MB/SK/AB NeeStaNan Utilities Corridor: First Nations-led utility corridor is a 21st-century nation-building initiative

From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

“The trading of goods has been in our DNA as Indigenous People for centuries, but somewhere along the way this was lost. It’s time to regain our prosperity, for the betterment of our communities and for our country.” – NeeStaNan website

Ever feel like you’re being neglected by either governments or the various power centers that dominate life? The big places get all the attention, have all the votes, have all the buzz. In Canada, fewer than ten such centers dominate the country. If you’re not in one of those, you won’t know much political power, there won’t be much clout, there won’t be much of anything.

And if you want to know how far you can get from a circle of influence, consider Census Division No. 23, a great big administrative district in northern Manitoba. The size and ruggedness are mindboggling; No. 23 encompasses an area of 233,578 square km/90,185 square miles, six times the area of Switzerland, yet the region’s total population is 4,690. The population density, rounded to the nearest person-per-square km, is zero. If you round it to the nearest tenth of a square km, it is still zero.

It is extremely hard for people of regions like this to register on the national radar for any number of reasons, some of which are just logistical (remote location) and some of which are just rude realities (not much political capital up for grabs in No. 23).29dk2902l

The people of regions like this tend to be absent from all sorts of things, including resource development, even if it happens in these regions. Yes, there will be some local employment, and positive economic spinoffs, but nothing in the way of meaningful ownership or control.

But that may be about to change, for a significant swath of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the northeastern part of Alberta. Underway is the NeeStaNan utility corridor, stretching from northern Alberta through north-central Saskatchewan and on to the shores of Hudson Bay in Manitoba.

The significance of this corridor could be profound. It will provide tidewater access for landlocked western Canadian resources that otherwise need to travel to the west coast, or other less efficient routes. As one of the best examples, Saskatchewan must move potash to market via Vancouver, meaning a trip through the Rocky Mountains and on to the coast.

By utilizing the NeeStaNan utility corridor, potash will be able to move to large markets like Brazil far more efficiently. The distance to seawater via Hudson Bay is 630 km/390 miles less than by going through BC ports, and here’s the real economic kicker: the sea route to Brazil’s market is actually 3,800 km less than current routes. That’s almost 2,400 miles, for American friends and for old times’ sake.

The corridor is planned to enter Hudson Bay not at Churchill, but at a much more direct and accessible point called Port Nelson. Port Nelson is some 300 kilometres/180 miles south of Churchill (Hudson Bay is really freaking big) and has a longer ice-free season. In fact, a concrete jetty constructed (and never used) at Port Nelson nearly a hundred years ago remains in place. Port Nelson isn’t a new idea.

The utility corridor isn’t simply a project to enhance the wellbeing of the FN bands along the way, although it will most certainly do that. It is also far more grand in scope: the utility corridor will help Canada’s heartland deliver industrial products to global markets in a more efficient way, and provide the sort of efficiencies that can help multiple Canadian industries enhance global competitiveness, all the while providing an economic boost that is infinitely better than what locals and First Nations along the way have ever known.

Many industries could benefit, including the oil and gas sector, and I’m going to say that now before any legislation passes that makes it illegal. There is potential to utilize the corridor to move rail cargoes, pipelines, lumber, agricultural products, raw materials, manufactured goods… an endless array of the stuff that makes Canada wealthy.

The project is enormously captivating right from its very name. “NeeStaNan” translates as “all of us”. How cool is that; inclusiveness not under the guise some overwrought mandate, but in the sense that the project is being structured to benefit a great number of parties. The home page of the NeeStaNan website describes the project as a utility corridor “uniting Canadians”. Now, doesn’t that phrase sound far more powerful coming from the heartland, from people with skin in the game, as opposed to insincere platitudes thrown about like confetti on the campaign trail?

The utility corridor really could unite Canadians; it is a slingshot of vitality into Canada’s industrial base. It could benefit many critical industries, and open up new trade possibilities. It is a project designed to bring in many First Nations along the route that have very little to show for Canada’s development. It’s not a handout, it’s the opposite – a benefit to Canada and a great many Canadians.

Isn’t this what First Nations Self Determination should be about? Isn’t this a perfect dovetail with the interests of the people who live in these remote areas, who are the only ones there, and who deserve a say in how it is developed? Isn’t it amazing that it is a collaborative effort that by design will benefit industries that these First Nations have no direct stake in?

Isn’t it the best possible goal and achievement of all the efforts to bring First Nations fully into the Canadian matrix on a way that works for everyone, and that benefits everyone?

And who would be better than First Nations along the corridor’s path as the stewards of the corridor itself? Who knows the terrain better? I’ve been there, I grew up not in the path of the corridor but I could see it from a north facing window, and I’ll tell you it’s not territory for the faint of heart. Winters are brutal and long, summers are hot and buggy, and nature is relentless. Local expertise and wisdom would be invaluable.

I can’t really think of an infrastructure project of the past fifty years that could have such multi-dimensional benefits to so many Canadians. It is uplifting to see collaboration across many First Nations and the governments of three provinces. Ottawa may not like it, because the corridor is sure to empower an area of the country that has few votes to harvest, but that is all the more reason to get behind and support the project’s owners, organizers, and operators.

The NeeStaNan utility corridor might do more for a forgotten region of Canada, and its First Nations, than 150 years of federal government “help”. Let’s hope all three prairie provinces and the First Nations along the way bring the corridor into life and to its full potential.

Terry Etam is a columnist with the BOE Report, a leading energy industry newsletter based in Calgary. He is the author of The End of Fossil Fuel Insanity. You can watch his Policy on the Frontier session from May 5, 2022 here.

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Alberta’s oil bankrolls Canada’s public services

Published on May 18, 2025

Todayville

This article supplied by Troy Media.

By Perry Kinkaide and Bill Jones

It’s time Canadians admitted Alberta’s oilpatch pays the bills. Other provinces just cash the cheques

When Canadians grumble about Alberta’s energy ambitions—labelling the province greedy for wanting to pump more oil—few stop to ask how much
money from each barrel ends up owing to them?

The irony is staggering. The very provinces rallying for green purity are cashing cheques underwritten not just by Alberta, but indirectly by the United States, which purchases more than 95 per cent of Alberta’s oil and gas, paid in U.S. dollars.

That revenue doesn’t stop at the Rockies. It flows straight to Ottawa, funding equalization programs (which redistribute federal tax revenue to help less wealthy provinces), national infrastructure and federal services that benefit the rest of the country.

This isn’t political rhetoric. It’s economic fact. Before the Leduc oil discovery in 1947, Alberta received about $3 to $5 billion (in today’s dollars) in federal support. Since then, it has paid back more than $500 billion. A $5-billion investment that returned 100 times more is the kind of deal that would send Bay Street into a frenzy.

Alberta’s oilpatch includes a massive industry of energy companies, refineries and pipeline networks that produce and export oil and gas, mostly to the U.S. Each barrel of oil generates roughly $14 in federal revenue through corporate taxes, personal income taxes, GST and additional fiscal capacity that boosts equalization transfers. Multiply that by more than 3.7 million barrels of oil (plus 8.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas) exported daily, and it’s clear Alberta underwrites much of the country’s prosperity.

Yet many Canadians seem unwilling to acknowledge where their prosperity comes from. There’s a growing disconnect between how goods are consumed and how they’re produced. People forget that gasoline comes from oil wells, electricity from power plants and phones from mining. Urban slogans like “Ban Fossil Fuels” rarely engage with the infrastructure and fiscal reality that keeps the country running.

Take Prince Edward Island, for example. From 1957 to 2023, it received $19.8 billion in equalization payments and contributed just $2 billion in taxes—a net gain of $17.8 billion.

Quebec tells a similar story. In 2023 alone, it received more than $14 billion in equalization payments, while continuing to run balanced or surplus budgets. From 1961 to 2023, Quebec received more than $200 billion in equalization payments, much of it funded by revenue from Alberta’s oil industry..

To be clear, not all federal transfers are equalization. Provinces also receive funding through national programs such as the Canada Health Transfer and
Canada Social Transfer. But equalization is the one most directly tied to the relative strength of provincial economies, and Alberta’s wealth has long driven that system.

By contrast to the have-not provinces, Alberta’s contribution has been extraordinary—an estimated 11.6 per cent annualized return on the federal
support it once received. Each Canadian receives about $485 per year from Alberta-generated oil revenues alone. Alberta is not the problem—it’s the
foundation of a prosperous Canada.

Still, when Alberta questions equalization or federal energy policy, critics cry foul. Premier Danielle Smith is not wrong to challenge a system in which the province footing the bill is the one most often criticized.

Yes, the oilpatch has flaws. Climate change is real. And many oil profits flow to shareholders abroad. But dismantling Alberta’s oil industry tomorrow wouldn’t stop climate change—it would only unravel the fiscal framework that sustains Canada.

The future must balance ambition with reality. Cleaner energy is essential, but not at the expense of biting the hand that feeds us.

And here’s the kicker: Donald Trump has long claimed the U.S. doesn’t need Canada’s products and therefore subsidizes Canada. Many Canadians scoffed.

But look at the flow of U.S. dollars into Alberta’s oilpatch—dollars that then bankroll Canada’s federal budget—and maybe, for once, he has a point.
It’s time to stop denying where Canada’s wealth comes from. Alberta isn’t the problem. It’s central to the country’s prosperity and unity.

Dr. Perry Kinkaide is a visionary leader and change agent. Since retiring in 2001, he has served as an advisor and director for various organizations and founded the Alberta Council of Technologies Society in 2005. Previously, he held leadership roles at KPMG Consulting and the Alberta Government. He holds a BA from Colgate University and an MSc and PhD in Brain Research from the University of Alberta.

Troy Media empowers Canadian community news outlets by providing independent, insightful analysis and commentary. Our mission is to support local media in helping Canadians stay informed and engaged by delivering reliable content that strengthens community connections and deepens understanding across the country.

Alberta

Alberta’s industrial carbon tax freeze is a good first step

Published on May 18, 2025

Todayville

By Gage Haubrich

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is applauding Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s decision to freeze the province’s industrial carbon tax.

“Smith is right to freeze the cost of Alberta’s hidden industrial carbon tax that increases the cost of everything,” said Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director. “This move is a no-brainer to make Alberta more competitive, save taxpayers money and protect jobs.”

Smith announced the Alberta government will be freezing the rate of its industrial carbon tax at $95 per tonne.

The federal government set the rate of the consumer carbon tax to zero on April 1. However, it still imposes a requirement for an industrial carbon tax.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would “improve and tighten” the industrial carbon tax.

The industrial carbon tax currently costs businesses $95 per tonne of emissions. It is set to increase to $170 per tonne by 2030. Carney has said he would extend the current industrial carbon tax framework until 2035, meaning the costs could reach $245 a tonne. That’s more than double the current tax.

The Saskatchewan government recently scrapped its industrial carbon tax completely.

Seventy per cent of Canadians said businesses pass most or some industrial carbon tax costs on to consumers, according to a recent Leger poll.

“Smith needs to stand up for Albertans and cancel the industrial carbon tax altogether,” Haubrich said. “Smith deserves credit for freezing Alberta’s industrial carbon tax and she needs to finish the job by scrapping the industrial carbon tax completely.”