A $20.6-billion oilsands project with widespread support in Alberta was nixed late Sunday when Teck Resources Ltd. publicly announced it would be pulling the application it had on the table, waiting for federal approval due in a matter of days.

The stunning move to kill the Teck Frontier mine came just hours after the Alberta government signed two agreements to partner with the Mikisew Cree First Nation and the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation on the project.

The long-anticipated development in the Alberta energy industry had been expected to create an estimated 7,000 jobs during construction, and 2,500 over its 41-year lifespan.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney raised concerns about national unity in a statement sent out Sunday while he pinned the move by the company partly on “federal indecision” during the approval process and “inaction” amid the ongoing rail blockades taking place across the country.

“We did our part,” he said. “But the federal government’s inability to convey a clear or unified position let us, and Teck, down.”

Letter sent from Teck to the Alberta government View document on Scribd

Kenney said he’d look for “greater control and autonomy for Alberta within Canada” using “every tool available.”

The company told the federal and provincial governments of its decision over the weekend.

A source close to the process told the Star the company explained it wanted to steer clear of the environmental opposition brewing around the project, and did not want to be in the crosshairs of anti-oilsands sentiment.

“We are disappointed to have arrived at this point,” Don Lindsay, Teck president and CEO, wrote in a letter to federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, outlining the decision.

“Teck put forward a socially and environmentally responsible project that was industry leading and had the potential to create significant economic benefits for Canadians.

“I want to make clear that we are not merely shying away from controversy,” Lindsay continued. “The nature of our business dictates that a vocal minority will almost inevitably oppose specific developments. We are prepared to face that sort of opposition. Frontier, however, has surfaced a broader debate over climate change and Canada’s role in addressing it. It is our hope that withdrawing from the process will allow Canadians to shift to a larger and more positive discussion about the path forward.”

The project was seen as a potential boost to Alberta’s beleaguered economy, which has faced low oil prices and job losses over the past several years. But the federal cabinet has been deadlocked over whether to approve the project because it would drive up greenhouse gas emissions at a time when the federal Liberals have committed to reducing them.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Kenney spoke about the decision from Teck on Sunday and a statement from the prime minister’s office said they “agreed on the importance of Canada’s natural resource sector.”

They also discussed the ongoing Wet’suwet’en rail blockades that have been popping up across the country in support of hereditary chiefs opposing a natural gas pipeline in British Columbia, the statement said. The blockades have resulted in widespread disruption in CN Rail and Via Rail services.

Trudeau said last week the blockades must come down.

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The rail blockades weren’t raised by Teck in its letter to the environment minister, but thousands of Canadians have turned out in support of the movement in recent weeks, while others have voiced their displeasure with the blockades and their effects on the economy.

“Teck’s decision is disappointing, but in light of the events of the last few weeks it is not surprising,” Kenney said.

Environmental Defence, an advocacy organization, said in a statement that the move by Teck signals it’s time the federal government introduces a “climate test” so projects are aligned with Canada’s environmental targets.

Julia Levin, a climate and energy program manager with the group, said the project “sparked a divisive debate about the prospects for new fossil fuel infrastructure in a world moving rapidly to tackle climate change.”

“Now is the time to invest in projects that provide jobs and create clean energy and clean growth,” she said.

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