OTTAWA AND EDMONTON - Premier Alison Redford, whose birthplace of Kitimat, B.C., has become the holy grail of Alberta's oilsands industry, says the B.C. government has to be aware of the signal it sends to global investors when it decides whether to endorse the Northern Gateway pipeline project.

Redford said the benefits for B.C. and Canada are evident in a new University of Calgary study showing $132 billion in economic wealth for Canada if North American pipeline capacity is sufficiently expanded to match the growth in oilsands production with demand in the U.S. and Asia.

As well, Redford said she respects B.C. Premier Christy Clark's refusal to endorse Enbridge Inc.'s $5.5-billion pipeline from Bruderheim to Kitimat pending a National Energy Board-Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency decision at the end of 2013.

In an interview with The Journal, Redford said B.C.'s support for Northern Gateway is an important component of her proposed national energy strategy aimed at sending a signal to the world that Canada will allow its resource economy to "thrive" while properly managing the environment.

She said she disagrees with the notion that the B.C. government could aggressively pursue resource development in areas like liquefied natural gas, and mineral development, while opting out of the Northern Gateway due to public fears of a catastrophic pipeline or tanker spill.

"I know that's the perspective that some people in British Columbia will take," she said by telephone. "My perspective is that that's not the way you grow an economy.

"It's not a matter of saying, 'we're going to pick this and choose that.' Because at the end of the day the question that must be asked, is, 'what is the signal that that is sending to potential investors?' " She said B.C. could benefit from significant investment "if there is a signal sent that British Columbia is prepared to develop their resources."

Northern Gateway is just one of a number of opportunities in B.C., "and British Columbia will have to decide what they want to do with respect to that."

While Redford will face the voters this spring, B.C.'s election is scheduled for the spring of 2013, months before the regulatory panel decides if the project should proceed. Polls suggest that Clark faces a strong challenge from New Democratic Party leader Adrian Dix.

The University of Calgary's School of Public Policy issued an analysis Thursday concluding that greater export capacity for Canadian oil would add billions to national GDP and create thousands of jobs.

"With better access and new pipeline capacity, oil producers will see more efficient access to international markets which can add up to $131 billion to Canada's GDP between 2016 and 2030," says the study.

The rewards are too great to ignore."

Economist Michal Moore, a professor at the school and lead author on the study, said Canadian oil currently trades for less than it's worth in the American marketplace because of bottlenecks in getting the product to refineries in the Southern states. These hiccups, notably around the oil hub of Cushing, Okla., increase the time and cost of transporting the oil.

Eliminating them, said Moore, whether through the Keystone XL pipeline or other initiatives, reduces these added costs and boost the price of Canadian oil by almost $10 US a barrel.

The study also shows that the overwhelming economic benefit of pipeline expansion to B.C. - Kinder Morgan is also considering an expansion of its pipeline capacity from Alberta to Burnaby - would go to Alberta.

The opening of the Asian market would trigger $10.5 billion in gains and 52,000 person-years of employment in Canada, but almost $10 billion of that wealth and 44,000 person-years go to Alberta. Ontario would get $286 million and 4,000 person-years, while B.C. would get $131 million and 2,000 person-years.

The study also suggests that B.C. would gain an additional $85 million in GDP and another 1,000 person-years due to increased exports to California if pipelines are built to the West Coast.

Redford, whose standing in public opinion polls has soared since her election as Tory leader and premier earlier this autumn, was born in Kitimat in 1965. Her father was an apprentice electrician working at the Alcan smelter, but they moved when she was two.

Redford was non-committal when asked if she plans to visit B.C. to promote the Gateway project.

"If there are opportunities to talk about this in a positive way in British Columbia" then she or one of her cabinet ministers will take that step, she said.

While Redford acknowledged that Alberta has to remain sensitive to B.C.'s political culture when it comes to environmental issues, she said many British Columbians underestimate her province's commitment to green issues.

"It's something we've put a tremendous amount of emphasis on in the past 10 years."

Poneil@postmedia.com

lkelly@edmontonjournal.com