.

The opposite happened in Canada, with the nation’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) continuing to say that pregnant women should still regularly get COVID shots as part of their regular vaccine schedule.

The change in COVID jab policy is no surprise given Smith’s opposition to mandatory shots.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, early this year, Smith’s UCP government said it would consider halting COVID vaccines for healthy children.

Smith’s reasoning was in response to the Alberta COVID-19 Pandemic Data Review Task Force’s “COVID Pandemic Response” 269-page final report. The report was commissioned by Smith last year, giving the task force a sweeping mandate to investigate her predecessor’s COVID-era mandates and policies.

The task force’s final report recommended halting “the use of COVID-19 vaccines without full disclosure of their potential risks” as well as outright ending their use “for healthy children and teenagers as other jurisdictions have done,” mentioning countries like “Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the U.K.”

The mRNA shots have also been linked to a multitude of negative and often severe side effects in children and all have connections to cell lines derived from aborted babies.

Many Canadian doctors who spoke out against COVID mandates and the experimental mRNA injections were censured by their medical boards.

LifeSiteNews has published an extensive amount of research on the dangers of the experimental COVID mRNA jabs that include heart damage and blood clots.