On October 1, Prime Minister Mark Carney stood beside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Fort McMurray, Alta., to announce that the proposed Alberta-to-British Columbia West Coast oil pipeline — now christened "Pacific Link" — has become the first project designated as being in the national interest under Canada's Building Canada Act. The designation was moved by Intergovernmental Affairs and One Canadian Economy Minister Dominic LeBlanc and finalized after a federal technical review.
The roughly 1,250-kilometre line would run from Bruderheim, Alta., largely following the existing Trans Mountain corridor south to a new marine terminal near Delta, B.C. It is designed to carry up to one million barrels a day of crude, mainly to Asian markets such as China, Japan and South Korea. Alberta estimates the cost at 35.2 to 43.7 billion Canadian dollars.
Carney's official message was aimed squarely at the United States: "Today, 90 percent of Alberta's oil goes to the U.S.," he said, adding that Pacific Link would materially reduce that dependence. "The question is, who will emerge as the world's trusted suppliers? It should be us. It must be Canada."
In a technical briefing, federal officials said the Major Projects Office — after reviewing the project, the proponents' capabilities, environmental factors and Indigenous rights — concluded "the business case is very strong" and that the line could be built within a reasonable time frame. The government says the project would strengthen Canada's "autonomy, resilience, and security" and deliver material economic benefits amid rising trade uncertainty.
Two pressures are forcing the issue. Reuters reports that the expanded Trans Mountain system, moving 890,000 barrels a day, is already running at capacity — there is no spare route to tidewater. Meanwhile, the ongoing U.S.-Canada trade war has made Ottawa treat oil exports' heavy concentration on the American market as a strategic vulnerability that must be diversified away.
The ownership structure was announced alongside the designation: the federal Crown corporation Trans Mountain Corp. and the provincially owned Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission would each hold 45 percent, while Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. takes 10 percent through construction, with an option to add another 10 percent once oil starts flowing. Indigenous communities will be offered a minimum 10 percent equity stake, financed through federal and provincial Indigenous loan guarantee programs.
Federal officials estimate the project could contribute up to 30 billion Canadian dollars a year to Canada's GDP — about 20 billion directly from the pipeline and another 10 billion from higher export revenues as markets diversify — and create up to 140,000 jobs.
Under the announced timeline, the federal review — covering environmental safeguards, Indigenous rights, local hiring and ownership terms — aims to finalize all conditions by September 1, 2027. The proponent is expected to file a comprehensive project information document early in 2027, with startup targeted for 2032–33. Ottawa and Edmonton have also tied the pipeline to the Pathways emissions plan, saying construction of each project is mutually dependent on the other.
Opposition is already vocal. The Pointer accused Carney of anointing the pipeline as the national-interest showcase just days after tabling a controversial Bill C-39, while Washington state's governor publicly called the move "disappointing," warning it complicates cross-border environmental coordination. B.C. Premier David Eby, however, has said his province will not challenge the project in court.