A pipeline to haul Alberta oil to tankers on the B.C. coast took a big step forward Thursday.
Prime Minster Mark Carney, with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith at his side, announced the line – to be known as Pacific Link — is the first project to receive national interest designation under the Building Canada Act.
The designation doesn't mean the line is a done deal, but it streamlines and simplifies rules, timelines and oversight to help make it a reality.
The goal is to get consultations, environmental safeguards, financing and Indigenous partnerships completed by Sept. 1, 2027, to clear the way for construction.
"This is an important day for Alberta and for Canada," Carney announced in the oilsands hub city of Fort McMurray.
“Canada is working.”
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The project, estimated at between $35.2 billion to $43.7 billion, is to be split between Trans Mountain Corp., a federal Crown corporation, and the Alberta government.
Indigenous communities will be offered a minimum of 10 per cent ownership interest, financed through federal and province loan programs.
Pembina Pipeline Corporation is offering its expertise to project development as a private sector investor.
The roughly 1,250-kilometre pipeline would carry upwards of one million barrels of crude oil per day from Bruderheim, Alta., to a port near Delta, B.C. for shipment to international markets.
"A pipeline to the West Coast is part of our mission to transform our economy to double our non-US exports over the next decade," Carney said.
He added, the pipeline would create hundreds of thousands of jobs "to unlock the full potential of Canada as a global energy superpower."
"Today, 90 per cent of Alberta's oil goes to the U.S.; Pacific Link will materially reduce that dependence by allowing us to export an additional one million barrels a day to growing markets in Asia," he said.
The line has also been cited by both Ottawa and Alberta as a symbol of the power of pan-Canadian co-operation, as the province heads toward a referendum in 18 days on whether it's time to quit Canada.
The symbolism was written on the lectern from which Carney and Smith spoke: Canada Strong for All.
Smith said the pipeline means the days of federal-provincial head-butting over Alberta developing its resources are over.
"Today, we're turning the page," Smith said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 1, 2026.
