Ottawa’s controversial “No More Pipelines” law has suffered another constitutional defeat, with Alberta’s highest court ruling 4–1 on Friday that the legislation still oversteps federal authority despite attempts to fix it.
“Yet another big win for Alberta,” Premier Danielle Smith declared Friday on social media.
The legislation, introduced through Bill C-69 in 2019, governs federal environmental assessments of major infrastructure and resource projects, including mines and pipelines.
The Alberta Court of Appeal first found the law unconstitutional in 2022. The Supreme Court of Canada largely agreed in a 5–2 ruling in 2023, rejecting its designated projects scheme while upholding provisions governing federal projects.
Ottawa amended the legislation in 2024, but Alberta challenged the changes, arguing they failed to address the Supreme Court’s concerns.
Friday’s ruling found that Ottawa could still use limited federal interests to regulate entire provincial projects, exceeding its constitutional authority. The majority also rejected using federal responsibilities toward Indigenous peoples to justify broader regulation.
Justice Kevin Feehan dissented, finding that Ottawa’s amendments sufficiently addressed the Supreme Court’s concerns.
Smith urged Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to accept the ruling rather than pursue another appeal.
“The Alberta Court of Appeal just ruled that C-69 remains largely unconstitutional,” she said.
“I’m calling on the Federal Government to accept this ruling, refrain from yet another appeal, and immediately work with Alberta and the other provinces to clean up this flawed Trudeau-era legislation once and for all so it no longer inhibits economic development in our country.”
