Ottawa designates Pacific Link West Coast oil pipeline a project of national interest

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced Thursday in Fort McMurray that the proposed Pacific Link West Coast oil pipeline is the first project designated in the national interest under the Building Canada Act — shifting Ottawa from whether the line should be built to how it will be built.

Listing the project on Schedule One is meant to fast-track federal approvals and environmental assessments for a conduit expected to move one million barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the B.C. coast, largely along the Trans Mountain corridor. CBC reports a senior official put the annual GDP lift at up to $30 billion about $20 billion from the pipeline itself and roughly $10 billion from higher export prices if Canada diversifies away from U.S. buyers — with up to 140,000 jobs once approved. Cost estimates run from $35.2 billion to $43.7 billion, including contingency.

Ownership details still differ slightly across briefings: CBC said Alberta and federally owned Trans Mountain Corporation would each hold 45 per cent with Calgary’s Pembina Pipeline Corporation at 10 per cent, while The Globe and Mail described equal Canada–Alberta ownership of the newly named Pacific Link line. Both accounts say Indigenous communities will be offered at least a 10 per cent ownership stake, including through loan-guarantee programs. Ottawas Major Projects Office, with support from the Canada Energy Regulator, aims to finalize project conditions by Sept. 1, 2027, so construction can begin toward a 2032–33 in-service window; Dominic LeBlanc is tasked with completing that conditions document.

The designation lands as Carney tries to reset Ottawa–Alberta relations and expand non-U.S. energy markets. Environmental and coastal concerns in British Columbia, plus Indigenous consultation requirements, will now dominate the “how phase rather than a binary yes-or-no federal stance.

Sources: CBC News; The Globe and Mail.