Carney pledges $1.2-billion for ocean protection ahead of West Coast pipeline push

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced $1.2-billion on Tuesday to protect Canada’s oceans — the first pillar of a new national ocean strategy — as his government prepares to designate a proposed oil pipeline from Alberta to the southern British Columbia coast as a project of national interest, expected as soon as Thursday.

Speaking in North Vancouver with Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson, Mr. Carney cast the package as a “protect-while-we-build approach,” arguing that rising trade through the Port of Vancouver means Canada “must scale up our systems to protect marine life in the event that something goes wrong.” Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirmed the money is new funding. More than $740-million over four years renews Oceans Protection Plan measures: Coast Guard traffic monitoring, radio and radar coverage, a national nearshore emergency-forecasting system, and drones and body-worn cameras for fisheries officers. Another $136-million funds a marine-mammal oil-spill plan and underwater-noise monitoring on all three coasts, while $186-million supports the Northern Shelf Bioregion Reconciliation Framework in the Great Bear Sea.

Coastal First Nations–Great Bear Initiative president Samuel Schooner welcomed the investment, warning that major projects in northwestern B.C. are expected to more than triple shipping traffic by 2040. Mr. Carney said the proposed pipeline would follow a southern corridor similar to Trans Mountain, the north-coast tanker ban would remain, and Ottawa’s goal is to hold ocean noise around Vancouver at 2023 levels. Conditions on Roberts Bank Terminal 2 would pause work if killer whales get too close, he said.

Conservation groups were less convinced. Beatrice Frank of the Georgia Strait Alliance said the announcement looked more like spill-response planning for a southern pipeline than ocean protection, and questioned using already-noisy 2023 as a baseline for the Salish Sea’s endangered southern resident killer whales. Two further pillars of the ocean strategy — securing Canada’s waters and building the ocean economy — are due in the coming months.

Sources: Prime Minister Carney announces historic investment to protect Canada’s oceans — PMO: https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2026/09/29/prime-minister-carney-announces-historic-investment-protect-canadas | Carney announces $1.2B in funding to protect oceans as major projects loom — CBC News: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/carney-announces-ocean-protection-9.7363548 | Ottawa pledges $1.2-billion for ocean protection — The Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-carney-ocean-protection-pipeline/