It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, July 02, 2026
Canada ranks 13th on average global wealth list, Switzerland comes in first
A Canadian flag on dollar banknotes. (Getty Images)
North America is the richest region of the world when it comes to personal wealth, according to a new report from Swiss bank UBS, but in terms of countries Canada ranks 13th.
With an average personal wealth of US$660,000 per adult in 2025, North America is followed by Australia and New Zealand, which together had an average wealth of US$590,000. Western Europe was ranked third, with an average wealth of US$330,000 per person.
North America’s top spot was primarily driven by the U.S., which had an average wealth of US$696,277 per adult in 2025. In terms of countries, the U.S. was ranked second behind Switzerland, which had an average wealth of US$910,382. Canada came in 13th place in the country rankings with an average wealth of US$399,886 per adult.
The annual UBS Global Wealth Report is produced by Switzerland’s largest bank. It calculates wealth in U.S. dollars by measuring financial and non-financial assets such as properties, minus debts.
According to UBS, global personal wealth rose by 10.8 per cent in 2025. While 1.5 per cent of the world’s population has more than US$1 million, 42 per cent have assets worth less than US$10,000, the report found,
Canadian dollar cash banknotes and stock market indicators. (Getty Images)
Prime Minister Mark Carney threw a wrench into Alberta's West Coast pipeline ambitions on Thursday just hours before Premier Danielle Smith was set to unveil details of the province's long-awaited proposal.
Speaking alongside B.C. Premier David Eby in Vancouver, Carney reaffirmed that Ottawa will maintain the federal ban on oil tankers along British Columbia's North Coast, effectively taking one of the most attractive export corridors off the table before Alberta's proposal even reached the federal government.
The announcement came as part of a multibillion-dollar agreement between Ottawa and British Columbia aimed at advancing resource development while preserving the North Coast tanker moratorium.
Smith's government is pitching a privately financed, one-million-barrel-per-day pipeline to Canada's West Coast and wants Ottawa to designate it as a project of national interest. The proposal is intended to boost Canada's export capacity, reduce dependence on the U.S. market, and strengthen the country's energy security.
But keeping the tanker ban intact immediately narrows the project's options.
It doesn’t directly kill the pipeline, but it does remove one of the most politically and geographically attractive export corridors.
The political signals coming out of British Columbia, meanwhile, were surprisingly mixed. Eby reiterated his opposition to lifting the tanker ban but also acknowledged that pipelines fall under federal jurisdiction and said his government would not go to court to stop a federally approved project. Instead, B.C. secured a commitment that it would be compensated for the environmental risks should a pipeline ultimately move forward.
The result: Alberta gets consideration for its proposed pipeline, British Columbia keeps its tanker moratorium, and both sides claim victory.
Investors may see it differently.
The project still lacks a private developer, must clear federal review, navigate indigenous consultation, and now faces additional logistical questions about where its oil would actually be loaded onto tankers.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
B.C.’s multibillion-dollar MOU with feds retains northern tanker ban
B.C. Premier David Eby (left), provincial Housing Minister Christine Boyle and federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson (right) look on as Prime Minister Mark Carney makes an announcement at a construction site in Vancouver on Thursday, June 18, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
The plan for a new Alberta bitumen pipeline to the British Columbia coast came into focus Thursday as Prime Minster Mark Carney toggled between the two provinces to meet leaders and make announcements.
At a news conference in Vancouver, Carney and B.C. Premier David Eby unveiled a memorandum of understanding that Carney says will help unlock more than $200 billion in new investment, with British Columbia as the “linchpin.”
The deal also maintains the tanker ban off B.C.’s northern coast while also promising the province will be compensated for environmental risks should Ottawa OK a pipeline to the coast.
B.C. will also get compensated for any new line in a framework that is to be negotiated later. There’s also a promise for an emergency response fund to be held in trust by the province and First Nations.
The moves effectively open the way for a bitumen pipeline to B.C.’s southern region. Carney was to travel to Calgary later Thursday to make a joint announcement with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
Smith’s government has been pushing for a new pipeline, but Carney declined to answer specific questions ahead of the news conference with Smith. “You can draw your own conclusions, but you can also wait until this afternoon,” he said.
FILE: Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, signs an MOU with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Carney’s deal with B.C. extends far beyond the pipeline.
It sees the two governments commit to supporting new and expanding liquefied natural gas projects and exporting infrastructure, studying potential investments in the province’s existing ports and a major federal funding promise for the North Coast Transmission Line to deliver electricity to communities and projects in the region.
“This agreement is comprehensive. It’s ambitious. And it will help transform the entire Canadian economy,” Carney said.
Eby said it puts the province on a “generational path to prosperity” and conceded that while B.C. doesn’t have to support any potential pipeline proposal, his government won’t fight it in court.
“This is an area of federal responsibility under the law. We learned this the hard way on the last pipeline,” Eby said.
“That’s why this agreement matters. It ensures that the northern tanker ban stays in place, and it ensures that if the pipeline goes ahead, British Columbians are fairly compensated for the environmental risks we would take.”
Eby’s deal with Carney also says B.C. recognizes Canada’s interests in “optimizing” the existing southern Trans Mountain Pipeline, increasing throughput to 1.2 million barrels a day, up from 890,000.
Eby had been critical of a possible Alberta pipeline to the West Coast, particularly if it meant abandoning the tanker ban.
Alberta’s pipeline pitch stems from an energy deal signed between Smith and Carney last fall.
The Alberta accord saw Carney walk back a number of environmental laws and Smith’s government take on the initial planning work for a pipeline.
Carney has said the go-ahead for any such project depends on it be being paid for and run privately while Alberta must also advance a major carbon capture and storage project being pitched by an alliance of oil producers.
A private backer for any new Alberta pipeline has yet to come forward or be announced.
The pipeline is not only an economic issue but a point of political tension that has led to Smith announcing a fall referendum on whether Alberta should stay in Canada or take steps to hold another vote to leave Confederation.
Smith has said she wants Alberta to stay, but she’s also said federal policies and rules in recent years have stymied Alberta’s wellspring oil industry, leading some to say it’s time the province go it alone.
To that end, the pipeline has become a political mirror, with each side seeing it either as another form of Alberta alienation or co-operation.
Both Smith and Carney say the deal shows Canada can work. But leaders of Alberta’s separatist movement say if their province remains beholden to deals with Ottawa to get its own resources to market, then Confederation remains broken.
This report by Chuck Chiang and Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press, was first published July 2, 2026.
With files by David Baxter in Ottawa
Agreement between B.C. and Ottawa supports new Alberta pipeline
CALGARY — The Carney government is moving ahead with a plan that lays out more of the groundwork for a new pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast.
While the exact agreement is yet to be released, some details were released on Thursday, ahead of an availability featuring Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
A news conference with Smith had been scheduled for this morning, but it has been delayed to begin at 6 MT/8 ET.
Smith inked an agreement with Carney last fall, and their memorandum of understanding pledges to pave the way for a bitumen pipeline to the West Coast.
After that deal, B.C. Premier David Eby voiced his displeasure with the idea, but Thursday’s agreement seems to have smoothed some of that over.
“British Columbia acknowledges Canada’s agreement with Alberta on a new trans-provincial pipeline, which is dependent on construction of the Pathways Carbon Capture and Sequestration project and the duty to consult First Nations,” Carney’s office wrote in an online statement.
“Although B.C. does not seek this project, it recognises its constitutional obligations and commits to acting in good faith to engage in the necessary routing and permitting discussions, within its jurisdiction, provided the following reciprocal commitments are met.”
Some of the terms of the agreement include Ottawa engaging in “early, consistent and meaningful consultation” with Indigenous groups and Ottawa and Alberta agreeing on “an economic and revenue framework” for B.C.
Ottawa will, however, maintain its ban on oil tankers along the northern coast of B.C.
The revenue framework for the agreement will mean that B.C. will be given an annual royalty payment by the pipeline’s operator and there will be an environmental liability and emergency response fund established.
That environmental protection plan will also include more federal investments for “a world leading coastal spill response regime.”
In return, B.C. will need to help optimize the efficiency of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline, Carney’s office said.
It said the capacity of that line will increase from 890,000 barrels per day to 1,190,000 barrels per day through “drag-reducing agents and mainline optimization.”
Ottawa will assist with B.C.’s capital costs and B.C. residents will also be entitled to “a fair share” of the economic benefits of the Trans Mountain optimization project.
The pipeline deal is tied to progress on a major carbon capture network by the province’s biggest oil producers, who have said they shouldn’t have to bear the multi-billion dollar cost alone.
Alberta is preparing to hold a referendum this fall on separating from Canada and Smith has said the deal with Ottawa shows Canada can work, but those pushing for the province to quit Confederation say it cannot fix long-standing grievances.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is coming to next week’s Calgary Stampede. Carney, left, meets with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith as the pair attend a Stampede breakfast in Calgary, Alta., Saturday, July 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
CALGARY — It’s the Alberta government’s self-imposed deadline to submit its proposal for a new West Coast oil pipeline to the federal major projects office.
But since it’s Canada Day, the province is waiting a day to make what it calls a “major announcement,” while Energy Minister Brian Jean is also set to deliver a speech at the Calgary Petroleum Club on Thursday.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to be in Alberta this week as well, with the Calgary Stampede set to begin on Friday.
The Alberta government is acting as proponent for a plan to ship up to one million barrels a day to a yet-to-be-determined B.C. port, with no private-sector builder coming forward yet.
The major projects office was set up a year ago to speed along infrastructure deemed in Canada’s national interest.
The province has said it aims to have shovels in the ground in September 2027, with pipeline startup in the mid-2030s.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2026.
