Speaking to reporters on Friday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Ottawa needs to get behind a major West Coast pipeline like the previously proposed Northern Gateway project to show it is fully behind the province’s natural resource sector. (The Logic)

Talking point: As of today, no companies are proposing to build such an oil conduit to the West Coast. Still, the Alberta premier has made support for a future potential project a key demand of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new government. “I’ll be looking at that as an indicator of whether words were said just to win elections, or whether words were said because we’re serious about trading with each other and supporting each other,” Smith said, adding that “we all have stronger ties north-south than we do east-west.” Her comments come as China has emerged as the main buyer of oil shipped via the Trans Mountain pipeline, which remains the only major oil project directly linking Alberta with the West Coast and Asian markets.