Nathan Cullen's dramatic claim is disconnected from reality when scrutinized.
Former BC NDP minister Nathan Cullen says Ottawa “can’t negotiate with someone who puts a gun to your head,” referring to Alberta and discussions around a proposed westbound pipeline.
Nathan Cullen: "For those that have somehow this equation that a single project is a determination of whether our country is functioning or not, that's insane. And you can't negotiate with someone who puts a gun to your head and expect good outcomes." pic.twitter.com/rvYErRpbpg
— Scott Robertson (@sarobertson_) May 20, 2026
That’s a dramatic claim. It’s also disconnected from reality.
The proposed WEST pipeline memorandum of understanding was negotiated between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Danielle Smith — a premier who has repeatedly stated she supports Alberta remaining in Canada.
This was not a separatist negotiation. It was a federal-provincial infrastructure agreement between two federalist governments.
And the project Cullen is comparing to hostage-taking doesn’t even have a private-sector proponent yet.
There is currently:
- no finalized route,
- no company attached,
- no formal application,
- and no guarantee the project is ever built.
Yet Cullen and other B.C. politicians are already framing a discussion about economic infrastructure as though Ottawa is surrendering to national blackmail.
Meanwhile, B.C. itself has already benefited enormously from Ottawa’s federal fast-track process and national-interest project approvals, securing multiple LNG and transmission projects while Alberta had none. Suddenly Alberta getting one potential project discussion is treated like a constitutional crisis.
Verdict: False framing
The WEST pipeline MOU was not negotiated with separatists, and it was not some national hostage situation.
It was a policy discussion between the federal government and a federalist provincial government about a possible infrastructure project that may never even be built.
Calling that “a gun to the head” of the country says more about Ottawa-Western political panic than it does about Alberta.
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