Canada Fast-Tracks Pacific Oil Pipeline Amid Alberta Separatist Tensions

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has fast-tracked a proposed oil pipeline to the Pacific coast, aiming to reduce the country's dependence on the United States and mend relations with oil-rich Alberta. The Pacific Link pipeline will have a capacity of one million barrels per day.

The move comes as separatists in Alberta push for a referendum on leaving Canada. Appearing with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Fort McMurray, at the heart of Canada's oil sands, Carney designated the Pacific Link pipeline as a project of national interest under legislation his government enacted to accelerate major infrastructure projects.