Good morning.

Of 51 federal MPs in Saskatchewan and Alberta, three of them are Liberal. Of 43 federal MPs in British Columbia, 20 of them are Liberal.

They include Gregor Robertson, currently the federal Housing Minister, who, when he was mayor of Vancouver predicted the Trans Mountain pipeline would never get built because of the vigorous opposition to it within the province.

They also include Jonathan Wilkinson, who was the Liberal energy minister in Justin Trudeau’s government.

It’s hard not to wonder where those 20 voices are as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government hurdles toward signing a memorandum of understanding with Alberta on energy in Calgary on Thursday, apparently without having included B.C. in the conversation.

The Globe and Mail broke the news last week that an energy accord to boost Alberta’s oil and natural gas sector was imminent. The Globe reported the MOU will involve an oil pipeline running from Alberta to the northwest coast of British Columbia.

Later last week, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said he, too, had been speaking with Ottawa about the pipeline proposal.

A pipeline terminating on B.C.’s north coast was hotly opposed when Enbridge first tried – and failed – with Northern Gateway more than a decade ago. The same concerns about the potential for an oil spill and disruption of aquatic life remain.

So perhaps Carney figured having B.C. Premier David Eby involved in such conversations would be unproductive.

Whatever the reason, Eby said he learned about the talks through media reports.

It was not until Monday that he spoke with the Prime Minister. He said Carney told him an agreement hasn’t been finalized.

But it was a terse conversation.

“I underlined to the Prime Minister how unacceptable it was to me to have Saskatchewan and Alberta speaking about matters in British Columbia without British Columbia at the table,” Eby said.

“This is not something that would happen to Quebec. This is not something that would happen to other provinces in the federation.”

He said he made three points to the Prime Minister: that coastal First Nations support is required for a conversation about a pipeline through their territories; that ignoring their opposition could jeopardize other major projects Canada and B.C. want to accomplish involving the coast; and that whatever taxpayer dollars are invested in a pipeline should equally be available to other provinces seeking to launch nation-building projects.

The Premier noted that taxpayers already own a pipeline, Trans Mountain, purchased by the federal government after Kinder Morgan lost interest due to fierce opposition from within British Columbia. The pipeline, now in its first year of production, is up for for sale.

Eby noted no company is rushing forward to buy it.

Instead, British Columbia is trying to accommodate Alberta’s needs by backing a proposal to move more Alberta crude oil to the West Coast via expanded capacity on the Trans Mountain pipeline system.

The province’s Energy Minister, Adrian Dix, told reporter Justine Hunter he has urged BC Hydro to agree to power the project. The province has also given a green light to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to dredge the Second Narrows waterway to allow tankers to load more oil at the Trans Mountain marine terminal in Burnaby.

Dix argued that for far less money than a new pipeline and with far less red tape, expansion of Trans Mountain is a far more practical effort. The project would increase output on the line by about 360,000 barrels per day.

“We just finished a pipeline. It’s paid for by the Canadian taxpayer, and we’re trying to make it better for them,” Dix said.

But Smith rejected the overture, saying she wants the Trans Mountain optimization to proceed but it’s not enough: Canada needs new pipelines and to expand existing ones in all directions.

She suggested Eby was not playing on Team Canada.

“A lot of people wrap themselves in the flag, talking about how much they support Canada and want to work together. And then, when it comes right down to it, not everybody lives up to that commitment.”

Columnist Gary Mason found that hard to swallow. He pointed out that Smith “has pretty much spent her entire time in office dreaming up ways for Alberta to assert sovereignty over its affairs.”

He notes Smith “organized a travelling grievance road show” over the summer to test market ideas like an Alberta police force, an Alberta pension plan and an Alberta tax collection agency.

In a scrum with reporters last week, Wilkinson, the former energy minister, said any pipeline to B.C.’s north coast would require the province’s participation and that of area First Nations.

“I think there’s a bunch of things that have to get worked through,” he said.

This is the weekly British Columbia newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.