Carney Designates Pacific Link Pipeline a National Priority

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Thursday that the proposed Pacific Link pipeline has been designated a Project of National Interest under the Building Canada Act. The move places the project on an accelerated federal review track with a deadline to finalize conditions by September 1, 2027.

The pipeline would transport an additional one million barrels of crude oil daily from near Edmonton to a new marine export terminal at Roberts Bank in Delta, B.C. It would largely follow the existing Trans Mountain corridor along a southern route that avoids the North Coast tanker ban zone and the Great Bear Sea.

“Canada has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to become a global energy superpower.”

The federal government and Alberta will share equal ownership of the estimated $43.7 billion project. Indigenous communities will be offered a minimum 10 percent equity stake financed through federal and provincial loan guarantee programs.

Carney framed the project as a once-in-a-generation chance to diversify trade away from the United States and establish Canada as a global energy superpower. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith praised the cooperation between governments on nation-building infrastructure.

The Major Projects Office conducted rigorous consultations over the past three months, engaging more than 130 Indigenous communities in Alberta and British Columbia. Detailed route planning and environmental studies remain before construction can begin, targeting a 2032 completion date.