Canada’s federal and Alberta governments have designated the proposed Pacific Link pipeline as the first project in the national interest, giving a planned West Coast oil route a fast-track under the Building Canada Act.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the decision on Thursday, 1 October 2026, in Fort McMurray, Alta. The pipeline would carry more than one million barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the B.C. coast, largely along the existing Trans Mountain corridor.
The project has been added to Schedule 1 of the Building Canada Act. Officials said the designation is intended to help Canada diversify oil exports beyond the US, where much of its oil is currently shipped south of the border at a discount.
According to a senior government official, the pipeline could add up to $30 billion annually to Canada’s gross domestic product. Officials said $20 billion of that expected increase would come from the pipeline itself. They said access to overseas buyers could allow Canada to secure higher prices for oil now sold to the US, generating what could be a further $10 billion a year in revenues.
The federal government said that, once approved, the project could create up to 140,000 jobs. Its estimated cost is between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion, including a contingency.
The Alberta government and the federally owned Trans Mountain Corporation would each hold 45 per cent of the pipeline. Pembina Pipeline Corporation, based in Calgary, would own a 10 per cent stake during construction. Indigenous communities will be offered a minimum 10 per cent ownership stake, backed by federal and provincial loan guarantees.
Carney made the announcement after consultations with more than 130 Indigenous communities. It remains unknown whether those communities will accept the ownership offer.
Dominic LeBlanc, the minister of one Canadian economy, has been asked to complete a conditions document setting out the project’s requirements by 1 September 2027. Construction is expected to begin with the aim of bringing the pipeline into service by 2032-33.
Carney said “hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars” would be spent on developing the project before a final decision is made. The announcement forms part of a broader energy pact between the federal government and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
The plan puts Alberta in a central ownership role in a proposed export route designed to reduce Canada’s reliance on US energy markets. It also comes amid wider discussions between federal and provincial governments over energy infrastructure and Alberta’s political relationship with Ottawa.
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