Doug Ford says Ontario taxpayers will invest in proposed pipeline from Alberta to Sarnia - Toronto Star

A Liberal MPP on Tuesday compared the project to the Ontario premier's proposal for a tunnel under Highway 401.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, left, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford speak at a conference in Calgary, Alta., Monday, Sept. 28, 2026.

Premier Doug Ford says Ontario taxpayers will help fuel a proposed 3,300-km oil pipeline from Alberta to Sarnia that could ultimately cost tens of billions of dollars.

Ford defended the public expenditure, which he insisted is necessary because of the existential threat posed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war.

“The cost of defending Canada’s sovereignty isn’t something that shows up on the private sector’s balance sheet,” the premier said Monday in Calgary.

“Our government is ready to step up with the capital necessary to build the Northern Shield pipeline,” said Ford of the proposed project that would move between 500,000 and 800,000 barrels of oil daily.

It would snake from Hardisty, Alta., to Sarnia via Regina and Winnipeg with a possible extension to the Port of Churchill in Manitoba.

“I want to be clear: what I’m talking about is government providing the patient capital needed to invest in our future,” he said of a project he and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith suggested could be built in less than five years.

On Oct. 19, Albertans will vote in a referendum on whether to stay in Canada or whether it’s time to hold a second, binding referendum on leaving