JAY GOLDBERG: Carney missed opportunity to move past Trudeau tanker ban

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This week was the moment for Prime Minister Mark Carney to make an important policy pivot.

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Sadly, he passed up on the opportunity.

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The Oil Tanker Moratorium Act was passed into law by former prime minister Justin Trudeau back in 2019.

The legislation bans tankers from carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes of crude oil in areas along the northern coast of B.C.

Necessary move

The tanker ban — which is what it is rightly called by the legislation’s opponents — effectively makes it impossible to build a pipeline to B.C.’s northern coast, as large tankers operating in the area would be necessary to effectively export any oil brought there from Alberta’s oilsands.

A pipeline to B.C.’s northwest coast is so desirable because it offers the shortest route for Alberta oil to get to Asian markets, which would allow for export diversification and lessen our dependence on the U.S. market.

Critics of the legislation have also pointed out the U.S. doesn’t prohibit American tankers from operating in similar waters off of Alaska, bringing oil to western refineries in Washington and California.

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In effect, Canada is shooting itself in the foot economically to supposedly make an environmental statement, while the U.S. ships oil using a similar route.

The moratorium is nonsensical. And this past week, Carney could have made yet another pivot from Trudeau-era policy and moved to repeal it at the federal level.

Why was this week the moment for the prime minister to act?

For one thing, British Columbians just elected a Conservative government. The B.C. Conservatives defeated David Eby’s NDP, a government that worked with the Trudeau government to put the tanker ban in place and also passed a tanker ban at the provincial level.

Carney could have signalled his openness to working with B.C.’s new resource-friendly and business-minded government to repeal legislation that’s been standing in the way of development.

For another thing, the federal Conservatives introduced a bill in the House of Commons to repeal the tanker ban at the national level, with a timely vote held on the bill on Wednesday.

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Premier was watching

With Eby out of the way, Carney could have instructed his caucus to vote for the Tory bill and signal his government is open to turning Canada into an energy superpower — something Carney has claimed to want to do as of late.

Carney’s “nay” vote on Wednesday did not go unnoticed by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

“Canada cannot become a global energy superpower while federal policies continue to stand in the way of getting our energy to the world,” said Smith. “Repealing the tanker ban is an important step toward securing better prices for our resources and building a stronger, more prosperous Canada.”

Carney has done a lot of things to move Canada in the right direction since the departure of Trudeau in early 2025. But by pledging to keep the tanker ban in place, Carney is signalling he’s not serious enough about fully developing Canada’s economy and making a complete break with the economically ruinous policies of the Trudeau era.

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This week was the time for Carney to show leadership. He could have signalled the tanker ban’s time has come and gone, just as the Eby government’s has in B.C. Incoming Premier Lorne Doerkson’s Conservatives would have been far less wedded to the tanker ban than Eby’s NDP. All that was needed was a little bit of leadership out of Ottawa to call for the end of such a damaging policy.

Unfortunately, Carney chose not to pivot. Canadians will lose out because of that decision. Canada will continue to give up tremendous economic potential by standing by a policy that never made sense.

Carney was given an opportunity to show he’s different from Trudeau. Unfortunately for Canadians, he chose not to seize it.

Jay Goldberg is the North American Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center

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