OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have signed a memorandum of understanding that commits them to working toward building an oil pipeline to the West Coast — and opens the door to changes to the coastal tanker ban.

At a signing ceremony in Calgary on Thursday, the two agreed that Ottawa would enable the export of oil through a deepsea port to Asian markets and “if necessary” adjust the tanker ban to make that happen.

Ottawa’s commitment is contingent on the pipeline being approved as a project of national interest, and on the project providing “opportunities for Indigenous co-ownership and shared economic benefits.”

The announcement comes after a group of First Nations in B.C. said that a new pipeline to the Pacific coast will never be built, and afte

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