Premier Rachel Notley to embark on pipeline pitch in B.C., Ontario

Alberta Premier Rachel Notleyplans to sell the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion during a speaking tour which includes a stop in Vancouver, where opposition to the project is high.

"It's really just a question of making the case to the citizens of B.C. around the benefits of the pipeline, not only to them, but of course to Albertans, and ultimately to all Canadians," Notley told CBC's Power and Politics Monday.

Notley'sspeech to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade is on Nov. 30. She will also appear at the Empire Club of Canada in Toronto on Nov. 20, and the Economic Club of Canada in Ottawa the following day.

• 'Overreaching extensively:' Notley wants Trans Mountain delays dealt with
• Notley backs Kinder Morgan appeal to energy regulator over permit delays
• Burnaby mayor says Kinder Morgan's NEB appeal is 'insulting'

Notleyis also making speeches to the chambers of commerce in Calgary and Edmonton, on Nov. 24 and Dec. 7, respectively.

"Speaking tours are an opportunity to obviously engage with the media and have the message heard much beyond the walls of the particular rooms within which I'm delivering the message,"Notleysaid.

"And of course, it's always important to just ensure that more and more opinion leaders understand the arguments that we're making here in Alberta."

The Vancouver speech carries the highest stakes as the B.C. NDP government, under Premier John Horgan, has vowed to do what it can to stop the Trans Mountain expansion.

The project, which is nine months behind schedule, would double theexisting pipeline that runs from Edmonton to the Kinder Morgan terminal in Burnaby, B.C.

The City of Burnaby hasn't issued the permits needed to allow pipeline construction to proceed. Kinder Morgan has asked the National Energy Board to intervene.

The Trans Mountain project has received approval from the federal government and the National Energy Board. The approvals are the subject of appeals that are being heard by the Federal Court of Appeal.