# Canada Adds Pacific Link Pipeline to National-Interest Review

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/26199
Published: 2026-10-01T16:53:26.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-01T16:53:26.000Z
Section: Regulation

> The proposed route is designed to carry about 1 million barrels of crude per day from Alberta to the Pacific coast for export to Asia.

On Oct. 1, Canada added the proposed Pacific Link oil pipeline to its national-interest project list, opening a federal review of a plan to carry about 1 million barrels of Alberta crude a day to the Pacific coast for export to Asia.

The Major Projects Office will lead the review with support from the Canada Energy Regulator. The process is intended to combine a certificate and federal permits that would otherwise be handled separately, and includes Indigenous consultation and public hearings. Project conditions are targeted for completion by Sept. 1, 2027.

Canada and Alberta plan to own the project equally. Indigenous communities will be offered at least a 10% stake, financed through government loan guarantee programs. Trans Mountain Corporation is leading development, while Pembina Pipeline Corporation is a private-sector investor offering expertise. Final ownership and financing arrangements remain unsettled.

The designation advances Canada’s effort to diversify energy trade beyond the United States. In July, Pembina, the federal and Alberta governments, Trans Mountain and the Alberta Petroleum and Marketing Commission entered a non-binding heads of agreement. It contemplated a pipeline system of about 1 million barrels per day and a related export terminal.

The proposed route would take a southern path intended to protect British Columbia’s North Coast and avoid sensitive ecosystems, including the Great Bear Sea. Route mapping and ecological surveys are planned, but the final route has not been set. Cost estimates are also still ahead, and no construction start or in-service date has been confirmed.

The government projects the development could support 140,000 jobs across Canada, add more than C$20 billion to annual GDP and generate C$100 billion in government revenue by 2060.

“Pacific Link is critical to this mission,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith called the designation “a significant victory for Alberta’s and Canada’s energy future.”

The federal review is working toward project conditions by Sept. 1, 2027.