Mark Carney designates West Coast pipeline as first national-interest project

By: Ebenezer Adugyamfi & Emmanuel Ayiku for GhanaianNewsCanada
October 1, 2026

Prime Minister Mark Carney has formally designated a proposed oil pipeline linking Alberta’s oilsands to the British Columbia coast as Canada’s first project of national interest under the federal government’s new Building Canada Act.

Carney made the announcement Thursday in Fort McMurray, Alberta, alongside Premier Danielle Smith, giving the long-discussed West Coast pipeline a major step forward after months of negotiations and consultations between Ottawa, Alberta, British Columbia, Indigenous communities and industry.

The project has now been officially named the Pacific Link Pipeline.

The designation does not mean construction can begin immediately. Instead, it places the project within the federal government’s new streamlined approval framework and begins a process under which the Major Projects Office, supported by the Canada Energy Regulator, will establish the conditions that must be met before construction can proceed.

A new route to global markets

The proposed pipeline would run approximately 1,250 kilometres, carrying as much as one million barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta to a marine terminal near Delta, B.C.From there, the oil would be shipped to international markets, particularly in Asia.

The project is intended to give Alberta producers an additional export route at a time when the overwhelming majority of Canadian crude exports continue to move south into the United States.

Carney said approximately 90 per cent of Alberta’s oil currently goes to the U.S. and argued that Pacific Link would help reduce Canada’s dependence on a single market.

The federal government says the project is part of a broader strategy to double Canada’s non-U.S. exports over the next decade and strengthen the country’s economic independence.

First major test of the Building Canada Act

The designation is significant because Pacific Link is the first project to be formally listed under the Building Canada Act.The legislation gives the federal government a mechanism to accelerate projects it determines are in the national interest.

Under the process announced Thursday, the Major Projects Office will spend the next year developing a conditions document covering issues including environmental protection, Indigenous rights, ownership, employment, safety and other regulatory requirements.

The federal government says it expects those conditions to be finalized by September 1, 2027.The process will include further consultation with Indigenous communities, public hearings and environmental and technical assessments.That means the national-interest designation is a major regulatory milestone, but it is not the same as final construction approval.

Ottawa and Alberta to share ownership

The proposed ownership structure also represents a partnership between the federal and Alberta governments.

Canada and Alberta are expected to hold equal ownership stakes in the project, while Pembina Pipeline Corporation is participating as the private-sector partner.

The federal government said Indigenous communities will be offered a minimum 10 per cent ownership interest, with financing support available through federal and provincial Indigenous loan-guarantee programs.

The government says the arrangement is intended to give Indigenous communities an opportunity to benefit financially from the project while also participating in decisions affecting their territories.

A major economic project

Ottawa estimates that Pacific Link could create approximately 140,000 jobs at the peak of construction and generate more than $20 billion in economic output annually.The government also projects that the pipeline could generate approximately $100 billion in government revenue by 2060.

Those figures are government projections rather than guaranteed outcomes and will depend on the project’s eventual construction, financing, demand for pipeline capacity and long-term conditions in global energy markets.

The government expects the pipeline could begin operating around 2032 or 2033 if the necessary approvals, financing and development milestones are completed.

The Trans Mountain connection

The Pacific Link proposal has evolved considerably since it was first discussed.

The pipeline is expected to follow a route broadly similar to the existing Trans Mountain Expansion system, rather than using a northern route that would have raised concerns about the federal tanker ban along British Columbia’s north coast.

The proposed southern route would terminate near Delta, allowing crude to reach export infrastructure in the Vancouver-area region.The federal government says the selected route avoids highly sensitive ecosystems, including the Great Bear Sea, while maintaining that the existing tanker ban along B.C.’s northern coast will remain in place.

Why the decision matters to Canada

The announcement comes as Canada is attempting to reduce its economic exposure to the United States.

Relations between Ottawa and Washington have been affected by trade disputes and tariffs, increasing pressure on Canada to develop alternative markets for its exports.

For Alberta, access to the Pacific coast would provide another route for its oil to reach international buyers.For the federal government, the pipeline fits into a broader economic strategy involving expanded ports, new energy infrastructure and greater trade with countries outside North America.

Carney has argued that Canada needs to use its natural resources while simultaneously investing in infrastructure and environmental protection.

The government recently announced $1.2 billion for ocean protection, including measures related to marine safety and conservation, just days before the pipeline designation.

Environmental concerns remain

The decision is also expected to face criticism from environmental groups and others concerned about the climate and ecological consequences of expanding Canada’s oil infrastructure.

The federal government says environmental protections will form part of the conditions established during the next stage of the review.

It also says the project will have to comply with environmental requirements and that Indigenous rights and consultation obligations will remain part of the process.

Critics, meanwhile, have questioned whether accelerating major energy infrastructure projects is compatible with Canada’s climate commitments.

The national-interest designation therefore does not end the debate over the pipeline. Instead, it moves that debate into a new phase in which the federal government, Indigenous communities, provinces, regulators and industry will have to address the project’s specific conditions.

A political moment for Alberta

The announcement also carries political significance.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has spent considerable time pressing Ottawa for a new pipeline to the West Coast, arguing that the province needs greater access to international markets.

The federal decision gives Smith a major infrastructure commitment from Ottawa at a time when relations between Alberta and the federal government have frequently been strained.

The timing is also notable because Alberta is preparing for an October 19 vote involving the province’s separatist movement. One question on the ballot asks voters whether they want a referendum on Alberta becoming an independent country.

Smith has said she supports Alberta remaining part of Canada but has also pushed for greater provincial powers. The pipeline agreement between Ottawa and Edmonton is therefore being viewed by both governments as an example of federal-provincial cooperation on a major economic project.

What happens next?

Pacific Link now enters a year-long development and regulatory process.The Major Projects Office and Canada Energy Regulator will work with Indigenous communities, provincial governments, industry and other stakeholders to determine the conditions under which the pipeline could proceed.

Among the issues to be addressed will be the final route, environmental safeguards, Indigenous participation, ownership, financing, employment and regulatory requirements.The project will also need sufficient commercial support from oil producers and investors.

Ottawa has indicated that it plans to hold a bidding process for pipeline capacity before making a final investment decision, an approach intended to determine whether there is enough market demand to support construction.

For now, however, the federal government’s decision represents the biggest formal step yet toward building another oil export route from Alberta to the Pacific.

Carney described the project as part of his government’s effort to transform Canada’s economy, diversify trade and reduce dependence on a single international market.

Whether Pacific Link ultimately reaches completion will depend on the regulatory process, financing, commercial commitments, Indigenous participation and environmental requirements still ahead.

But Thursday’s announcement has moved the proposed pipeline from a political proposal into Canada’s new national-interest project framework.