Pacific Link is a Pipeline to a Stronger, More Secure Canada

Pacific Link is a Pipeline to a Stronger, More Secure Canada

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Key Takeaways

  • A National Priority: Pacific Link, a proposed one-million-barrel-per-day oil pipeline from Alberta to the B.C. coast, is the first project listed as a project of national interest under the Building Canada Act.
  • Canadians Benefit: Economic impacts include 140,000 jobs at peak construction, 50,000 jobs during operations, more than $20 billion in GDP a year and $100 billion in government revenue by 2060.
  • New Customers: About 90 per cent of Canada’s crude oil exports go to one country. Pacific Link opens the door to Asia, helping Canada diversify its oil export markets.

Map of Pacific Link Pipeline in Canada

Can Canada build the pipelines needed to become a stronger, more prosperous, and more independent nation? All indicators point to a “yes,” and it’s about as exciting as it gets.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, joined by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith in Fort McMurray, listed the west coast oil pipeline as a project of national interest [1]. Now called Pacific Link, it is the first project to receive such designation under the Building Canada Act [2].

The roughly 1,250-kilometre line would carry up to one million barrels of crude oil a day from Bruderheim, Alberta, to Roberts Bank near Delta, B.C., where a future marine terminal would ship it to the world [1][3].

“Canada has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to become a global energy superpower,” said PM Carney during the announcement [1].

“To create hundreds of thousands of good jobs. To transform our economy. To diversify our trade. To become less reliant on a single trade partner. To achieve greater strategic autonomy, so we can continue to live our lives as we choose.”

“Pacific Link is critical to this mission.”

Mark Carney couldn’t be more bang on. Pacific Link means diversified trade, a bigger economy, secure energy and more control over our own economic future.

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Canada’s Market Diversification Problem

In 2025, Canada exported an average of 4.3 million barrels of crude oil a day, with 90.1 per cent going to the United States [4].

“Today, 90% of Alberta's oil goes to the U.S.,” said Carney.

“Pacific Link will materially reduce that dependence by allowing us to export an additional 1 million barrels a day to growing markets in Asia. That means more customers, more choice, higher prices for all Canadian energy producers, and it means greater long-term security of demand."

A country that wants to be strong and independent cannot leave its most valuable export at the mercy of a single buyer.

We have already seen what new pipeline capacity can do for Canadian oil.

Between May 2024 and June 2025, for example, 70 per cent of the increase in Canada’s crude exports from the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) went to non-U.S. markets [5]. By September 2025, Asia-Pacific buyers, led by China, took 64 per cent of Trans Mountain export volumes [6]. The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects Asian markets to dominate oil demand growth to 2030, led by India [7].

The Pacific Link pipeline would allow Canada to export an additional one million barrels a day to growing markets in Asia [8]. Canada should compete hard for those customers, helping support a strong economy through employment opportunities and government revenues at home.

A Big Win for Canadian Workers and Public Services

Diversification also means prosperity. Carney says Pacific Link will create 140,000 jobs across the country, generate over $20 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) per year and deliver $100 billion in government revenue by 2060 [1].

Alberta puts that figure at up to 140,000 jobs at peak construction, mostly in Alberta and B.C., but also in other locations across Canada, with operations, production, maintenance, and trade supporting another 50,000 jobs annually [9]. Alberta’s Treasury Board and Finance expects Pacific Link to generate more than $265 billion in additional provincial royalties over roughly 50-plus years of operation [9].

“It’s hard to think of another project the Carney government could approve that would provide this kind of economic jolt,” ATB Financial chief economist Mark Parsons told the Financial Post [10].

These aren’t small numbers; they're substantial revenues that help pay for the social programs and services that Canadians count on.

Think of the hospital visits, law enforcement, or the child daycare subsidies that are all paid for by our governments. Revenues from a new pipeline like Pacific Link will help support all those things, and more.

Indigenous Ownership Is Built In

Canada and Alberta will share equal ownership in the Pacific Link pipeline, and Indigenous communities will be offered a minimum of 10 per cent ownership interest, financed through Canada and Alberta’s Indigenous Loan Guarantee Programs [1].

Over the past three months, the Major Projects Office (MPO) consulted more than 130 Indigenous communities near or along potential routes.

Pacific Link’s Role in Energy Security

Canada holds the world’s fourth-largest proven crude oil reserves [11]. With energy security in focus across the world – particularly due to conflicts that have disrupted significant volumes of conventional energy supply – Canada’s role as a safe, reliable, and trustworthy supplier could not be more important.

This year proved it. When war in the Middle East closed the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf oil output fell 14.4 million barrels a day below pre-war levels by April, the IEA reported. Today, conflict in the region continues to flare up and affect shipping volumes of oil, LNG, fertilizer, and several other key commodities through the maritime chokepoint.

As a result, many of Canada’s trading partners want to diversify their own energy supplies after years of depending on the Middle East. Pacific Link lets Canada become the oil supplier the world needs.

Premier Smith called the project “an important step toward strengthening our economy, enhancing energy security and connecting Canadian energy to growing global markets.” [12]

We couldn’t agree more, Premier! Since the cancellation of the Northern Gateway pipeline, this new project is long overdue.

Canada Needs New Pipelines

LNG makes canada stronger banner

Pacific Link’s designation as a project of national interest does not approve a final route or a construction start date [13]. The MPO aims to finalize the project’s conditions by September 1st, 2027, and Alberta says construction can begin after that [1][12].

That deadline must hold. Canadians have waited too long for access to new markets that maximize the value of one of our most important exports.

While the change of tone from Ottawa over the past year on natural resource development has been more than welcoming, we can’t forget the blunders of the past – which saw major developments, including hundreds of billions of dollars in LNG, mining, forestry, and energy projects, all cancelled.

Canadians know what’s at stake: our economy, our sovereignty, and our future. We must stay vigilant and keep showing our support for major projects like Pacific Link until they are built.

When the world asks for Canadian-made energy, we should be ready to deliver, making Canada stronger in the process.

SOURCES:

  1. https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2026/10/01/prime-minister-carney-lists-west-coast-oil-pipeline-now-known-pacific
  2. https://www.castanetkamloops.net/news/Canada/632973/Pipeline-designated-project-of-national-interest
  3. https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/oil-gas/carney-fast-tracks-pacific-link-oil-pipeline
  4. https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/market-snapshots/2026/market-snapshot-overview-of-2025-canada-us-energy-trade.html
  5. https://www.rec-cer.gc.ca/en/data-analysis/energy-markets/market-snapshots/2025/market-snapshot-annual-trade-summary-crude-oil.html
  6. https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/oil-trans-mountain-pipeline-ships-to-china-boosting-canadian-prices
  7. https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-2025/executive-summary
  8. https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2026/10/01/prime-minister-carney-lists-west-coast-oil-pipeline-now-known-pacific
  9. https://boereport.com/2026/10/01/project-of-national-interest-listing-premier-smith/
  10. https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/oil-gas/carney-fast-tracks-pacific-link-oil-pipeline
  11. https://energy-information.alpha.canada.ca/sites/default/files/2025-11/energy-fact-book-2025-2026.pdf
  12. https://boereport.com/2026/10/01/project-of-national-interest-listing-premier-smith/
  13. https://www.aptnnews.ca/featured/carney-offers-first-nations-10-stake-in-pacific-link-pipeline-designates-it-as-project-of-national-interest/