Could take ‘four to five months’ to determine if Alta. pipeline makes list: CEO of Major Projects Office

The head of the new federal government Major Projects Office Dawn Farrell listens as Prime Minister Mark Carney announces five major projects in Edmonton on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

The CEO of the Major Projects Office (MPO) told a House of Commons committee her “aspiration” is for it to take “four to five months” to determine if a proposed Alberta pipeline could make the major project list, after Alberta’s premier said she’s expecting “some kind of agreement” from the prime minister by next month.

Initially, Dawn Farrell, testifying virtually at the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, said she couldn’t answer a timeline question “with any credibility,” given she was 39 days into the job with “lots of work to do to figure out how to do that.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney has repeatedly said he plans to release a second list of major projects by the Nov. 16 Grey Cup.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters this week Carney had committed to an agreement on her pitch for a pipeline carrying Alberta bitumen to B.C.’s coast by then.

After Farrell’s comments, Smith said in a statement to CTV News Thursday evening that she expects a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the federal government to be finished by the Grey Cup. Alberta then plans to apply to the MPO “early next year.”

Smith said that MOU “includes the removal, carve out or overhaul of the bad laws chasing away private investment in our energy sectors, and an agreement to work towards ultimate approval of the Alberta to B.C. bitumen pipeline as well as the Pathways project.”

“It’s too slow and the government should green light it today,” said Conservative Leader Pierre Poilieve when asked later about Farrell’s timeline.

“This is exclusively a federal decision. David Eby is well worth ignoring,” he added.

When asked about B.C. Premier Eby’s opposition to the pipeline pitch at committee, Farrell said no one has a veto on a project, but all views will be considered in her office’s recommendations.

“You need support of the jurisdiction you build through,” Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson told the Senate’s question period Thursday, offering a different take from Poilievre.

“The province of Alberta … if they want to build, that’s something between the province of Alberta and the province of British Columbia," Hodgson said. “We’ve said we will be a constructive participant in that three-way discussion. The province of Alberta has some work to do.”

Oil tanker ban

Farrell was also grilled by opposition members about whether a pipeline project could go forward with the federal oil tanker ban still in place. She mostly referred these questions to other staff.

“The law does not provide for exemptions. It provides for streamlined approvals, for authorizations listed in schedule two. And the tanker ban is not one of those pieces of legislation listed in schedule two” answered director Sarah Jackson.

But whether there could still be a way forward for a new pipeline in the face of a tanker ban was not made clear by any of those testifying.

“Is it possible, without repealing Bill C-48, for a tanker to come and pick up oil that has been transported from a pipeline approved by the MPO to tide water?” asked Conservative MP Branden Leslie.

“I can’t comment on a hypothetical project,” Jackson replied.

Conflicts of interest

At other points during her hour of testimony, Farrell replied “I think so” when asked if she’s made a statement of potential conflicts of interest and wasn’t clearly able to answer a question about her salary.

“I’m not really sure, it’s in the range of $700,000 with base and… incentive,” she said.

Farrell told committee there are currently 500 projects “that think” they’re major projects, and if that were true, her office “definitely can’t handle that volume.”

“We’re assessing this month nine additional projects to determine if they meet some of the criteria that I’ve laid out for you.”

With files from CTV News Supervising Producer Stephanie Ha and CTV News Correspondent Rachel Aiello