(19:45 GMT) *Ontario Premier Ford: New Cross-Country Pipeline About Creating Energy Self-Sufficiency (19:45 GMT) *Ontario's Ford: New Pipeline Aimed at Reducing Reliance on Foreign Energy (19:45 GMT) *Ontario's Ford: New Pipeline Would Help Carney Goal of Creating Energy Superpower (19:45 GMT) Ontario Premier Eyes Energy Self Sufficiency With Proposed Pipeline
By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Doug Ford, Ontario's premier, wants his economy solely powered with Canadian energy.
Ford, who leads Canada's most-populous province, said his push for a new pipeline connecting oil-rich Alberta with refining capacity in the border town of Sarnia, Ontario, is about capitalizing on Canada's vast oil-and-gas reserves to create wealth on a regional and national basis.
It also aims to reduce its dependence on energy from other markets, such as the U.S., which under President Trump has become a source of trade tension and uncertainty for the manufacturing-heavy province of Ontario.
"We won't have to worry about relying on anyone else," Ford said in an interview. "For years, people would always ask me, 'Why aren't we using our own Canadian oil?' So that's what we're going to focus on now."
Earlier Monday, Ford and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith unveiled a proposed 2,000-mile pipeline dubbed the Northern Shield Energy Corridor. It is the latest effort by Canada's provinces to champion new infrastructure projects aimed at addressing one of Prime Minister Mark Carney's big policy priorities: the construction of new trade corridors designed to double trade to non-U.S. markets and reduce its economic reliance on America.
The Northern Shield project remains a work in progress, with officials in Ontario overseeing work to determine project costs. Ford said a feasibility study, led by a consortium of engineering and financial firms, could be delivered by the end of 2026.
Late last week, Carney and Smith revealed plans to jointly own a new one-million-barrel-a-day pipeline running from Alberta to southern British Columbia, at an estimated cost of up to 43 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of US$30 billion.
Figures from the Ontario government indicate that 37% of the province's energy comes from petroleum products. The province said it relies almost entirely on imported crude oil delivered from western Canada and the U.S. by interprovincial and international pipelines to four refineries in Ontario. It relies on Quebec and the U.S. to supply about 20% of its refined-fuel product.
Ford said the Carney-led Liberal government "understands that we have to get our own oil, not just here in Ontario but spread right across the world." Ford said this new pipeline to Sarnia, which is across the St. Clair River from Port Huron, Mich., could expand in future years to new and existing ports.
The Ontario premier added that the proposed route gives the Western province of Manitoba an opportunity to explore a possible extension of the pipeline to the subarctic town of Churchill, Manitoba. Manitoba wants federal backing for upgrades to the deepwater Churchill port, which offers the shortest route from Canada's Western provinces to European markets.
Ford has played an outsized role in the U.S.-Canada trade talks. Trump ended talks with Canada last year regarding relief from hefty tariffs on steel and automobiles following Ford's decision to run advertisements on U.S. airwaves about the risks posed by the White House trade policy.
He has also banned the sale of U.S. wines and spirits at nearly 700 Ontario-owned retail liquor outlets. Ford reiterated he won't consider lifting that ban until "we strike a deal" on trade.
The Ford government has benefited from federal financial backing on another big energy initiative: the deployment of four small-modular nuclear reactors in Ontario. Nuclear energy accounts for about 55% of Ontario's electricity needs, and the Carney government is looking to expand the deployment of nuclear power beyond Ontario.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com