As inter-provincial contretemps go, the one emerging between B.C. and Alberta over the future of pipeline construction in Canada is shaping up to be a doozy.

Of course, the country has witnessed these two jurisdictions square off before, over a similar issue – the proposed expansion of a pipeline running Albertan oil to B.C.’s coastline. That was a weird one – on one side, you had former Alberta NDP premier Rachel Notley, and on the other, her close friend and fellow New Democrat, former B.C. premier John Horgan.

It got heated – at least for the cameras. But I was never convinced the angry words exchanged publicly over B.C.’s staunch opposition to the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) was all that real.

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Mr. Horgan understood Ms. Notley needed the pipeline for political purposes (not to mention her provincial economy) and she, in turn, knew Mr. Horgan had a broad swath of his province opposed to the pipeline on environmental grounds. They were both just doing their job. The B.C. premier also knew that the federal government held the trump card and so, if it went ahead, his hands were clean. He could say he did his best but ultimately the final call was not his.

Which brings us to what looks like a renewed standoff between the two provinces over current Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s desire to see a new pipeline built between her province and the northwest coast of Canada’s westernmost province. B.C. hasn’t said absolutely no under any circumstances, but it has certainly given off vibes that it isn’t warm to the idea.

B.C.’s reluctance isn’t difficult to understand. The dynamics that existed a decade ago when the two provinces were feuding over the TMX expansion still exist today. Premier David Eby has a constituency that cares about the environment, just as Ms. Smith has a constituency that wants to “drill baby drill.” B.C. is already heavily invested in gas pipelines, which many environmentalists in the province are not thrilled about. An additional pipeline carrying bitumen from Alberta would be fiercely opposed in B.C., not least of which by Indigenous groups.

Ms. Smith was recently on CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live. When asked what she might be able to “put on the table” to sweeten the pot for B.C. regarding a pipeline, the Alberta Premier responded: “Well, it’s Team Canada or not.”

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I’m certain that line would have provoked gales of laughter in Victoria, and likely Ottawa, too. This is the same Premier who has said that if Alberta doesn’t get a new pipeline there will be a “national unity crisis” the likes of which the country hasn’t seen before. This is the same Premier who tabled legislation making it easier for a referendum on Alberta separatism to be held. The same Premier who tabled a list of nine demands that needed to be met to avoid a major constitutional crisis in Canada.

Yes, it’s Team Canada or not indeed.

I believe another pipeline is in the country’s interest, not just Alberta’s. If the goal is to truly be an energy superpower, as Prime Minister Mark Carney has said, then you are either serious about it or not. You need to put rules in place that don’t drive away potential private-sector investments in any new pipeline, while not utterly abandoning our obligations to the environment at the same time.

Producing oil with lower emissions is critical to this venture. That means there will need to be a massive investment by industry in carbon capture and storage. Negotiations with First Nations along any proposed route will have to be honest and legitimate, not performative, as they have been in the past. Even then, it may result in Ottawa having to force a pipeline through over strong objections.

In any event, there is a long way to go before any decision is made on a new pipeline, and a lot of due diligence that will need to occur. Let’s hope that in the meantime we don’t get a lot of Ms. Smith’s threats and constant bashing of the federal government, for which she’s well known.

You can’t make outrageous statements like Canada has “the lowest living standards in the world” - as the Premier recently told CTV News host Vassy Kapelos in attempting to make her case for another pipeline - and expect the rest of the country to have any sympathy for your position. Or to take you seriously.

I understand that it plays well in Alberta, where the governing United Conservative Party has a visceral disdain for all things Liberal. But you can’t extend one hand and say please, while with the other you’re holding up a middle finger.