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It is a simpler, safer and more efficient corridor.

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None of this requires overstating the seismic profile of northern British Columbia. The region is not seismically quiet. The Queen Charlotte Fault, offshore from Haida Gwaii, produced Canada’s two largest recorded earthquakes — magnitude 8.1 in 1949 and magnitude 7.8 in 2012. The northern coast faces real seismic hazards — but they are different hazards.

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They do not involve the deep, liquefiable basin sediments that threaten Burrard Inlet. They do not expose a major metropolitan area with fragile infrastructure. And they do not create a single point of national failure.

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A northern route does not eliminate seismic exposure. It diversifies it. That is the strength of the argument.

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Any serious discussion of northern access must also address the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act (Bill C-48). The legislation prohibits large crude tankers along the stretch of coast that includes Prince Rupert and Kitimat, and it was a decisive factor in the cancellation of Northern Gateway. This month’s federal-provincial announcement reaffirmed the moratorium even as it advanced new West Coast pipeline development.

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This policy reality cannot be ignored. But it can be debated.

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C-48 was designed for a different era — one in which Canada’s crude exports were smaller, TMX was not yet complete and global energy security concerns were less acute. The legislation restricts access to the very deepwater ports that offer Canada the greatest strategic advantage in Asia. If Canada wishes to diversify its energy corridors, reduce dependence on a single seismic choke point, and strengthen its position in Asian markets, it must revisit the moratorium.

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That could mean amending it, replacing it with a modernized regulatory framework or identifying alternative northern destinations outside the restricted zone.

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And if British Columbia and the federal government remain unwilling to consider any northern alternative, Canada must acknowledge a geopolitical reality — Alaska is not bound by C-48. Ports such as Ketchikan sit just north of the moratorium boundary, offer deepwater access and operate under a U.S. federal government that has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to expand oil and gas infrastructure.

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The current administration has shown both an appetite for energy investment and a readiness to use strong leverage on its trading partners to achieve strategic goals.

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It is not a threat — it is a fact. If Canada chooses not to diversify its own corridors, others will gladly step into the role.

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The central point remains — expanding West Coast egress is positive, but concentrating it entirely in the Lower Mainland is strategically reckless. Prince Rupert offers a geographically distinct, economically superior and environmentally advantageous second gateway.

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It does not replace TMX. It complements it.

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And in doing so, it strengthens Canada’s ability to withstand the shocks — geological, economic or geopolitical — that will define the next half-century of global energy trade.

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David A. McLellan spent more than 30 years in energy and finance. He is a Senior Fellow at the Haultain Institute and a member of the board at Blackhawk Oil & Gas, FX Energy and Ascent Energy Ventures.

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