TC Energy closes Coastal GasLink deal giving five First Nations an economic stake as LNG Phase 2 expands

TC Energy Corp. said Tuesday it has closed an investment agreement that gives five First Nations an economic interest in the Coastal GasLink natural gas pipeline, which carries gas from northeastern British Columbia to the LNG Canada plant and export terminal in Kitimat, The Canadian Press reported. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under the deal with FN CGL Pipeline Limited Partnership, the Haisla Nation, Halfway River First Nation, McLeod Lake Indian Band, Saulteau First Nations and West Moberly First Nations obtain an economic interest in the entity that holds TC Energy’s limited-partner interest in Coastal GasLink. TC Energy’s release said the communities are expected to benefit from long-term, predictable financial returns tied to that interest.

“This agreement turns years of partnership into long-term economic opportunity and shared prosperity,” TC Energy president and chief executive François Poirier said in the release, according to Canadian Press. West Moberly First Nations Chief Roland Willson said the framework “recognizes the importance of partnership, financial certainty and shared prosperity, while supporting our communities’ ability to make decisions about our own economic future.”

TC Energy operates Coastal GasLink and holds a 35 per cent interest in the pipeline, with KKR & Co. and Alberta Investment Management Corp. holding the remainder on behalf of certain clients, Canadian Press reported. The Calgary-based company said Tuesday’s closing is the first of two planned Indigenous investment transactions related to the line; a second deal involving additional First Nations is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Coastal GasLink is a 670-kilometre pipeline that delivers about 2.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to LNG Canada in Kitimat, where gas is liquefied for export. TC Energy has announced plans to nearly double that capacity by adding compressor stations and upgrading facilities after LNG Canada’s Phase 2 final investment decision. Construction on the pipeline’s second phase is to begin in early 2027, with service targeted for the early 2030s, Canadian Press said.

For Phase 2, LNG Canada — owned by Shell Canada and four Asian partners — is leading construction, limiting spending and schedule risk for Coastal GasLink’s owners, who remain owner and operator of the line. LNG Canada’s first phase started up in the summer of 2025.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson congratulated the partners in TC Energy’s release, saying Indigenous ownership “will be at the heart” of Canada’s energy and natural-resources investment cycle and that the deal gives First Nations “a meaningful ownership stake in, and long-term benefits from, one of Canada’s most important energy infrastructure projects.”

Sources: The Canadian Press via Winnipeg Free Press (Oct. 13, 2026); TC Energy / GlobeNewswire via The Globe and Mail (Oct. 13, 2026); CBC News (Oct. 13, 2026).