The Liberal government voted to keep B.C.’s oil tanker ban in place, defeating a Conservative bill at second reading.
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The Liberal government voted to keep the B.C. oil tanker ban in place, defeating a Conservative bill that would have repealed it during second reading in the House of Commons on Oct. 28, 2026.
MPs voted along party lines, with only Conservatives supporting the bill moving forward to the committee stage.
Prime Minister Mark Carney, who made a rare appearance after question period, voted in person on several bills today, including the oil tanker ban matter.
The decision follows a deal Carney made with the B.C. government earlier this summer to keep the ban in place.
The existing law, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, prohibits tankers from carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes of crude oil in areas along the northern coast of British Columbia.
The Conservatives argued the moratorium undermines Canada’s prosperity by limiting the potential for oil exports from B.C.’s northern coast to international markets.
The evidence provided also says Alberta originally envisioned the proposed Pacific Link oil pipeline exporting from the northern coast, but that the route was revised earlier this summer to go south to respect the ban.
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