Trudeau needs to push for meeting with B.C. premier on pipeline ASAP: Tories

A federal investment in the Trans Mountain pipeline is one of the possibilities the Liberal government is considering to help get the controversial project completed, says Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says her province is prepared to invest in the pipeline directly if it would help keep investors on board – a notion her opposition rival, UCP Leader Jason Kenney, says he would support as long as Ottawa also puts money on the table.

Opposition from British Columbia, including a threat to pass regulations that would prevent additional oil flows through the province, spooked Trans Mountain investors enough that Kinder Morgan called a halt Sunday to all non-essential spending on the project.

The company would be open to government investment if it brought certainty to the project, CEO Steve Kean said Monday.

Carr isn’t saying that a federal investment is a certainty, only that it is among the options on the table, along with legal and regulatory manoeuvres.

The federal government has jurisdiction over pipelines that cross provincial borders. Trans Mountain runs between Edmonton and Burnaby, B.C., and the expansion, approved by Ottawa in November 2016, would triple its capacity. Conservative MP Chris Warkentin says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau missed a huge opportunity to save the project last week when he failed to meet with British Columbia Premier John Horgan.