Alberta and the federal government say the “Pacific Link” project has received a designation as a project of national interest, following Alberta’s submission in 2026.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced on Thursday that a new west-coast oilsands pipeline proposal, called “Pacific Link,” has been designated as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act.
The designation, they said, means the project would be subject to a streamlined regulatory process overseen by the major projects office.
The timeline begins with Smith raising the idea more than a year earlier, when she spoke about a west-coast bitumen pipeline that would end at the port of Prince Rupert, B.C., at the Global Energy Show in Calgary on June 11, 2025.
On Oct. 1, 2025, the Alberta government announced plans to submit an application for the pipeline to the major projects office and said it would provide $14 million to support early planning, while noting no private-sector interest emerged beyond technical advice from major pipeline firms.
On Nov. 27, 2025, Carney and Smith signed a memorandum of understanding covering energy matters, including a path forward for a west-coast oil pipeline; the accord ties Ottawa’s support to the Pathways carbon storage project moving ahead to offset emissions and vice versa.
The timeline states that on July 2, 2026, Alberta submitted its pipeline proposal to the major projects office with a southern, rather than northern, route, largely following the existing Trans Mountain pipeline from Bruderheim, Alta., to an export terminal in Delta, B.C.
The proposal’s preliminary price tag was stated as $35.2 billion to $43.7 billion, and Alberta and federal governments were described as initially owning 90% of the project, with Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. owning the rest and having an option to increase its stake by another 10% once the pipeline is operating.
The timeline says Crown corporation Trans Mountain Corp. was tapped to develop, build and operate the pipeline, and that the northern coast tanker ban was maintained; British Columbia Premier David Eby is described as saying his province would not fight the project in court.
On Oct. 1, 2026, Carney and Smith said the pipeline had received the national-interest designation, and they stated that the federal and provincial governments would each own 45% during construction with Pembina holding the rest.
They also said a minimum 10% equity stake would be offered to Indigenous communities, with Carney saying Indigenous investment would be financed through federal and provincial Indigenous loan guarantee programs, while noting it was not clear how the existing ownership breakdown would be adjusted by that equity stake.
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