Canada has made significant progress toward building a new pipeline aimed at expanding crude oil exports to Asian markets. On Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed an industrial carbon pricing agreement that removed a major obstacle to the project. The deal introduces a phased carbon tax on large emitters, setting a fee of 130 Canadian dollars per ton of carbon dioxide by 2040, lower than the 170 dollars proposed by the previous Trudeau government. Carney said the final pipeline plan will be submitted to the government’s Major Projects Office by July 1.

The initiative is part of Carney’s strategy to reduce Canada’s economic dependence on the United States and strengthen energy trade with Asia. However, the project has sparked environmental controversy and opposition from several Indigenous and First Nations groups who vowed to resist any pipeline construction from Alberta to the Pacific coast. Left-wing New Democratic Party leader Avi Lewis criticized the move as a surrender to the oil and gas lobby.

The announcement comes at a politically sensitive time, as separatist sentiment in Alberta grows, with Carney emphasizing that Alberta’s prosperity depends on a united Canada.