FORT MCMURRAY — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Thursday that Canada will fast-track the approval process for the Pacific Link oil pipeline project. The move aims to reduce dependence on US exports by diversifying oil markets toward Asia. "greater strategic autonomy, so we can continue to live our lives as we choose," Carney said. "a demonstration of the power of Canada," he said.

He stated that the Pacific Link project is key to national interests and allows Canada to diversify its oil markets away from the US. He argued that Canada's economic ties to the US have become a vulnerability in light of protectionist tariffs implemented by US President Donald Trump.

"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," he said. The prime minister appeared with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Fort McMurray to announce the pipeline project. "still too high for my liking," Smith said.

The Pacific Link pipeline is designated as a project of national interest under legislation enacted by the Liberal government to accelerate major infrastructure projects. The goal of the fast-track process is to provide investors with a final decision on the project within one year.

The government aims to complete the regulatory review process for the Pacific Link pipeline by September 1, 2027. Construction of the pipeline is targeted to begin by 2032 if it receives final approval.

The Pacific Link pipeline would be capable of carrying approximately one million barrels per day of crude oil from Bruderheim, Alberta, to a deep-water port near Delta, British Columbia. The proposed pipeline is 1,250 kilometers (775 miles) long. The project includes the construction of marine berths able to accommodate vessels that can carry up to two million barrels-worth of oil. The pipeline would largely follow the existing Trans Mountain corridor.

He said the project is expected to boost Canada's GDP by up to C$30bn per year and create 140,000 jobs. Ottawa says the Pacific Link project would generate more than 20 billion Canadian dollars in gross domestic product per year and 100 billion Canadian dollars in government revenue by 2060.

Last year, Canada sent 90% of its crude oil exports to the United States. "Today, 90% of Alberta’s oil goes to the United States," he said. "Pacific Link will materially reduce that dependence by allowing Canada to export an additional 1 million barrels a day to growing markets in Asia," he said.

Ottawa says the project will reduce Canada's overall dependency on the US to approximately 65-70% as it opens up the market to the Asia-Pacific region. Key export markets in the Asia-Pacific region include South Korea, China, and Japan.

The governments of Canada and Alberta are backing the project. The majority owners of the pipeline will be the federal government and the government of Alberta. The pipeline will be built by government-owned Trans Mountain Corp in coordination with Pembina Pipeline Corp. Pembina Pipeline Corporation has a non-binding agreement for a 10% stake during construction and the option for another 10% once the pipeline is up and running.

A minimum of a 10% ownership stake will be offered for purchase to indigenous groups. An open season to determine how much pipeline capacity oil producers are willing to contract is expected next spring.

As part of the agreement, Alberta has agreed to develop the world's largest carbon capture programme in a bid to reduce its overall emissions. He said construction of the Pathways carbon-capture project would be a prerequisite for Pacific Link. The government says Pathways and other measures would reduce oil sands emissions by 16 million metric tons annually. Ottawa has worked to shore up ocean protection funding and rules to protect marine life that could be affected by increased coastal tanker traffic, including the endangered Southern Resident killer whales.

"For too long, we’ve watched projects with enormous transformative potential get mired down in uncertainty and delay, and today we’re turning the page," Smith said. He said Canada is "bigger, stronger and more prosperous when we are united" and that "Canada is working."

The pipeline project is likely to face pushback from environmental groups, especially over concerns about the impact on coastal marine health, as well as from some indigenous communities along the route. The government acknowledged that most Indigenous communities consulted were not prepared to support listing the project based on the information available, citing unanswered questions about routing, engineering and design, environmental effects, marine shipping, spill response and impacts on Aboriginal and treaty rights. Officials said legal challenges are likely.

Why It Matters

The fast-tracking of the Pacific Link pipeline represents a shift in Canadian energy strategy, aiming to reduce reliance on the United States during rising protectionist tariffs. By designating the project under new legislation, the government seeks to bypass lengthy regulatory hurdles that delayed previous infrastructure efforts, such as the Trans Mountain expansion which took 14 years to complete. The project promises substantial economic benefits, including job creation and increased GDP, while opening access to Asian markets.

However, the initiative faces considerable opposition from environmental groups and Indigenous communities concerned about marine health and unresolved questions regarding routing and spill response. With legal challenges likely and construction not targeted to begin until 2032, the project remains a focal point in national debates over energy policy, federal-provincial cooperation, and strategic autonomy.

Timeline

An expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline was completed in 2024, but it is already running at capacity. The Trans Mountain expansion took 14 years from the project’s launch in 2010 until first oil flowed in 2024. The government said 90.1% of Canadian crude exports went to the U.S. last year. He said Pacific Link was part of a broader effort to make Canada less dependent on the United States and achieve "greater strategic autonomy, so we can continue to live our lives as we choose."

What's New

He says the Pacific Link project would generate more than 20 billion Canadian dollars in gross domestic product per year and 100 billion Canadian dollars in government revenue by 2060. The process aims to finalize details of the $35.2 billion to $47.7 billion project by Sept. 1, 2027, clearing the way “to get shovels in the ground,” he said. Smith said she would vote to keep Alberta in Canada and called the roughly 22 percent support for separation in a recent poll "still too high for my liking." Filling the Pacific Link pipeline would require new tar sands expansions of the type no company has undertaken in more than a decade.