Carney's expected green light for oil pipeline causes unease in caucus and cabinet: sources

With Prime Minister Mark Carney expected to lay out a path forward for an oil pipeline to northwest B.C. on Thursday, senior people around him have had to assuage skittish MPs and at least one cabinet minister about the virtues of the forthcoming "grand bargain" with Alberta.

One dynamic at play in this discussion is the future of Steven Guilbeault, the minister of Canadian identity and culture.

Sources told CBC News there have been ongoing conversations between Guilbeault and the Prime Minister's Office, with the lifelong environmental activist expressing concern about the compromises being made on the government's climate policies to get to a deal with Alberta.

There have been internal concerns that Guilbeault, who served as the environment minister in the last Liberal government, could resign over this.

But as of right now, sources said Guilbeault is staying due to the belief he can do more at the table than by walking away.

Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson also briefed B.C Liberal MPs Wednesday on the content of Ottawa's forthcoming memorandum of understanding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith — an agreement that has rattled some politicians even before it has been released publicly.

A government source told CBC News that Hodgson had a "good" and "substantive" discussion with caucus, some of whom have said they are skeptical of building a new pipeline to the Pacific.

The meeting was lengthy as the minister fielded questions about what exactly Ottawa is proposing for Alberta — and what sort of commitments the federal government will get in turn, the source said.

Hodgson told reporters after leaving the larger national caucus meeting that he had "a very good conversation" about  what's to be delivered in Calgary on Thursday alongside Smith.

One B.C. MP inside the room, however, described the meeting with the minister as quite candid and at times tense, saying Hodgson seemed dismissive of the possible political consequences for Liberal MPs in B.C.

Hodgson used words like "naive" and "ideological" when responding to MP concerns, the parliamentarian said.

Another MP described the briefing as useful — and something that should have been done earlier than the day before the details are to be revealed publicly.

Asked about tension in his caucus at a news conference on relief for tariff-affected industries like steel and lumber, Carney said he's "blessed to be a member of a fantastic" team of MPs and there has been "very open and engaged dialogue" on what's to come with the Canada-Alberta agreement.

He said this memorandum is "about much more than one thing" — a pipeline — and he is working with Smith build up the Canadian economy in the face of U.S. trade aggression.