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Residents of Kitimat have voted against the pipeline in a non-binding plebiscite, while a group of First Nations and environmental groups is fighting the federal government’s approval of the project in court.

Notley confirmed that she and “half the cabinet” discussed the possibility of Northern Gateway going somewhere else besides Kitimat and the Douglas Channel.

“We had a bit of a back and forth on it, but it wasn’t a big part of the conversation,” the Alberta premier said late Sunday following a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kananaskis, Alta., where the Liberal cabinet is meeting.

Multiple sources familiar with discussions around Northern Gateway say that Enbridge has been quietly studying other potential corridors and endpoints for the pipeline, including terminating in the Port of Prince Rupert — which is already home to shipping traffic and was initially Enbridge’s second choice to Kitimat.

Potentially running the pipeline through the Nass Valley or having it end near the mouth of the Nass River (north of Prince Rupert) are also considered possible, although challenging options, according to multiple sources who aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

A spokesman for the Northern Gateway project says there are “no current plans for a route change,” but that Enbridge is committed to building the pipeline and is “open to change.”

“Northern Gateway is consulting with First Nation and Métis communities and other stakeholders to chart a path forward for the project,” Northern Gateway spokesman Ivan Giesbrecht said in an email.