Summary

• The Norwegian company Marinvest Energy AS wants to build Canada’s third largest LNG export facility on the shores of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec
• The company has a non-disclosure agreement with Ottawa which prevents discussion of the proposal with “officials outside the federal government”
• Quebec is an ideal location for ships headed to Europe, but a similar proposal was rejected in 2021 over concerns about risks posed to Indigenous communities and the environment

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As the war in the Middle East escalates and oil and gas prices surge, a secretive liquefied natural gas (LNG) project proposed for Quebec is steadily advancing.

The LNG project would ship liquefied gas from the deepwater port of Baie-Comeau, a small city on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, to global markets. 

The project would require a new pipeline — through a small portion of northern Ontario and a swath of Quebec — to send mostly fracked gas from Western Canada to Baie-Comeau, in the province’s Côte-Nord region.

But you won’t find any information about this major resource project on the website of Marinvest Energy AS, the Norwegian company behind it.

Nor will you find any information about the Baie-Comeau LNG project on any federal government website, even though access to information documents reveal Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal government has established a multi-departmental “deal team” to facilitate the project.

Baie-Comeau is a small Quebec city where a Norwegian company wants to build an LNG export facility. In 2021, the Quebec government rejected a similar proposal, unconvinced the benefits outweighed risks such as threats to fish, caribou and the ancestral lands of Pessamit and other Innu communities. Map: Shawn Parkinson / The Narwhal

“There’s been no public announcement, no project description and nothing has been made public,” Louis Couillard, Greenpeace Canada’s climate campaigner, told The Narwhal. “I’m just puzzled at how a project can move along like this without an official proposal.” 

In an emailed statement, Marinvest Energy AS confirmed it is in discussions with First Nations as it develops the project and said it will not be giving an interview “at this stage.” In an emailed response to questions, the Quebec government said it never publicly discusses talks it may “have, or not have” with project promoters.

That leaves Montreal-based Couillard and others in the dark, except for information gleaned from access to information requests that are heavily redacted. One thing they do reveal is Marinvest has a non-disclosure agreement with the government of Canada “such that this project is not to be discussed with officials outside the government.” 

So, what else do we know about the Baie-Comeau LNG project? 

And can it go ahead even though another Quebec LNG export proposal was soundly rejected by the provincial and federal governments only a few years ago? At issue then were risks posed to Indigenous communities, beluga whales and attempts to slash greenhouse gas emissions. 

Read on.

First of all, what exactly is the Baie-Comeau LNG proposal? 

Here’s what we know. 

The project has four components: a gas pipeline, an undisclosed “renewable energy supply,” port infrastructure and gas liquefaction and storage. 

That information comes from Invest in Canada, the federal agency that promotes direct investments by foreign companies. It is included in 137 pages of documents Greenpeace obtained through federal access to information legislation and shared with The Narwhal.

“There’s been no public announcement, no project description and nothing has been made public,” Louis Couillard of Greenpeace Canada said. Photo: Justin Tang / The Canadian Press

The pipeline and renewable energy supply “would be developed in partnership with First Nations,” according to the documents, which say the project is in the “pre-planning stage.”

The documents also say Marinvest “claims it is making progress on project development” and the company may reach out to Canada’s new Major Projects Office with a project description in early 2026. 

In an emailed response to questions, a spokesperson for Canada’s Major Projects Office said the project has not “been referred” to the office and “nor has the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada received an initial project description, which would start the impact assessment process.” The spokesperson said to contact Marinvest Energy for details about the project.

How big is the Baie-Comeau LNG project?

In a word, big. Really big. “It’s a huge project in terms of the volume [of] exports that they want to do,” Couillard said. 

Neither the company nor the Quebec or federal governments have released information about the volume of LNG the company plans to export. But a company representative earlier told Le Devoir the project would export about ten million tonnes of LNG per year.

That compares to about three million tonnes in annual exports from the Cedar LNG project in B.C., about two million tonnes annually from B.C.’s Woodfibre LNG project and about 12 million tonnes annually from the recently approved Ksi Lisims LNG export project, also in B.C.

The proposed LNG facility in Baie-Comeau would be the third largest in the country. The LNG Canada facility in Kitimat, B.C., is currently the second largest. Photo: Marty Clemens / The Narwhal

It would make Baie-Comeau Canada’s third largest LNG export project, after Ksi Lisims and LNG Canada, the country’s first, in Kitimat, B.C.

The access to information documents lift the veil — a wee bit— on the federal government’s level of commitment to the project.

“Given the scale and significance of this energy infrastructure project, we’d like to establish a monthly coordination call to keep federal partners informed of the latest developments,” Anne-Sophie Proutiere, senior federal partnerships advisor for Invest in Canada, wrote to her colleagues last May, according to the documents.

“These ‘deal team’ calls will also serve as a forum for departments to provide guidance and support to facilitate the investment,” Proutiere wrote. 

Proutiere’s email was sent to colleagues in a variety of departments, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. The subject line was “monthly coordination call — Marinvest Energy project”.

Another email said the calls would “coordinate federal FDI [foreign direct investment] efforts to support this investment in Canada.” 

What’s the big deal about secrecy? 

The documents also reveal the non-disclosure agreement Marinvest has with Canada.

Duff Conacher, cofounder of Democracy Watch, a non-profit organization promoting government accountability and corporate responsibility, warns against fast-tracking major resource project decisions like the Baie-Comeau LNG project and failing to consult with the public and stakeholders before final decisions are made.

Fast-tracking “usually leads to waste, and harm and corruption and boondoggles that actually don’t further the public interest,” Conacher said in an interview.

“It’s just impossible for people sitting behind closed doors in Ottawa in the government to make good decisions about anything, because they need to connect to the reality of the impact of the decisions and action,” he said. “And the only way to do that is to consult with the public in a meaningful way before making the decision.”

Conacher said fast-tracking decisions about major resource projects usually slows them down “because once the public learns about it, the pushback is greater than if people had been consulted in the first place.” That pushback can lead to court cases and other challenges, he pointed out. 

The Carney government has demonstrated a lack of commitment to transparency in many areas of government actions, he said.

Couillard said he’s worried people who would be impacted by the Baie-Comeau LNG project and the project’s pipeline won’t have the information “necessary to understand what’s being fast-tracked in their backyards.”

Phew, that’s a lot. So who’s behind the Baie-Comeau LNG project?

Greg Cano, who is connected to B.C.’s contentious Coastal GasLink pipeline, is the chief operating officer for Marinvest Energy Canada, a subsidiary of Marinvest Energy AS. 

According to Cano’s LinkedIn profile, he’s a mechanical engineer who is an executive sponsor and former chief operations officer for Pacific Atlantic Pipeline Construction Ltd, a subsidiary of Italy’s Bonatti Group. 

That name might sound familiar — the pipeline construction company was a primary contractor for the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which ships gas from northeast B.C. to the LNG Canada export terminal in Kitimat. Pacific Atlantic Pipeline Construction made the news in 2022 when Coastal GasLink terminated the company’s contract, alleging poor performance.

You might be scratching your head by now, thinking Cano’s name also sounds vaguely familiar. Based in Calgary, he’s the former longtime director of project planning and execution for TransCanada, a major North America pipeline company now called TC Energy. TC Energy co-owns and operates the Coastal GasLink pipeline. 

And gas for the Baie-Comeau LNG project would be shipped to the new pipeline through TC Energy’s network, according to Couillard. 

The chief operating officer for Marinvest Energy Canada is Greg Cano, formerly the director of project planning and execution for TransCanada, which became. TC Energy. The major North America pipeline company co-owns and operates the Coastal GasLink pipeline in B.C. Photo: Matt Simmons / The Narwhal

If you live on Vancouver Island, there’s all the more reason to recognize Cano’s name. He was the former project lead for the Steelhead LNG, an export project proposed for Vancouver Island that was halted in 2019.

The Narwhal reached out to Cano by email but did not hear back. 

Marinvest Energy AS declined an interview request. “In a spirit of respect and transparency, our priority is to continue discussions with First Nations communities in order to further develop the project’s concepts,” Justin Meloche, the company’s media relations director, said in an emailed statement. 

“Additional information will be made public once the project has reached a more advanced stage and when concrete elements can be shared responsibly,” Meloche added.

Marinvest Energy registered to lobby the federal government in May 2025. The company said it would engage with the Prime Minister’s Office, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Finance Canada, Natural Resources Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

The stated goal was to determine “the applicable conditions for implementing a transformative and beneficial energy project for the future of Quebec and Canada.”

Since then, five lobbyists from National Public Relations have filed reports saying they lobbied federal departments, agencies and the Prime Minister’s Office.

The access to information documents note Marinvest is also in discussion with Alberta and Quebec representatives.

“They’ve been lobbying [for] their project behind the closed door for over a year,” Couillard pointed out. “But for the public, there’s absolutely no info except what we find through .” 

“We’re in the dark right now in regards to the regulatory stages that this project is in.” 

Would the Baie-Comeau LNG project export fracked gas?

Yes. The vast majority — 80 to 90 per cent — of natural gas from Western Canada is extracted through hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking. The access to information documents state the gas for the project would come from Western Canada.

Steven Haig, a policy advisor for the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s energy program, pointed out fracking is a “particularly emissions-intensive method for producing natural gas. 

“And also, by nature of the process … there are significant risks of methane leaks, which add to the emissions associated with the production,” Haig said in an interview. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming and climate change. It can also cause respiratory and cardiovascular issues. 

What about Indigenous communities near the LNG terminal and along the pipeline route? 

Couillard isn’t convinced a majority of Indigenous communities will support the Baie-Comeau LNG project even after consultations. 

“Quebec has a problem,” he said. “It’s all unceded. There’s no treaties here. So technically, all these communities need to give their free, prior and informed consent for the project to go ahead.” The Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador formally — and vocally — opposed TransCanada’s bid to build the Energy East bitumen pipeline, which was cancelled in 2017. 

The documents obtained by Greenpeace and other environmental groups list Indigenous communities and organizations that could be affected by the pipeline and LNG project, but all further information is redacted. 

In Ontario, those communities include Apitipi Anicinapek Nation, Métis Nation of Ontario (region three), Taykwa Tagamou Nation, Beaverhouse First Nation, Matachewan First Nation and potentially Mattagami First Nation and Temagami First Nation.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada recommended Marinvest engage with about two dozen Indigenous communities and organizations in Quebec, according to the documents. They include many Cree, Algonquin, Atikamekw and Innu communities, such as Pessamit, an Innu community about 60 kilometres south of Baie-Comeau. 

Greenpeace and other environmental groups obtained documents about the proposed LNG facility in Baie-Comeau through access to information legislation. They were heavily redacted. Screenshot: Sarah Cox / The Narwhal

Along with other Innu communities, Pessamit opposed a different LNG export project proposed for the Saguenay region of Quebec on the grounds it would pose a threat to ancestral lands and impact fish and caribou. Pessamit representatives were unable to respond to a request for comment before publication.

So what about the rejected LNG project in Quebec?

The Quebec government nixed plans for a LNG plant in the Saguenay region in 2021, saying it risked “disadvantaging the energy transition.” The province’s environmental review agency found the project’s risks outweighed its benefits. It said the proponent, GNL Québec Inc., had failed to demonstrate the project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions or accelerate the transition to clean energy. 

The Saguenay LNG project would have been about the same size as the Baie-Comeau LNG project, according to Le Devoir.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada also found the Saguenay LNG project was likely to harm the environment, leading Ottawa to reject the project in 2022. The agency determined the project would have negative effects on nearby Innu communities, harm the beluga whale population through increased shipping traffic and cause greenhouse gas emissions to rise. 

Why ship LNG from Quebec?

Quebec has a distinct advantage over LNG shipped to Europe from other places in North America: geography. 

A typical shipping route between Baie-Comeau and the Dunkirk LNG terminal in northern France would take about eight days, according to the Montreal Economic Institute, a public policy think tank that receives 11 per cent of its annual budget from the oil and gas industry. (Names of individual funders are not disclosed.)

It takes half as long for a ship to travel to Europe from Quebec than from Qatar. A coming wave of global LNG projects could cause an oversupply that affects the economic viability of projects in Canada. Photo: Associated Press

It would take about 14 days at the same speed for LNG from the Gulf of Mexico’s terminals to reach Dunkirk and more than 17 days from Doha, Qatar, another big LNG export terminal.

“Geography plays in Quebec’s favour,” Gabriel Giguère, a senior policy analyst with the society, said in a February news release. “A shorter distance means shorter delivery times, and therefore lower transportation costs, compared to dealing with its main competitors.” 

Will there be an environmental assessment ? 

Some form of environmental assessment is likely if the Baie-Comeau LNG project proceeds, but the process could be fast-tracked. 

In December, the Quebec government introduced Bill 5, which aims to accelerate authorizations for projects deemed to be priorities and of national importance. 

The Quebec bill, which has not been passed by the National Assembly, follows the federal government’s Bill C-5, passed last June. The federal legislation aims to accelerate “nation-building” projects.

What about the Baie-Comeau LNG project’s economics? 

The oil and gas industry is pushing for LNG expansion, pointing to Europe’s desire to replace Russian gas and Canada’s drive to diversify exports following tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump slapped on Canadian goods. 

“But it’s important to remember that these are multi-billion dollar, multi-decade projects and their long-term viability is a serious concern as global markets shift towards cleaner, more reliable energy sources,” Haig, from the International Institute for Sustainable Development, said. 

As importers shift towards cheaper, more reliable renewables, “An oversupply of LNG is imminent, with a massive wave of new projects coming online around the world, especially in the U.S. and Qatar,” Haig said.

He said the growing war in the Middle East won’t change that. “There’s a difference between short-term supply disruptions and long-term outlook in the market.” 

Doubling down on LNG is likely to expose Canadians to “more risk and volatility, not less, by linking Canada’s domestic natural gas markets to more volatile international LNG market,” Haig said. Many countries are already investing in safe, clean energy, he pointed out.

“When it comes to backing renewables or fossil fuels, let’s pick the horse that’s already ahead.” 

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Northwest B.C. is home to epic rivers, big mountains, a rugged coastline — and relatively few people. Its diverse ecosystems are inextricably intertwined with the cultures of the Indigenous Peoples who have lived here and stewarded the lands and waters for thousands of years, and continue to do so today. 

The staggeringly beautiful landscapes and rich cultures were what first caught my attention two decades ago — but it was the unpretentiousness of its communities that kept me here. 

Last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney was in Terrace, B.C., where he told the media and a small audience his government was sending something called the Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor to the newly formed Major Projects Office for review and potential fast-tracking. 

The word “conservation” next to the word “corridor” naturally made me think of a connected series of conserved areas. Maybe this meant protecting the migratory routes of imperiled caribou or declining salmon populations? Or perhaps it signalled the region’s sacred rivers and their sensitive headwaters would be preserved for their cultural and ceremonial significance. 

When I started asking questions, I found this “transformational strategy” (the federal government’s words, not mine) to be a bit more complicated.

Critical? Conservation? Corridor? 

Before we get into the details, a quick breakdown of the title.

Northwest B.C. is a loosely defined region that includes the communities and landscapes north of Prince George and west of the Northern Rocky Mountains. The strategy also mentions the Yukon, though it is unclear how the northern territory will be included.

Critical refers to so-called critical minerals, which are things like lithium, molybdenum and rare earth elements that play a part in the global transition away from burning fossil fuels. Much of what’s currently being mined in northwest B.C. is gold, which is not, in fact, a critical mineral.

Conservation appears to refer to pre-existing plans led by First Nations. More on this later.

Corridor here is open-ended and confusing — because there doesn’t appear to be one. What’s referenced or included in the plan, instead, is a few industrial and infrastructure developments that are already approved or underway, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, pipelines and hydroelectric transmission, as well as a handful of unspecific references to basic infrastructure like cell towers and highway improvements.

Grammar nerds, like me, might call “critical” in this title, appearing as it does next to “conservation” and without referencing mining or minerals, a misplaced or dangling modifier, confusing people into connecting two separate ideas. Political cynics, like me, might think that’s the point. 

The northwest B.C. strategy includes liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, like Ksi Lisims LNG. Exporting LNG means building pipelines across the region, like the 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline, completed in 2024. Photo: Matt Simmons / The Narwhal

What are we conserving? 

The prime minister’s announcement referenced the creation of a “conservation area the size of Greece.” Greece is about 130,000 square kilometres. Northwest B.C., depending on how you define it, is roughly twice the size. So is half the region slated for protection? Not exactly. 

Carney’s office declined an interview request and referred questions to the Privy Council Office, a non-partisan body that advises the prime minister. Pierre Cuguen, a spokesperson with the office, was vague on details but said the strategy will “focus on development of mining, energy and trade infrastructure” while also setting aside conservation areas to “help Canada meet its goal to protect 30 per cent of land and marine areas by 2030.”

Canada has committed to conserving “30 per cent of land and marine areas by 2030.” That goal is intended, in part, to protect fish and wildlife populations. Photo: Matt Simmons / The Narwhal

Cuguen did not specify areas that would be included, explaining plans will be developed in consultation with “stakeholders and Indigenous Rights-holders” and said “details on the approach are not yet confirmed.”

However, several Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, or IPCAs, are already on the table in northern B.C. Taken together, four conservation plans proposed or declared by the Kaska Dena, Tahltan, Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs and Taku River Tlingit amount to an area more than half the size of the Mediterranean country home to spanakopita.

The future of conservation in Canada depends on Indigenous protected areas. So what are they?

The Kaska Dena IPCA, which has been in the works since at least 2019, called Dene K’éh Kusān, would protect 40,000 square kilometres of lands and waters. (It’s more on the northeast side of B.C., but technically the entire province is west of Ottawa, so we can let that slide.) The Tahltan plan includes protecting 10,000 square kilometres in three separate areas, including one known as the Sacred Headwaters, where Indigenous leaders and allies fought a protracted battle two decades ago to prevent Shell from drilling for coalbed methane and Fortune Minerals from developing an open-pit coal mine at the headwaters of the Skeena, Nass and Stikine rivers.

Meanwhile, Gitanyow declared a 540-square-kilometre-area protected in 2021, and has since proposed protection for another 88-square-kilometre area. Taku River Tlingit similarly proclaimed protection of the T’akú Tlatsini in 2023, conserving 60 per cent of the nation’s namesake watershed, or around 18,000 square kilometres, which has been heavily impacted by historic and modern mining activities.

Kechika River runs through Dene K’éh Kusān, a 40,000-square-kilometre area proposed for protection by the Kaska Dena. Photo: Taylor Roades / The Narwhal

In 2021, the Gitanyow announced immediate protection of 540 square kilometres of land and water in northwest B.C., including Strohn Creek. Photo: Ryan Dickie / The Narwhal

Notably, IPCAs do not necessarily preclude industrial development such as logging and mining.

All four nations are currently involved in an expedited land-use planning initiative announced by the B.C. government in June, which also includes the Nisga’a Nation. The planning is intended to map and assess “areas for conservation of biodiversity, including wild salmon, caribou, sheep and other sensitive species, and cultural values” while also clearly identifying “areas open to potential development, including mineral exploration.” The process is intended to be completed by June 2026.

Where’s the other half of Greece intended for conservation, you might ask? Good question. We don’t know.

What about mining? 

While conservation appears to be part of the federal plan — and environmental advocates are cautiously hopeful this initiative will secure protections for delicate ecosystems in the region — it appears to be secondary to the government’s goals to rapidly expand and diversify the Canadian economy. This includes putting its weight (and financial subsidies) behind extractive industries like mining and fossil fuels.

The northwest is “home to the Golden Triangle, one of the world’s richest reserves of the minerals and metals that are essential for the energy transition as well as defence supply chains for Canada and our allies,” Cuguen told The Narwhal in an emailed statement.

The Golden Triangle refers to an area which has long been a hotbed of mining activity. Most of the mining here has been for gold, as its name suggests. Gold is currently fetching record prices on global markets. Its value has been steadily climbing for a few years and skyrocketed in 2025, passing US$4,100 per ounce in October. Gold is only minimally used in renewable energy technology such as solar panels and its role in the defence sector is primarily economic, with profits made from the precious metal used to offset the costs of extracting other minerals.

‘Metals are the new oil’: B.C. fast-tracks critical minerals projects to counter tariffs

In northwest B.C., there are four operational mines (Red Chris, Brucejack, Dome Mountain and Blackwater) and another three (KSM, Eskay Creek and Galore) in various stages of securing approvals, permits or investment. The strategy announced by Carney’s government and referred to the Major Projects Office includes only one mine, the already-operating Red Chris mine on Tahltan territory. 

Red Chris is a copper and gold mine currently owned by Newmont, an American gold mining corporation with headquarters in Colorado. Newmont is in the process of advancing plans to expand production and convert operations from open-pit mining to block-cave mining. This expansion is what the feds are interested in. 

How is this connected to LNG? 

You can’t talk about this “corridor” without talking about liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Because it’s not just mining on the government’s mind. At the Terrace, B.C., press conference, Carney championed the province’s success in getting its long-awaited LNG export sector off the ground. 

“We’re home to the world’s fourth largest reserves of natural gas, and we have the potential to supply up to 100 million tonnes annually of new LNG exports to Asia,” he said.

In the same breath, the prime minister named the recently approved Ksi Lisims LNG processing and export facility. Ksi Lisims is owned by Texas-based Western LNG in partnership with the Nisga’a Lisims Government.

Getting the fossil fuel to overseas markets will require building hundreds of kilometres of pipelines, in part, through this “conservation corridor.” Once it arrives on the coast, it will need to be cooled down to -162 C before it can be loaded onto tankers in its liquid state. 

In Kitimat, B.C., where liquefaction started this summer, some residents are reeling from the impacts of the operation. Flaring, which is when a plant burns off excess or waste gas, has been ongoing for more than a year now as the massive LNG Canada facility slowly gets up and running. The plant’s flare stack has lit up the night skies with a flame about as tall as London’s iconic Big Ben. 

LNG Canada in Kitimat, B.C., is Canada’s first major liquefied natural gas export facility. It has been conducting flaring activities since September, 2024. Photos: Marty Clemens / The Narwhal

This process also requires a lot of energy, which is where the North Coast transmission line comes in.

The transmission line would involve installing around 800 kilometres of new high-voltage wires across the northwest, in three stages. The wires, which require clearing wide swaths through forests and bisecting agricultural lands, would connect to the existing grid.

“Infrastructure investments under this strategy also link clean electricity to Canada’s ability to export LNG,” Cuguen wrote, adding the feds will be discussing how much money to throw at the plan “to ensure the potential of the region is achieved.”

But there’s a problem. Even with the wildly expensive Site C dam, it’s unlikely that B.C. can produce enough power to electrify LNG projects already on the books, let alone all the other industrial and commercial projects vying for power.

Corridor? What corridor?

In the statement sent to The Narwhal, Cuguen noted the northwest represents “one of Canada’s gateways to global markets through the Pacific Ocean.”

“This corridor will fundamentally transform the lives of thousands of Canadians, position Canada as a global leader in critical minerals and drive prosperity across the country,” Cuguen wrote, without explaining how or when the federal government expects this to happen.

In other words, the “corridor” probably has nothing to do with conservation. If the federal government wants to export more raw goods and resources to countries overseas, decreasing reliance on the U.S., it needs to lock in pathways across B.C.

The Privy Council statement also acknowledged northwest B.C. is “home to vibrant communities in a spectacular environment rich with mountains, glaciers, watersheds and coastal ecosystems.”

The looming question is how this influx of development will impact communities and sensitive ecosystems. If it comes to fruition, the strategy will certainly transform the lives of thousands of Canadians, but it remains to be seen which ones — and in what way.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Prime Minister Mark Carney seems intent on building his political legacy around getting major development projects built — and establishing Canada as an energy superpower. His controversial Bill C-5 created a pathway for projects to avoid certain regulatory requirements, and he’s sent about a dozen proposals — in mining, energy, electricity and transportation — to the new Major Projects Office in hopes they can be sped along.

So far, though, not one has been officially designated as a project in the “national interest,” and not one has been given any special ability to bypass regulatory hurdles. What’s really happening with these projects, and how is the Major Projects Office actually involved?

The Narwhal got into it during an event on Dec. 2, featuring Ontario reporter Carl Meyer, Prairies reporter Drew Anderson and B.C. reporter Shannon Waters. Ontario reporter Fatima Syed moderated the conversation. A list of articles by The Narwhal referenced during the event is available here.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is preparing to weaken proposed industrial pollution limits and loosen restrictions on subsidies for the Alberta oilpatch, as part of a major realignment of climate policy he unveiled Thursday alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

The memorandum of understanding between the two governments, billed as a “grand bargain,” is focused on boosting the production of Alberta oil and gas and planning for future projects such as a new pipeline, data centres or transmission lines. 

All of this, Carney and Smith said Nov. 27, would occur while the two aim to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and provide opportunities for Indigenous consultations, ownership and partnerships.

“This is Canada working, this is co-operative federalism, this is Canada building,” Carney said as he shook hands with a beaming Smith in Calgary.

“In effect, it creates an energy transition — all aspects of energy — but really sets the stage for an industrial transformation.”

But the deal proposes rolling back several environmental initiatives that had been proposed by the federal government under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, including on clean electricity, methane, clean technology and carbon pricing.

It also commits to helping out a proposed megaproject in the oilpatch, the feasibility of which has yet to be proven. And it lends political support to a new Alberta pipeline to the West Coast, an idea that has been vigorously opposed by First Nations and the B.C. government, even as they point out how there isn’t a concrete plan for such a pipeline yet.

It’s a lot to sort through all at once. Here’s a look at seven key environmental policies the Canada-Alberta deal proposes to change.

1. Weakening rules on methane for Alberta’s oil and gas industry

The Canada-Alberta deal commits to an agreement by next April that would allow the province to delay cutting its oil and gas methane emissions by five years compared with proposed federal restrictions.

Methane, an invisible, odourless gas is the second most common greenhouse gas in Canada, after carbon dioxide, and comes mostly from the fossil fuel industry. It’s a potent driver of climate change and an air pollutant that contributes to smog and respiratory health complications. Years of scientific studies have shown how previous published figures on the extent of methane from the oil and gas industry have underestimated reality.

Prime Minister Carney has committed to a deal with Alberta that would relax federal rules requiring the province to reduce oil and gas methane emissions. Photo: Gavin John / The Narwhal

The new federal rules, proposed in December 2023, would require slashing oil and gas methane emissions 75 per cent from 2012 levels by 2030. The deal signed Thursday between Carney and Smith would allow Alberta to achieve the cuts in 2035 instead, and be based on 2014 levels.

“Delaying the methane reduction target for Alberta’s oil and gas industry to 2035 is unwise,” Chris Severson-Baker, executive director of the Pembina Institute, said in a statement.

How oil lobbyists persuaded Alberta to weaken rules for dirty facilities

“It is unacceptable that Alberta should be held to a lower standard than other provinces on this; both the climate and Alberta’s economy will ultimately feel the impacts.”

It wouldn’t be the first time Canada and Alberta have weakened their own methane rules. In 2017, the fossil fuel industry persuaded the provincial government to delay and weaken its methane rules, which were then accepted by the federal government in 2020 as being in compliance with its own.Rick Smith, president of the Canadian Climate Institute, also said delaying the methane deadline was unnecessary. “If there is one no-brainer of climate change policy, it is enhanced reduction of methane emissions from oil and gas,” he said in a statement.

2. Pushing for that Alberta pipeline plan

The “grand bargain” commits to constructing a large oil pipeline from the Alberta oilpatch to the West Coast, with an application ready to go by July. The pipeline would take “a route that increases export access to Asian markets as a priority.”

Canada would declare an oil pipeline to Asian markets as a “priority” and offer “opportunities for Indigenous co-ownership and economic benefits.” The federal government would refer the project to its fast-tracking office for consideration to be deemed in the “national interest.”

Fast track to where? Carney’s major projects list stirs up emotions, and not much else

Oil lobbyists say Canada needs another oil pipeline to export more petroleum to places other than the United States, as trade tensions continue under President Donald Trump. While the federally owned Trans Mountain pipeline, which was recently given a $34-billion overhaul that almost tripled its capacity, carries crude oil from the oilsands to the West Coast where it can be loaded on tankers and shipped overseas, no private sector proponent has stepped up to propose another new oil pipeline.

But the economics of the industry might delay the prospects of any new oil pipeline. Oil prices are low compared with a few years ago, forcing the industry to cut costs and pare back spending, while green energy sources like solar power and wind power are becoming ever cheaper. Canada’s oilsands produce oil that is heavier and full of more sulphur than other blends around the world, meaning it’s more complex and expensive to refine and so must compete with lower-cost operations.

Meanwhile, building a new oil pipeline from Alberta to B.C. would result in higher emissions than a scenario where no pipeline is built, even if it’s paired with a carbon capture project like Pathways Alliance is proposing, according to a report from the Pembina Institute.

3. Supporting Pathways Alliance and its pricey carbon capture plan

The Canada-Alberta deal commits both parties to working with the Pathways Alliance, a lobby group made up of six large oilsands companies, to enter into a three-way deal by April to create “a set of emissions-savings projects” focused on carbon capture and storage or other technology. 

In fact, the proposed pipeline is contingent on the Pathways project moving forward.

For several years, the lobby group has proposed a carbon capture and storage network in Alberta that would theoretically capture a portion of the roughly 90 million tonnes of greenhouse gases the oilsands create per year, and transport the carbon in a new pipeline to rock formations deep underground. 

A $16B plan to bury oilsands carbon pollution — and the rural Albertans raising the alarm

The companies involved in the Pathways Alliance have spent years lobbying the federal and provincial governments to put public money toward their proposal, which they once pegged at $70 billion, and to delay or weaken proposed restrictions on the oilpatch while they gear up to build.

At the same time, Pathways Alliance companies have not committed to paying for the proposal themselves — even though they are posting big profits this year. Suncor, for example, reported $1.62 billion in profits over the third quarter, a three-month period, while Cenovus made $1.29 billion in profits. The other members similarly reported hundreds of millions of dollars in profits over the quarter. 

The Pathways Alliance group, made up of six large oilsands companies, has spent years lobbying the federal government to commit to its proposal for a carbon capture and storage network in Alberta. The group has been criticized for greenwashing and neglecting the true cost of emissions from the oilsands. Photo: Jeff McIntosh / The Narwhal

Their plan has also been criticized as a form of greenwashing because it does not account for the emissions created when the oil companies’ products, like gasoline, are burned. It only proposes to draw down the emissions created during the process of digging up more oil.

The emissions that won’t be stopped by Canada’s carbon capture dreams

The Carney-Smith deal said the lobby group’s projects will be built “in a staged manner between 2027 and 2040.” Constructing a carbon capture network that large would be unprecedented. Canada currently captures 4.4 million tonnes per year; scaling up to capture tens of millions of tonnes will require a massive buildout — and that’s if the technology works properly. 

That’s not to mention the concerns locals have about the safety of storing carbon underground in such large amounts.

4. Loosening restrictions on tax breaks for clean technology

Canada is preparing to loosen the restrictions on the tax breaks it has offered for companies to install carbon capture equipment, in a bid to encourage more oil drilling, according to the deal.

It commits to extending federal investment tax credits “and other policy supports” that encourage investments in carbon capture, and indicate these could be applied to “enhanced oil recovery.” 

That’s an industry term for taking the carbon that’s been captured from exhaust sources, and instead of burying it in rock formations underground, injecting it into wells so more oil can be recovered.

The most common use for carbon capture operations in Canada so far has been enhanced oil recovery — but when Canada introduced tax breaks for carbon capture equipment, a key provision in the rules banned their use for this purpose.

Hours after the bargain was made public, Steven Guilbeault resigned as Carney’s Canadian identity and culture. Guilbeault was environment minister in the Trudeau government, when he said the restriction was important to differentiate between providing support for the oil and gas industry to decarbonize, and providing other incentives to encourage more oil production.

“We’ve been asked, and we have resisted, and we have refused to include, for example, the use of carbon capture and storage under the tax credit for enhanced oil recovery,” he told a Parliamentary committee in 2022.

As environment minister in the former Trudeau government, Steven Guilbeault made it clear he would not give oil companies tax credits if captured carbon emissions were used to push more oil out of the ground. He resigned as Mark Carney’s minister of Canadian identity and culture on Nov. 27, following the new Canada-Alberta deal. Photo: Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press

Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist for Greenpeace Canada, said allowing carbon that is captured to be used to “pump more oil out of the ground” would suggest there’s “no net benefit” to that activity. 

Along with the methane and other rule changes, he described the deal as “a betrayal of Canada’s climate commitments” and said it “makes a mockery of our commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous people.”

5. Making exceptions in the oil tanker ban on the West Coast

Canada and Alberta said any future oil pipeline would be “private sector constructed and financed,” and “with Indigenous Peoples co-ownership and economic benefits.”

“At the heart of this is co-operation and partnership with Indigenous Peoples — in Alberta, in British Columbia — as they’re affected. Unprecedented opportunities for Indigenous ownership, partnership, economic benefits, as well as substantial economic benefits for the people of British Columbia,” Carney said Thursday.

Even so, First Nations and the B.C. government have been saying no from the start. B.C. Premier David Eby panned the idea as one that “doesn’t actually exist” and said it was “unacceptable” that Carney and Smith were meeting without B.C.’s input.

Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative and elected Chief of the Heiltsuk Nation, said the nation continues to oppose a new oil pipeline after seeing the agreement. 

Heiltsuk Nation Chief Marilyn Slett, president of the Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative, said her nation and other coastal First Nations in B.C. will continue to oppose oil pipelines and tanker traffic in their waters. Photo: Louise Whitehouse / The Narwhal

“Today’s [memorandum of understanding] does nothing to increase the chances of a pipeline project to the northwest coast ever becoming a reality,” she said in a statement. 

“We have made repeated calls to the federal government to uphold Bill C-48, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, as it is foundational to the vibrant and growing conservation economy we have built on the North Coast.”

Slett says they have “zero interest” in co-ownership or economic benefits stemming from the proposed pipeline.

Since 1972, the federal government has had a moratorium on oil tankers along the north coast of B.C., and signed a voluntary agreement with the U.S. in 1988 creating an oil tanker exclusion zone. 

The purpose is to protect coastal waters from the risk of pollution from an oil spill. The ban was formalized in legislation by the Trudeau government in 2017 when it passed the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act.

Traditional chiefs from the Heiltsuk Nation led a dance at a protest rally in Kitimat, B.C., in the summer of 2010, to oppose Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline proposal. The pipeline, which was never built, would have carried bitumen from the oilsands in Alberta to Kitimat, to be loaded onto oil tankers. Photo: Robin Rowland / The Canadian Press

Coastal First Nations and the province of B.C. also signed a North Coast Protection Declaration on Nov. 5, which calls for the tanker ban to be upheld.

Thursday’s “grand bargain” says if a new oil pipeline is approved under federal fast-tracking legislation, Canada would commit to allowing tanker exports through “a strategic deep-water port to Asian markets” — including, “if necessary,” by amending the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act.

Carney has said “all stakeholders have to agree” before a pipeline is built, including the government of B.C. and First Nations.

6. Giving clean electricity regulations the boot

One big win for Premier Smith is the immediate suspension of the federal government’s Clean Electricity Regulations. 

The province, which operates one of the highest-emission grids in the country due to its reliance on natural gas instead of hydroelectricity, has pushed back against the regulations ever since they were proposed. 

But the Smith government has gone even further by restricting a booming renewable energy sector and incentivizing new natural gas generation. 

Alberta’s new plan for its electricity market punishes renewables

Suspension of the regulations means it will not have to move fast to bring emissions down. 

A potential compromise offered by the agreement is a push to increase what are known as interties with B.C. and Saskatchewan — essentially, stringing wires between the three provinces to help ensure consistent generation. 

‘Increasingly concerned’: docs show B.C. government pushed back on Alberta electricity restrictions

B.C.’s wealth of hydroelectricity can be a cleaner source of regular power to offset intermittent renewables, although Saskatchewan, which still burns some coal for electricity, isn’t likely to help reduce Alberta’s power emissions. 

It’s unclear whether this suspension will apply across the country. Most provinces easily meet the requirements thanks to hydroelectricity, but Saskatchewan and Alberta have chafed at the timeline for cleaning up their fossil fuel-reliant grids. 

“Exempting Alberta from these regulations yet again sends the signal that Alberta is closed for business to renewable electricity developers, an industry which has already suffered under Alberta’s erratic electricity policy changes over the last two years,” Severson-Baker said.

7. Adding flexibility to Alberta’s industrial carbon pricing plan

The federal government will still require a commitment to industrial carbon pricing from Alberta, but the new deal shows it comes with caveats. 

The agreement acknowledges Alberta’s provincial system and calls for increases in the carbon price, which the province froze this year at $95 per tonne through 2026. The freeze meant Alberta would have been out of step with the federal benchmark as of next year.

Alberta moves to weaken its carbon price amidst talk of national ‘grand bargain’

The deal says the two governments will work to ensure “the application of Alberta’s carbon pricing system (including pricing and stringency) is adapted to the specific circumstances of the electricity sector, the oil and gas sector and other large emitters such as fertilizer and cement sectors.”

In other words, some large polluters will be allowed to operate under special rules. It’s unlikely those carve-outs will be more severe. 

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

We’ve all pondered the sound of a tree falling in the forest. Many have also sought the answer to life, the universe and everything. But have enough of us considered the philosophical quandary of debating nothing at all? 

That’s the existential question most relevant in Canadian politics at the moment, where a great nation-building push by the federal government has so far only succeeded in building confusion — and, here in the restive province of Alberta, got many up in arms over the perceived lack of support for a project that doesn’t exist.

Prime Minister Mark Carney was elected on the promise of pushing back against aggression from the U.S. and its trade war. A big part of his response was to pass legislation that would allow the government to “fast-track” grand projects his cabinet deemed to be in the “national interest.”

Since then, his government has made two big announcements touting its pet infrastructure projects — neither of which actually designated any projects in the national interest to be put on a fast track. 

Instead, the government only referred 11 projects — including an expansion of the Port of Montreal and wind-powered energy generation in the Atlantic — to the newly created Major Projects Office for consideration as nationally interesting “major projects” worth fast-tracking. Which means no real projects have actually moved forward, despite the rhetoric around the announcements. 

That lack of clarity, and of tangible action, only adds to the sense of disorientation over intense reaction in Alberta when a new pipeline to the West Coast wasn’t part of the latest announcement. Emotions were pretty strong considering there isn’t an actual pipeline project being discussed — there’s no route, no budget, no company that currently wants to build it. The most tangible thing about it so far has been vocal opposition from B.C. and the Indigenous communities this imaginary pipeline would theoretically pass through.

It is a debate about something that doesn’t exist being snubbed for inclusion on a list that does nothing — unless you count politicking. And while Alberta is being the most dramatic about it all, it’s a situation playing out all over the country. 

A primer on how a non-existent pipeline could get designated for fast-tracking … we think

Before getting into the imaginary pipeline debacle between Alberta, B.C., First Nations and the feds, let’s set the stage. 

Carney’s first act after his April election was to introduce and pass Bill C-5, the Build Canada Act, the legislation that would allow the government to fast-track projects.

‘Build, baby, build’: a guide to Canada’s Bill C-5

Selected projects could essentially be pre-approved for meeting a raft of regulations (although, confusingly, not be exempt from them). It immediately set off alarm bells about the rigor of any required environmental assessments and raised serious concerns about Indigenous participation, consultation and consent. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first order of business once elected was to introduce legislation he said would speed up nation-building projects. Since then, his government has made two major announcements of projects, none of which have been designated for fast-tracking. Now, he’s facing a precarious balancing act on development, climate, Indigenous rights and provincial interests. Photo: Kamara Morozuk / The Narwhal

Since then, the government has listed 11 projects and seven “transformative strategies” in widely covered announcements that only serve to muddy the debate. The point of this all is unclear, since those projects and strategies were already underway, some in advanced stages, and none of them were declared in the national interest and set for fast-tracking. Yet.

Port of Montreal expansion plans put endangered fish found only in Quebec at risk

These 11 projects are a short list. There is also a longer list, which is secret, according to the Privy Council Office, of projects in various stages of preparation for presentation to the Major Projects Office.Finally, there’s the list of projects set for fast-tracking, which is empty. So far. 

Those projects would have to be designated in the national interest, then move through a legislative process, consultations with impacted Indigenous people, the province where the project will be built if it’s under provincial jurisdiction, a national security review and more. 

It’s not necessarily a short road to travel.

Alberta’s pipe dreams

Alberta’s United Conservative Party government, facing and facilitating a burgeoning separatist movement at home, has been aggressively pushing to double oil and gas production while pushing back against emissions regulations. When Carney announced his major projects plan, the party decided the lack of a company interested in building a new pipeline shouldn’t be an impediment. 

Nor, apparently, should the basic questions that remain unanswered about the need for a new pipeline and the economics that would support it. Capacity wise, Enbridge has approved expansion of existing pipelines and TransMountain is proposing changes that will allow it to carry more bitumen to the West Coast. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, however, says it’s not enough. 

Profit wise, both of those expansions are forecast to exceed production increases and demand. 

In addition, the International Energy Agency is forecasting significant surpluses in supply versus demand on the global market, possibly reaching a glut of four million barrels per day in 2026 — something the agency calls “untenable.” 

Together, the elements standing in the way of a hypothetical pipeline are significant, but that might not really matter. It didn’t matter to Smith on Oct. 1 when, alongside several cabinet ministers, she announced her province would be the proponent for a pipeline, committing $14 million towards early planning work to get “a credible proposal” in front of the federal government.

What Alberta wants from the federal government is a memorandum of understanding that could pave the way for a hypothetical project, but is also aimed at getting rid of what Smith calls the Nine Bad Laws — including the ban on large oil tankers on the northwest coast, an idea Coastal First Nations and the B.C. government opposed adamantly in a declaration signed earlier this month. 

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been pushing hard to grow the province’s oil and gas sector. Her government’s latest move involves  investing tax dollars in the early stage of a pipeline project that doesn’t have a private sector partner, funding or a route, hoping it will be designated a national-interest project. Photo: Drew Anderson / The Narwhal

Smith was hoping for that to happen within a month of her announcement. But, again, no route, proposal or company willing to build has been made public. Alberta is essentially spending millions to make an outline of a project that it hopes someone will build if Ottawa says it’s a good idea, despite fierce opposition from the one place it will have to cross. 

Coastal First Nations and B.C. really, really, really oppose a new pipeline

As soon as Carney started his push for more nation-building projects, he met opposition. There’s serious concern about the potential for fossil fuel-based energy projects being fast-tracked in the era of climate change — which brings its own Canada-wide challenges, such as the ballooning costs and labour pressures of responding to floods, wildfires and other global-warming-fuelled natural disasters.

From First Nations whose territory lies between the Alberta oilsands and the West Coast to nations in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba, Indigenous communities are extremely unhappy they weren’t consulted on the Build Canada Act, which could directly impact their constitutional rights to consultation and consent.  

‘You want my consent? You improve my people’s health,’ First Nations chief near oilsands tells Carney

In the particular case of a pipeline, it’s difficult to see a physical or political path forward. Along with nations along the (imaginary) route, the idea of lifting the tanker ban has appalled Coastal First Nations and the B.C. government.  

And yet, on Wednesday, The Globe and Mail reported Alberta and the federal government were close to a deal on the pipeline project that doesn’t exist, with sources telling the paper it would, indeed, require lifting the oil tanker moratorium on at least a section of the coast. 

“We are incredibly alarmed to read media reports about alleged negotiations between the federal government and the province of Alberta” about a new pipeline, Coastal First Nations said in a press release on Nov. 19. It added that the passing of the tanker ban in 2019 was the result of over “50 years of advocacy.”

National political interest project

According to The Globe, the feds’ negotiations with Alberta include winning the province’s buy-in for the industrial carbon price, which Alberta has been trying to weaken. There will also, inevitably, be a windfall for carbon capture and storage projects. 

It’s a classic political give and take. Carney could buy peace with a province that has been anything but peaceful for the past six years,, currently governed by a party that has actively pushed for more sovereignty while making it easier for separatists to push their agenda. 

Smith herself has put the future of confederation on the table if the federal government doesn’t acquiesce to her demands. But ever since Carney’s election, the anti-Ottawa rhetoric from her government has been tamped down, even before talk of the hypothetical pipeline. 

It’s a sign that Carney’s strategy of compromise might be working — that Smith is either getting what she wants or thinks she is. 

A reported deal being hashed out between Alberta and Ottawa on a new, hypothetical, bitumen pipeline would likely include Alberta supporting industrial carbon pricing if the feds pledge to funnel the proceeds back into a proposed carbon capture and storage project. Photo: Amber Bracken / The Narwhal

If reports are accurate, she might be getting rid of at least some of the environmental regulations, including the tanker ban and an emissions cap on oil and gas, her government bristles at. She can claim victory for pushing a pipeline project forward, even if no pipeline is ever built.

Even without any actual infrastructure, agreements to agree on … something? … are not an insignificant political framework for two traditionally combative sides to erect. 

Unfortunately for them, they aren’t the only two pieces on the board and Carney’s balancing act is precipitous. The prime minister has made big promises to industry and to Canadians, while fighting a trade war and a restive collection of provinces with often vastly different ideas on the best economic and social paths forward.

B.C. is already unhappy. So are Indigenous communities in national-interest-major-projects-fast-tracking regions across Canada. It’s also unclear when, and if, Carney will start designating projects for fast-tracking through his new Major Projects Office, and how much more backlash that could stoke. 

If these projects never see the light of day, despite the federal government’s efforts, Carney also risks disappointing those who want to see them built. The anger that could engender is significant. 

Tipping the national balance could be a high price to pay for a reprieve with Alberta, and one that isn’t guaranteed, but pipelines don’t come cheap either. Maybe. If there ever is one. With a budget. Or someone to build it. 

It’s remarkable how much nothing can do. 

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Premier David Eby’s dream of fashioning British Columbia into an economic engine powerful enough to drive the Canadian economy took another step forward on Thursday. From Terrace, B.C., Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Ksi Lisims LNG and the North Coast transmission line would be added to the federal fast-tracking list. 

“We are the province that is bringing forward these projects that will make a meaningful difference in the Canadian GDP, that will make a meaningful difference in families being able to access high-paid jobs and will lift the prosperity of people, not just in this province, but right across the country,” Eby told reporters following Carney’s announcement.

Eby repeated his expectation that the North Coast transmission line will help create 10,000 jobs and tens of billions of dollars in economic development. Carney lauded the potential of Ksi Lisims, a floating LNG plant, to generate $4 billion per year in gross domestic product and create “thousands of skilled careers.”

Ksi Lisims LNG is on Carney’s nation-building list. Here’s what you need to know

Thousands of jobs and billions of dollars sound like a great deal — though B.C. and Canadian taxpayers will have to shell out billions first and relinquish input and oversight of those projects to lock in the promised benefits. Surely the federal and provincial governments would be keen to share the details of how, when and where we can expect to see those jobs and dollars materialize?Not so much.The North Coast transmission line is key to making Ksi Lisims “one of the world’s cleanest LNG operations,” according to Carney. By building hundreds of kilometres of high-voltage transmission line from Prince George, B.C., to Terrace, B.C., and then north to the border with Alaska, the province will be able to offer clean electricity to power both Ksi Lisims and multiple mining projects, Eby and his government have argued.But so far, Eby’s government has provided precious little detail on exactly how the North Coast transmission line will deliver its economic bounty — not the number of projects it would serve, the jobs each project would create nor the value of other economic benefits.

The North Coast transmission line would connect Terrace, B.C., to Prince George, eventually powering Ksi Lisims LNG on Pearse Island, near the Nisg̱a’a village of Gingolx. Photo: Marty Clemens / The Narwhal

Instead, it’s the NDP caucus that has offered the most in-depth estimate of the North Coast transmission line’s economic impact. An Oct. 28 press release from the caucus — the partisan entity that represents all NDP MLAs in the legislature, separate from their roles in government — outlined five projects the transmission line will serve:

Four other proposed mines in northwest B.C. are also “among the mining projects along the North Coast transmission line that will benefit from access to clean power and improved grid reliability,” according to the Ministry of Mining and Critical Minerals.Aside from Cedar LNG, none of the projects linked to the North Coast transmission line have reached a final investment decision — meaning none are guaranteed to proceed.

“I agree that we need to make sure that we expedite projects of provincial significance and ones that can actually have national significance,” South Surrey Independent MLA Elenore Sturko said. “But that doesn’t mean that we should entirely remove the ability for public input and consultation.”

Transparency lacking when it comes to North Coast transmission line

Energy Minister Adrian Dix claims the province has publicly made its case for fast-tracking the North Coast transmission line. He referred The Narwhal to an expression of interest call issued by BC Hydro in 2023.That call received 29 submissions, according to BC Hydro, with the highest number of submissions coming from the mining sector, while hydrogen production projects requested the most power overall.

A government press release states those submissions outlined “5,000 megawatts of potential industrial load (about five times the capacity of the Site C hydroelectric project).”

No other information about the projects interested in connecting to the North Coast transmission line has been made public. 

According to BC Hydro, “the information received from companies participating in the expression of interest process is considered commercially sensitive and will be kept confidential.” 

B.C. bets big changes to energy policy will reap massive rewards

The government’s lack of transparency is unacceptable to Andy Hira, a political science professor at Simon Fraser University and director of the Clean Energy Research Group.

“These are public decisions that are affecting the bottom line for B.C. taxpayers and they’re affecting our ability to create jobs and compete and so they should be made public,” he told The Narwhal shortly after Bill 31, the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, was introduced on Oct. 20. 

“Maybe there is a case to be made that the revenues from LNG will be so great that we should make sure we put enough electricity in them — despite the damning picture that they create in terms of climate change — but that case needs to be made in a public forum. It can’t be made in an arbitrary fashion by people who pretend to know better.”

What we know — and don’t know — about demand for power on the North Coast

Documents obtained by The Narwhal under freedom of information law provide a bit more detail about where the government is expecting the electricity carried by the 2,200-megawatt North Coast transmission line to go.

Nearly half — 900 megawatts — could be dedicated to mines, according to a briefing note prepared for Eby in March 2024. Seabridge Gold requested 220 megawatts from BC Hydro for its KSM mine, a proposed copper and gold open pit project northwest of Stewart, B.C. The Galore Creek copper and gold mine — a joint venture between Teck Resources Ltd. and Newmont Corporation — could use 307 megawatts, according to the briefing note.

That demand may be even higher, according to Michael Goehring, CEO of the Mining Association of BC. During a press conference on Oct. 20, Goehring said critical mineral and precious metal mining projects in the “Golden Triangle” in northwest B.C. could add 1,000 megawatts of new electricity demand to the provincial power grid.

Mining projects in B.C.‘s “Golden Triangle” — a mineral- and metal-rich area in the province‘s northwest, could eat up nearly half the North Coast transmission line’s power. Photo: Chris Miller / Supplied by Salmon Beyond Borders

Another 620 megawatts from the transmission line could go to LNG, according to the briefing note. That’s a bit more than enough to electrify Ksi Lisims LNG. The project was seeking 600 megawatts from BC Hydro at the time the briefing note was prepared (though the facility will likely run on natural gas when it begins operations). 

Docs reveal how much BC Hydro power new LNG and mining projects want. Who will pay for it?

The Port of Prince Rupert could use up to 100 megawatts from the North Coast transmission line, Eby’s briefing note stated, with another 600 megawatts earmarked for potential hydrogen production projects.

The Energy Ministry confirmed the transmission line’s capacity remains the same as the estimate in the briefing note, but would not provide updated estimates for potential electricity requests. 

If all of the projects on the North Coast do go ahead, B.C. could find itself in a significant energy deficit. BC Hydro now estimates demand for electricity will grow 1.4 per cent annually through 2050. That estimate does not include power for projects plugging into the North Coast transmission line, but does assume the province uses the powers Bill 31 would provide to limit power for hydrogen export projects, AI and data centres, and block new connections for cryptocurrency operations. 

Sturko argued British Columbians deserve answers about where the power for the project will come from and who will pay for it.

“I’m really concerned that at the end of the day — whether it’s federal funding or provincial funding or it ends up on somebody’s hydro bill — this is all coming out of taxpayers’ pockets,” she told The Narwhal. “And we don’t really have the certainty that we even have the electricity to make this thing successful.”

Updated Nov. 18, 2025, at 10:12 a.m. PT: This story originally stated Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement happened in Prince Rupert. While the event was originally scheduled in Prince Rupert, it was later moved to Terrace, B.C. The story has been corrected.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Just outside the town of Port Hawkesbury, N.S., the shoreline of the Strait of Canso is dotted with industry. “For Nova Scotia, this is one of the last outposts of industrial activity,” Amanda Mombourquette says, steering her SUV. Out one window, towering mounds of coal are piled outside the Point Tupper Generating Station, while tanks and pipelines from a former oil refinery carve up the slope. A short distance down the road, Nova Scotia’s last papermill standing stretches across the hill.

Although the area supports hundreds of jobs, there’s little traffic on a sunny October afternoon. Pulling her car to the side of Industrial Park Road, Mombourquette, who’s the deputy warden for the County of Richmond, and Brenda Chisholm-Beaton, mayor of neighbouring Port Hawkesbury, note that teenagers often use the road to learn how to drive. 

Yet Chisholm-Beaton and Mombourquette have become regular travellers on this road. For the last several years, they’ve been taking people on tours of the area, to pitch its involvement in a new type of industry: offshore wind.

“Our strong feeling is that if there are industries that are going to be located here and we’re going to ask our communities to engage and participate and to support these industries, there should also be a benefit to our communities,” Mombourquette says. 

They’re not alone in spying an opportunity. In Atlantic Canada, many are looking to offshore wind as a transformational force, providing renewable power in a province still heavily dependent on coal for electricity. Offshore wind could also provide a much-needed economic boost for coastal communities and the province. The impact might not stop there: in September, Nova Scotia’s pitch to export 60 gigawatts offshore wind to provide over a quarter of Canada’s electricity, dubbed Wind West Atlantic Energy, was included on a list of projects of potential national interest: it’s not quite developed enough to make the Liberals’ first two rounds of projects considered for fast-tracking, but it’s in their sightlines. 

Highway 413, Vancouver port expansion have the eye of the feds, newly released documents show

Yet the rollout of nation-building renewable energy must also strike a delicate balance between the need for power and the effect that gigawatt-scale wind generation will have on an ecosystem that many Nova Scotians already rely on for their livelihoods, particularly fishers.

The industry is moving toward that, with the regulator now conducting the first round of public consultation that could lead to a licence for a project developer, though it’ll be years before the blades start spinning. Either way, few deny that offshore wind, whenever it unfurls, could be transformative — just not in a way that everyone welcomes. 

Optimal conditions for offshore wind offer economic promise for Nova Scotia communities

The phrase “world-class” gets bandied about a lot in Nova Scotia, in relation to everything from golf courses to Halifax’s convention centre, but when it comes to offshore wind, it’s demonstrably true. Far from land, wind speeds here average nine to 11 metres per second. This is comparable to Europe’s North Sea, which already has a thriving offshore wind industry.

Importantly, unlike Canada’s west coast, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland are surrounded by broad continental shelves. The Scotian Shelf provides a wide swath of relatively shallow seabed on which to build turbines, making offshore wind appealing financially — though scientists say that’s also what makes it appealing to marine life, and therefore fishers.

Europe’s North Sea is a global hub for wind farms. Nova Scotia, which has comparably favourable offshore wind speeds, has designated four wind energy areas off the eastern shore where potential energy projects could be built.

In recent years, legislation has emerged to support the industry. Offshore energy on the east coast is jointly regulated by the federal government and the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. Historically this meant petroleum, but in 2024, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board’s scope was expanded to include offshore wind (with Newfoundland’s regulator following suit in 2025). 

Inside the Trudeau government’s decision to weaken oversight of Newfoundland oil and gas exploration

The province and federal government have also conducted a regional assessment, meant to assess the potential impacts of the industry on the environment, local communities and other ocean users, and to support the identification of potential locations. That assessment was released in January, and in July, Nova Scotia designated four wind energy areas, located at least 20 kilometres off the province’s eastern shore and the northeast edge of Cape Breton.

While offshore wind could have broad economic benefits — with the province eyeing a four per cent royalty from offshore production, as well as jobs for more than 5,000 workers in construction and associated supply chain industries — it has the potential to be particularly impactful for communities close to the sites.

This includes the Port Hawkesbury region, which has a deep, ice-free port that could be used to marshal offshore wind components like blades and turbines. The town also has a community college campus, where the province’s first wind turbine technician program is launching September 2026. 

Though Wind West Atlantic Energy has yet to be added to the federal fast-tracking list, it’s on the government’s list of potential “nation-building projects” that could be selected after further development. Map: Province of Nova Scotia

Green industry is key to the region’s future, Mombourquette says. She also hopes it could bring more affordable electricity to her constituents, who regularly tell her they can’t pay their power bills. It could also ease the transition from the area’s industrial past — nearly 100 people currently work at the Point Tupper’s generating plant, for instance, which will have to stop burning coal by 2030. 

“What’s going to happen to those people and what kind of economic impact will that have on the town, and on the county?” Mombourquette says. “It’s a concern.”

The Municipality of the District of Guysborough, directly to the south of Port Hawkesbury, is also looking to wind for a more sustainable future.

Three of the proposed wind energy areas are off Guysborough County, where existing infrastructure could be used for the industry, including a former plant for offshore gas, where power generated by wind could be transmitted ashore via underwater cables. Paul Long, warden of the municipality hopes this infrastructure could attract development to support the area’s small and spread-out population, which is older and lower-income than the rest of the province. 

“We’re losing a lot of our young people,” he says. “We need development to ensure that our residents get all the services and infrastructure that they deserve like anybody else. If we had to rely on our residential tax rate, it would not be a pretty situation.”

Some people aren’t as convinced. 

Fishers worry about possible impacts to Nova Scotia’s seafood industry

Ninety minutes down the shore from Port Hawkesbury, at the end of a long peninsula jutting into the Atlantic, sits the community of Canso. This has been a settler fishing community since the 1600s and a site of Mi’kmaw fishing long before that, and from a small building on the edge of town, the Guysborough County Inshore Fishermen’s Association continues to support people fishing for lobster, halibut, snowcrab and tuna along the county’s long coastline. 

“We fish whatever we can because if we have a little bit from each, then you’re not putting too much effort on a single stock,” Ginny Boudreau, the association’s executive director and one of its three employees, says.

For the past two years, Boudreau says much the organization’s time, has been taken up with offshore wind, even though “We don’t have a stick in the water yet.”

Seafood is the main export commodity of Nova Scotia, with an annual value of $2.4 billion. Fishing associations worry that wind turbines could impact the seafood industry, and some members say the government has not adequately consulted with fishers who could be affected by wind projects in their fishing areas. Photo: Guysborough County Inshore Fishermen’s Association / Facebook

Two of the designated areas overlap with places where her members fish, Boudreau says. The association has had to respond to new legislation and the regional assessment, as well as develop a system to track vessels through the areas designated for turbines, to get a comprehensive picture of where people are currently fishing.

That location data is important; the Scotian Shelf is heavily fished, with few areas unexploited. Many people have fished the same spots for decades — and as wind turbines move in, fishers fear they’ll be muscled out. 

In Cape Breton, Michael Barron fishes for lobster, crab and halibut in Sydney Bight, where a 1,300-square-kilometre area has been designated for potential offshore wind. Barron, the president of his own local fishing association, worries about people having to move because turbines are in their way or disrupting fish migration patterns. 

Barron points out that Nova Scotia’s seafood is its main export commodity, valued at $2.4 billion annually. The price of getting into the fishery is hefty: a lobster licence can cost upwards a million dollars and a fishing vessel at least half that. 

“Younger captains are taking on a lot of financial debt,” Barron says. “They need good catch rates. They need good weather. They need lots of fishing grounds to be able to explore … to generate the income to pay those debts that they incurred to become part of a historical tradition.”

Despite that, Barron says there’s been “next to no” consultation with his association from the provincial and federal governments. While he says he’s not against green energy, he wants to see more engagement with the people on the water.

Even without turbines, those fishers are already facing uncertainty — catches for snow crab in Cape Breton this year were “catastrophically bad,” Barron says, though he notes that can’t yet be attributed to climate change. 

Boudreau is worried about those shifts too. Her members know better than anyone that climate change is happening: they see it every day on the water. And for environmental reasons as much as economic ones, she thinks offshore wind is inevitable. 

Given that, she wants a clear plan for how wind and fisheries will co-exist — and a written commitment of who will be holding the bag if they can’t. She says the province promised a framework for compensation, though her association is still waiting to see it.

In an emailed response, Nova Scotia Department of Energy spokesperson Adele Poirier said that offshore wind is a “proven technology that’s used successfully in other parts of the world and co-exists with fisheries, among other users of the ocean.” The statement also noted that federal and provincial governments have been consulting on offshore wind for years, and have already addressed some concerns from fishers.

On compensation, the department pointed to a provincial roadmap, which said compensation would be considered if co-existence is not possible. 

Robert Lennox, an associate professor of biology at Dalhousie University, says research could assuage concerns about potential impacts.

Those include turbines’ impacts on winds and currents, which could affect water cycling and the distribution of larval fish and lobsters.

Lennox, who is scientific director of the Ocean Tracking Network, says tracking technology could figure out how animals are moving through wind energy areas and what happens after turbines are installed. 

“We haven’t been prioritizing tracking them at these locations,” he says.

A single lobster licence can cost upward of one million dollars. Michael Barron, president of his local fishing association, worries about younger captains who have taken on debt and rely on access to waters that have been designated as potential wind project sites. “They need lots of fishing grounds to be able to explore,” he says. Photo: Darren Calabrese / The Narwhal

The organization plans to use its own funds to deploy a network of receivers in the Sydney Bight area, to help nudge those questions towards an answer, Lennox says. These receivers pick up the acoustic signal of tagged animals, though only those tagged by other similar groups around the region. 

One scientist says there’s also a wealth of government data that could be used to inform where wind turbines should go.

Kenneth Frank, a former Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientist who retired in 2019, says when he read the report from the regional assessment that informed the selection of areas for turbines, he was shocked by how it characterized the Scotian Shelf. 

The report made the shelf’s outer banks look like “biological deserts,” he says, rather than drawing on “a mountain of data” from existing surveys that show the ecosystem’s productivity. Frank was paid by the Seafood Producers Association of Nova Scotia to submit a comment on the report, though he says he probably would have done it without payment. 

“They’ve chosen the least desirable areas from a conservation perspective. They chose the shallowest areas on the shelf,” he says, speculating that this was for economic reasons. “There are areas that are far less productive but they happen to be in deeper water.”

The Department of Energy said in a statement that all feedback was considered in the designation of the four offshore wind energy areas, including Fisheries and Oceans feedback on biological considerations.

As climate change intensifies in Atlantic Canada, residents prepare for an uncertain future

These developments come amid a grim period for climate impacts in Nova Scotia. Over the summer, the province experienced multiple wildfires and a record-breaking drought.

With some forest bans lifted, Nova Scotians head back to the woods

Meanwhile, in the ocean, scientists reported a warming trend on the Scotian shelf, with a 3 C increase in bottom temperatures over a three decade period. 

It’s a reminder that with or without offshore wind, change is coming to the region. 

Driving along the Strait of Canso, Chisholm-Beaton and Mombourquette point out the ports that could receive components for offshore wind, musing about the other businesses that could benefit, like a local metal fabricator.

Those benefits could help the region chart a new path. For decades, many people in Nova Scotia, including Mombourquette’s husband, have had to leave the province for work. “It has a direct social impact on communities that I’ve been thinking about for a very long time, having gone through the experience of raising two kids with a husband who works out west back and forth.” Building a local wind industry could break that cycle, Mombourquette says. 

From the back seat, Chisholm-Beaton chimes in: “Export wind and not people.”

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Less than two months after receiving approvals from the provincial and federal government, Prime Minister Mark Carney has referred the Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility to the Major Projects Office for review.

“Ksi Lisims will become Canada’s second-largest LNG facility with the capacity to export 12 million tonnes of LNG per year to new markets in Asia,” Carney said on Thursday, adding that the project is expected to yield $4 billion per year in gross domestic product.The North Coast transmission line was also on the latest list of projects picked for the Major Projects Office to review. Carney also announced BC Hydro will get a $139.5-million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to support initial work on the transmission line.

The Major Projects Office was created to oversee the Liberal government’s effort to speed up approvals for major infrastructure projects deemed to be of national interest. In September, Carney’s government referred an initial list of candidate projects — including Phase two of the LNG Canada export terminal and the Red Chris Mine expansion in northern B.C. — to the office for consideration.

Ksi Lisims LNG is a joint venture involving the Nisg̱a’a Lisims Government, U.S.-based LNG project developer Western LNG and Canadian natural gas consortium Rockies LNG.

B.C.’s second-largest LNG project is one you’ve probably never heard of

While the B.C. and Canadian governments have emphasized the Nisg̱a’a Lisims Government’s stake in the Ksi Lisims project, documents filed with the B.C. government show the primary owner and operator of Ksi Lisims is Texas-based Western LNG. Employees of Western LNG, which has offices in Houston, Texas and Vancouver, met with senior provincial government officials 69 times since the beginning of 2024, according to B.C. lobbying records.

Both Ksi Lisims and the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline — which will supply fracked gas to Ksi Lisims and LNG Canada, a larger export terminal in Kitimat, B.C. — are backed by Blackstone Inc., a U.S. investment company.

In March 2024, the Nisg̱a’a Nation and Western LNG announced a deal to buy TC Energy’s proposed Prince Rupert gas pipeline project. The project has also finalized two agreements to sell its product. The agreements commit Shell Canada and TotalEnergies to buying two million tonnes of LNG per year from the plant — totalling roughly one-third of Ksi Lisims’ expected annual production.

The 800-kilometre Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline (PRGT) will cross more than 1,000 creeks, streams and rivers, before terminating at the floating Ksi Lisims LNG facility near the Nisg̱a’a village of Gingolx. Photo: Marty Clemens / The Narwhal

Four of the eleven projects referred to the Major Projects Office are in B.C., a fact Premier David Eby highlighted at his own press conference on Thursday.“British Columbia is going to be the economic engine of this new economy that we’re building going forward, and it is great to see some recognition from Ottawa that this is going to be the case,” he said.

The Nisg̱a’a Nation is backing Ksi Lisims but other First Nations oppose it

Nisg̱a’a Lisims Government president Eva Clayton has described Ksi Lisims as an economic opportunity that will benefit the nation and the world.

“Ksi Lisims LNG represents a transformational opportunity for all participating B.C. nations, and it will be developed in line with our nation’s high environmental standards,” Clayton said in a statement emailed to The Narwhal following the approval of Ksi Lisims.

Canada calls this newly approved LNG project green. For now, it will run on fossil fuels

But other First Nations oppose the project. The Lax Kw’alaams Band, for example, is southwest of the newly approved LNG facility and tankers filled with the liquefied gas will pass by the village’s coast regularly. Lax Kw’alaams says the LNG facility would negatively affect its traditional territory and has expressed concerns about the project’s potential impact on B.C.’s ability to meet its climate targets.

In September, B.C.’s environmental assessment office concluded dispute resolution processes initiated by Lax Kw’alaams and the Metlakatla First Nation as part of Ksi Lisims’ environmental assessment. The resolution failed to address the First Nations’ concerns about the project’s potential impacts on their communities, according to the environmental assessment office.

In October 2024, the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, whose traditional territory includes parts of the Nass and Skeena watersheds, filed an application for judicial review with the provincial court. The Hereditary Chiefs alleged the environmental assessment office failed in its duty to consult and to adequately protect fish species was rejected by the court in early September.Simogyet Watakhayetsxw (Hereditary Chief) Deborah Good said Ksi Lisims could destroy habitat essential to local salmon populations.

“We’ve had to go to court to fight for our way of life and especially the continuing health of our salmon stocks,” Good said in a statement. “We won’t give up because for us, this is a fight for our way of life — for the salmon that have sustained our economy, culture, people and way of life since time immemorial.”In October, Lax Kw’alaams and the Metlakatla First Nation each filed requests for judicial review with the Federal Court, alleging the minister of environment and climate change ignored their concerns about the adverse impacts of the massive LNG project.Eby said he expects the Major Projects Office will help the province work toward resolving the “complexity” created by projects that span multiple First Nations’ territories and often involve issues of federal jurisdiction.“That’s very helpful to us to resolve long-standing issues, to win support for the project or to help do things faster,” he said. 

Ksi Lisims may eventually connect to B.C.’s grid, but first it will run on gas

Ksi Lisims is located near the Nass estuary at the north end of Pearse Island, an area that is home to salmon, oolichan and many other fish, as well as shellfish and mammal species important to local First Nations. The floating facility would be capable of producing up to 12 million tonnes of LNG annually. 

Like the second phase of the LNG Canada facility, which was among the first crop of projects earmarked for potential federal fast-tracking in September, Ksi Lisims has been approved by the provincial and federal governments. But it has yet to receive a final investment decision — the definitive commitment to investing in and proceeding with a project — from its backers.

B.C. bets big changes to energy policy will reap massive rewards

Carney said the Major Projects Office will offer support on financing and “help coordinate timely approvals” of the main aspects of the Ksi Lisims project. That includes the pipeline to supply Ksi Lisims with fracked gas, a new electricity transmission line and the floating LNG export facility, as well as “related transmission infrastructure” — namely, the North Coast transmission line.Ksi Lisims will be “one of the world’s cleanest LNG operations,” according to Carney, who said the facility has “the potential to reach net zero by 2030.” To achieve that goal, Ksi Lisims will need to access clean electricity via the North Coast transmission line.

Premier David Eby and Energy Minister Adrian Dix are increasingly championing LNG as one of the keys to B.C.’s economic prosperity. Photo: Province of British Columbia / Flickr

But the transmission line — which the government has exempted from environmental assessment and plans to block the B.C. Utilities Commission from reviewing — isn’t expected to be operational until 2032, while Ksi Lisims hopes to begin operations in 2028. That would have left the facility out of compliance with a 2023 provincial regulation requiring all LNG facilities to be net zero by 2030. However, B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix issued “a clarification” of the 2023 net-zero policy in March, advising the environmental assessment agency that new LNG facilities need to be ready to become net zero by 2030 but can use natural gas if clean electricity is not available “due to circumstances beyond the control of the proponent.”

The provincial approval allows Ksi Lisims to use natural gas-fired barges to power its operations until access to BC Hydro’s grid is available. A 2024 briefing note prepared for Eby shows Ksi Lisims requested 600 megawatts from BC Hydro, making it one of the most energy-intensive projects the province has ever seen.

With files from Matt Simmons

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

With Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government still tight-lipped about the exact projects on its nation-building wishlist, a newly released internal document from the early days of his leadership adds to the speculation.

Proposals to double the size of a Vancouver port, build Highway 413 in Ontario and develop or expand mines in Yukon and Nunavut were among the list of 17 “major projects” compiled by the Carney government in March.

The list is included in federal briefing notes prepared by Fisheries and Oceans Canada for its deputy minister, and was obtained by The Narwhal under access to information law. Amongst the projects identified for “permitting and regulatory efficiency” are six related to ports and harbours, five involving mining, three that deal with electricity generation and three concerning highways. In October, Carney said developing ports and exporting minerals are key parts of his economic plan.

One of the projects on the list, the expansion of the Port of Montreal, was named by Carney in September to be considered for fast-tracking under the One Canadian Economy Act, meaning it can skip certain environmental and other requirements. In the same announcement, the prime minister listed critical minerals in the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, and offshore wind power projects in the Atlantic — two other proposals that appeared on the list from March — as potential fast-tracked projects.

Port of Montreal expansion plans put endangered fish found only in Quebec at risk

The rest have not yet been selected for fast-tracking, although some are already high-profile, controversial developments. Roberts Bank Terminal 2, a plan to double the size of the Port of Vancouver, has attracted opposition due to its location in a sensitive estuary. Highway 413, a new highway in the Toronto area to be built through the protected Greenbelt, was at one point scrutinized by a federal agency over its potential harm to species at risk. And last year a court found the Yukon and Ottawa governments did not properly consult Indigenous nations over the Kudz Ze Kayah mining project, proposed on the traditional territory of the Kaska First Nations. All three appeared on the March list.

The briefing notes were prepared for a meeting that had been scheduled for March 26, about two weeks after Carney was sworn in. They laid out the proposals in a section titled “Update on Major Projects.” Government officials were expected to review them and “identify roadblocks.” The Narwhal has not confirmed the meeting itself took place.

The briefing note’s title, “Permitting and Regulatory Efficiency — Major Projects including Clean Growth” resembles the name of a Trudeau-era Cabinet directive issued in 2024 meant to speed up federal decision-making and get projects “built faster.” That effort was related to the Trudeau government’s Clean Growth Office. Under Carney, this office has now been absorbed into the new Major Projects Office.

The Major Projects Office is handling “national interest” projects and is part of the administrative arm of the prime minister and Cabinet, the Privy Council Office. In a response received after publication time, a spokesperson for the Privy Council Office told The Narwhal the list “was not prepared specifically” under the Trudeau-era cabinet directive on clean growth, and said there are “a number of projects at various stages of consideration for potential referral to the [Major Projects Office]. These projects are currently being assessed. To avoid influencing potential decisions and to respect sensitive ongoing discussions, the Government of Canada will refrain from publicly commenting on the status of assessment of these projects. Announcements will be made in due course.”

The Trudeau government’s “clean growth” plan spoke about meeting demand for clean energy. Carney’s approach also emphasizes clean energy, but adds “conventional energy,” meaning fossil fuels, as another priority. In September, he picked the expansion of a natural gas facility in B.C. as a “national interest” project, and said a plan to extend the life of the oilsands by capturing and storing the carbon pollution generated by large oil companies could be another one.

A $16B plan to bury oilsands carbon pollution — and the rural Albertans raising the alarm

According to a separate internal government list of projects revealed by The Globe and Mail, the government has been considering a number of other oil and gas industry proposals to be fast-tracked, including a new oil pipeline. The head of the Major Projects Office, former Trans Mountain oil pipeline CEO Dawn Farrell, has said she’s assessing more unnamed proposals that may be part of the next tranche of priority projects the government will reveal in November.

Here’s a look at the list of proposals federal public servants identified in March.

This list of 17 “major projects” was compiled by federal government officials and included in internal deputy minister briefing notes from March. Graphic: Shawn Parkinson / The Narwhal

1. Kudz Ze Kayah

Proponent: BMC MineralsLocation: South of Ross River, YukonDescription: Open pit and underground zinc, silver, copper, gold and lead mine, in the traditional territory of the Kaska First Nations. In December 2024, the Yukon Court of Appeal found the Yukon and federal governments did not consult properly with the nation over the project. The court ordered the governments to carry out more consultations.

2. Eskay Creek

Proponent: Skeena Gold and SilverLocation: Northwest B.C.Description: Open pit gold mine. The company says it’s expecting to obtain the permits it needs for construction by the end of the year and for the mine to start producing in 2027.

3. Roberts Bank Terminal 2

Proponent: Vancouver Fraser Port AuthorityLocation: Metro VancouverDescription: New marine container terminal that would be built in the Fraser River estuary. The port authority says more capacity is needed but First Nations, conservation groups and others have opposed the development in part because the estuary is key habitat for orcas and salmon.

4. Ring of Fire

Proponent: Wyloo Metals / variousLocation: Northern OntarioDescription: Approximately 8,000 square kilometres of land on Treaty 9 territory that is suspected of holding vast critical mineral deposits. The region is remote and lacking year-round road access, with several roads currently proposed. On Oct. 29, the Ontario government announced it had signed a deal with Webequie First Nation to “speed up” road construction. Ontario Premier Doug Ford said construction would begin next June as long as the federal government dropped a regional environmental assessment of the area first. But a day earlier, Neskantaga First Nation submitted a request to Environment and Climate Change Minister Julie Dabrusin for a federal assessment of a prominent nickel mine project in the Ring of Fire called Eagle’s Nest, by Australian mining company Wyloo Metals.

5. Mary River mine expansion

Proponent: Baffinland Iron MinesLocation: North Baffin Island, NunavutDescription: Expansion of Canada’s northernmost mine. Baffinland has proposed building a railway from the iron ore mine site to the coast as part of the expansion. Local hunters have asked for the project to be reassessed. Baffinland spokesperson Peter Akman told The Narwhal the project “aligns directly with Canada’s clean growth and Indigenous participation goals” and would “create hundreds of additional Inuit jobs, and expand royalties and training opportunities for northern communities.” He said adding rail would reduce emissions and other impacts.

6. Bruce C project

Proponent: Bruce PowerLocation: Near Kincardine, Ont.Description: New nuclear generating station within an existing plant. Bruce Power is considering several nuclear reactor technologies for the project, which is undergoing a federal impact assessment.

7. Highway 413

Proponent: Government of OntarioLocation: Greater Toronto AreaDescription: New highway proposed north and west of Toronto that would cut through the Greenbelt and endangered species habitat. The provincial government says it’s needed to help with congestion, but the highway is facing stiff opposition from locals and conservationists.

8. Rose Lithium-Tantalum mining project

Proponent: Critical Elements Lithium CorporationLocation: North of Nemaska, Que.Description: Open pit lithium and tantalum mine in the traditional territory of the Crees of northern Quebec, with a waste and tailings area and ore processing facility.

9. Port of Montreal expansion

Proponent: Port of MontrealLocation: Northeast of the Island of MontrealDescription: Project to expand the port’s capacity. The federal government has picked this project in the “national interest,” saying it’s key to “meet growing demand and diversify trade routes” in eastern Canada. Some local residents and experts argue the plan is harmful to the environment and public health.

10. Mactaquac Life Achievement project

Proponent: New Brunswick Power Corp.Location: Central New BrunswickDescription: Refurbishment to extend lifespan of New Brunswick’s largest hydro dam. In June, the province granted the New Brunswick Power Corp. permission to proceed with the project after a two-year environmental assessment. New Brunswick Power spokesperson Elizabeth Fraser told The Narwhal the organization “continues to look at opportunities to work with both the provincial and federal governments for funding opportunities” to help support the project.

11. Highway 101 twinning

Proponent: Province of Nova ScotiaLocation: Near Windsor, N.S.Description: Twinning a stretch of highway that has been stalled over a section that spans the Avon River. Some residents want to see a solution that allows for fish passage at the Avon River causeway.

12. Chignecto Isthmus resiliency project

Proponent: Provinces of New Brunswick and Nova ScotiaLocation: New Brunswick and Nova Scotia borderDescription: A new dyke system for a strip of land threatened by rising sea levels that is home to the only road and rail connection between the two provinces.

13. Wood Islands dredging

Proponent: Transport CanadaLocation: South shore of Prince Edward IslandDescription: Dredging to deepen the Wood Islands Harbour. Low tides have meant ferries have cancelled sailings and fishing vessels have had issues with the shallow water. Transport Canada said in October dredging is well on its way and expects to finish this year.

14: Dartmouth Cove infill

Proponent: 4197847 Nova Scotia Ltd.Location: HalifaxDescription: Proposal to infill part of Dartmouth Cove to provide more waterfront access and create land for development. In October, Halifax City Council voted to restrict the infill project following complaints about its potential to harm wildlife and block public access to the waterfront. Transport Canada recently approved an amended version of the plan.

15. Boat Harbour Remediation project

Proponent: Build Nova ScotiaLocation: Near Pictou, N.S.Description: Remediation of a harbour next to Pictou Landing First Nation, and expansion of an on-site waste facility to hold the hazardous industrial waste that is removed. The project was given the green light by Canada in January, subject to conditions that include measures to limit the effects on Pictou Landing and the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia. Build Nova Scotia declined comment to The Narwhal.

16. Regional assessment of offshore wind development in Nova Scotia

Proponent: Government of Nova ScotiaLocation: Off Nova Scotia’s eastern shoreDescription: This regional assessment was completed in January 2025 and recommended five potential wind energy areas, four off Nova Scotia’s eastern shore and a fifth northeast of Cape Breton. Since then, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has proposed hundreds of turbines to be built as part of a project called “Wind West.” The prime minister named the “Wind West Atlantic Energy” project as one of his potential national-interest proposals in September.

17: Cooper Cove Marine Terminal expansion

Proponent: Port of ArgentiaLocation: Town of Placentia, Nfld.Description: Expansion of a seaport, meant to increase cargo storage and speed up vessel loading. In 2023, the Trudeau government committed $38 million to this $100-million project.

The Narwhal requested comment from the proponents of all projects that have not yet been listed as in the “national interest.” The responses received have been included.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2025, at 1:38 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to correct a line stating the Port of Montreal expansion had been chosen by Prime Minister Mark Carney for fast-tracking under the One Canadian Economy Act, as it has only been identified for consideration for fast-tracking. It has also been updated to include comment from the federal government, received after publication time.

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Facing an “unprecedented demand for electricity” from industrial customers, the B.C. government is planning to make big changes to the rules for plugging into the provincial grid. New policies and legislation will prioritize power for natural resource sector projects — liquefied natural gas (LNG), mines and ports — while restricting access for AI and data centres and freezing out cryptocurrency operations entirely.

“B.C. will be the economic engine that drives a more independent Canadian economy — powered by clean energy, built through partnership with First Nations and driven by the hard work of British Columbians,” Premier David Eby said in a press release following the introduction of Bill 31 in the legislature on Monday. 

The Energy Statutes Amendment Act will make it possible for First Nations to purchase an ownership stake in the North Coast transmission line. The multiphase project, led by BC Hydro, will involve building new high voltage transmission lines between Prince George and Terrace — a distance of about 450 kilometres — and expanding or upgrading other electricity transmission infrastructure along the way. The third phase involves building 350 kilometres of high-voltage transmission line from Terrace to Bob Quinn Lake, near the Alaska border.The first two phases of the project are currently expected to cost $6 billion — up from an estimated $3 billion in 2023, according to the energy ministry. Phase 3 of the project does not yet have a price estimate.

Bill 31 will also give the province the power to set specific terms for certain industrial projects seeking access to electricity. This includes AI and data centres, cryptocurrency mining operations and facilities producing hydrogen for export. B.C.’s current ban on new cryptocurrency mines will be made permanent, while AI and data centres will have to compete for a limited amount of power, starting in January 2026.

Going forward, BC Hydro will allocate 300 megawatts for AI centres and 100 megawatts for data centres every two years, with preference for projects that improve data sovereignty, create local jobs and come from B.C. or Canadian firms, per the government’s press release. Further details will be laid out in regulations later this fall.

Green Party MLA Jeremy Valeriote decried the lack of detail contained in a bill that will give the government broad powers.“It’s déjà vu — the government is giving themselves unchecked authority, just like bills 14 and 15,” he said in a statement. “With no detail on this framework or the criteria for decision-making in Bill 31, we are concerned that the minister will be the one making these consequential determinations under the influence of friends or lobbyists.”

Bill 31: why this, why now

Bill 31 is the second piece of the legislation the B.C. government has introduced this year with the aim of pushing the transmission line forward. Bill 14, the Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act, passed this spring, exempting the North Coast transmission line and other renewable energy projects from environmental assessments. The new law put the BC Energy Regulator, a Crown corporation that oversees oil and gas operations, in charge of renewable energy projects as well as major new transmission lines.

‘Cutting corners’: B.C. takes next step to fast-track wind, North Coast transmission line projects

According to BC Hydro, the new transmission lines could affect as many as 101 private properties, including agricultural land. The North Coast transmission line would cut through traplines and woodlots, and cross waterways that include habitat for at-risk white sturgeon and fall within 200 metres of archeological sites.

Usually such a significant project would require a certificate from the B.C. Utilities Commission, confirming that it is needed and in the public interest. The commission’s reviews are public and can include submissions from stakeholders, First Nations and members of the public.

But the B.C. government believes the North Coast transmission line is in the public interest and does not want to wait for that to be confirmed via the commission, a process Eby said could take up to 18 months. Instead, the B.C. government intends to order the commission to issue a certificate for the project.

The North Coast transmission line will power energy-intensive industries, including LNG export terminals, along B.C.’s north coast. Photo: Province of B.C. / Flickr

“We are making the decision as a government that this is in our public interest,” Eby said. “We will be held accountable for that decision by voters. But to my mind, there is no debate with this. This transmission line will open up economic development in an entire region of our province … This will lift local communities out of poverty. This will create almost 10,000 jobs.”He likened the North Coast transmission line to “a big revenue machine for communities, families and government.”“It just needs to be plugged in,” Eby told reporters.

Valeriote called the North Coast transmission line “another public subsidy for resource extraction” and pointed out that few of the projects the line would supposedly service have even committed to moving forward.

“This government’s urge to label resource extraction in B.C. as ‘clean’ energy compared to others is like claiming the end of the guillotine is the end of capital punishment — it’s a change in the execution, not in the result,” Valeriote said in a statement.

B.C. government plans to make it cheaper for industries to connect to the grid

Not many people live in the corner of B.C. where the North Coast transmission line, capable of delivering 2,200 megawatts of electricity, will run. But companies keen to green their mining, LNG and hydrogen production operations are eager to get access to the electricity it will carry. When BC Hydro conducted a survey in 2023 to assess industrial demand for electricity in northwest B.C., companies pitched projects that could soak up nearly 5,000 megawatts of potential industrial load — about five times the capacity of the Site C dam, according to the government.“The North Coast transmission line is a nation-building project that will deliver clean electricity to power mines, to power our port expansions, to reduce emissions from LNG facilities, all in partnership with First Nations and communities,” Eby said. “It will mean major industrial connections for sectors like mining, natural gas and manufacturing are prioritized.”

The premier estimated the projects interested in connecting to the North Coast transmission line could add more than $9.8 billion to B.C.’s gross domestic product every year and generate $1 billion in revenues for the province. Electrifying what would otherwise be prolific polluters could also save two to three million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, Eby said.

An entire transmission line dedicated to powering industrial projects might seem like a very generous gift from the provincial government, but Eby plans to go further. In addition to building the North Coast transmission line, the B.C. government is planning to change the rules so industrial customers don’t have to pay the full charge currently levied for connecting to the power grid.

“Outdated rules make it too difficult and too costly for major projects to get to that final investment decision and make that decision to build and employ people and build our prosperity,” Eby said. “We intend to make it easier for companies to make that final decision by getting them access to clean, sustainable power at fair rates, without billions of dollars of upfront cost that can stifle investment.”

Premier David Eby says his government plans to change a rule that requires new industrial customers to pay for transmission infrastructure for projects that need more than about 150 megawatts of electricity. Photo: Marty Clemens / The Narwhal

The rule Eby referenced — known as tariff supplement 6 — requires new industrial customers seeking more than about 150 megawatts of power to pay the incremental costs of generating and transmitting the power that exceeds that threshold.The rule has been on BC Hydro’s books since 1991 and is based on the “cost of adding a new gas-fired generation plant” to BC Hydro’s roster. Tariff supplement 6 has rarely been applied. The Cedar LNG facility near Kitimat, B.C., was one of the first projects to trigger it. The facility will use 214 megawatts and recently received $200 million from the province to help cover the cost of the infrastructure and upgrades needed to link the project to B.C.’s power grid.

Docs reveal how much BC Hydro power new LNG and mining projects want. Who will pay for it?

Tariff supplement 6 is meant to protect other BC Hydro customers from being hit with higher electricity prices as a result of investments to serve large industrial customers. But a briefing note prepared for Eby in March 2024 concluded that requiring LNG, mining and other companies to pay those costs “could be prohibitive,” and that the province should consider a new approach “to balance industrial competitiveness with electrification in other sectors of the economy, all while keeping rates affordable.”The province is planning to tweak the transmission portion of tariff supplement 6 to make sure the costs aren’t prohibitive for industrial customers. Asked by The Narwhal what measures his government plans to take to ensure BC Hydro’s other ratepayers don’t see higher power bills as a result of that change, Eby pointed out that B.C. has historically had very low electricity rates.

“That benefit of having low [BC] Hydro rates is an advantage that we can leverage to grow our economy,” he said, adding that keeping rates affordable is a key priority for his government. 

“When you have a major investment — like Site C — that creates efficient capacity across the system, that cost is shared by all ratepayers. That will continue to be the case going forward.”

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.

Le biologiste Pierre Dumont a vécu à Montréal et travaillé dans les eaux autour de l’île pour la majeure partie de sa carrière, et pourtant, le fleuve Saint-Laurent reste encore plein de mystères pour lui. Il se spécialise en faune marine des basses terres du Saint-Laurent, ce qui inclut le chevalier cuivré, un poisson en péril qui n’existe qu’au Québec.

Ses frayères sont les eaux au sud du barrage Saint-Ours, qu’il rejoint grâce à une route commençant à l’embouchure du Saint-Laurent, continuant vers le sud pour retrouver la rivière Richelieu, puis empruntant une passe migratoire pour poissons (une structure composée de bassins en escaliers qui permet au poisson de contourner le barrage) construite en 2001.

« On ne sait pas s’il prend cette route à chaque année ou au deux ans. Mais, donc, j’ai 10 ou 12 ans, je descends le fleuve et j’arrive à Sorel. Qu’est-ce qui me dit de faire ça ? Je ne le sais pas. J’aimerais être poisson des fois pour le deviner », a dit Dumont. Alain Branchaud, un autre biologiste, décrit le chevalier cuivré comme un Québécois typique, oscillant entre les fêtes nationales. « Il hésite entre le 24 juin et le 1er juillet pour aller se reproduire … Si c’est un peu plus chaud, il va se reproduire plus à la Saint-Jean. Si l’eau est un peu plus froide, ça va être plus vers la fête du Canada », dit Branchaud, directeur général de SNAP Québec, la section provinciale de la Société pour la Nature et les Parcs du Canada.

Après la frai, les chevaliers cuivrés peuvent rester dans la rivière Richelieu ou retourner vers le Saint-Laurent où les herbiers sont une source d’alimentation. Ce poisson unique est équipé de molaires qui peuvent briser les coquilles des mollusques desquels il s’alimente dans les herbiers sous-marins situés dans les zones avec des courants doux.

Le chevalier cuivré est endémique au Québec servant en tant que source d’alimentation pour des communautés autochtones. Son habitat naturel et les herbiers qui l’alimentent au long du fleuve Saint-Laurent sont menacés par l’expansion du port, ce qui l’ajoute à une liste d’autres espèces en peril qui pourraient être affectées par le projet. Photo: Fournie par SNAP Québec

Ce garde-manger, et avec lui les habitats d’autres espèces menacées, telles que la rainette faux-grillon de l’Ouest, seraient endommagés par l’expansion proposée du Port de Montréal à Contrecoeur, une ville juste en dessous des 10,000 habitants, environ 40 kilomètres en aval de la métropole. Pendant des années, si ce n’est des décennies, l’Administration portuaire de Montréal a poussé un plan afin d’accroître leur capacité de 60 pourcent. Cette proposition a reçu un grand coup de pouce lorsque le 11 septembre, le premier ministre Mark Carney a annoncé que l’expansion du port pourrait être l’un des cinq projets d’infrastructure dont la mise en place serait accélérée grâce au Bureau des grands projets créée en juin, moment où le gouvernement a passé la Loi visant à bâtir le Canada à travers le projet de loi C-5. Cette recommandation positionnerait le projet comme étant d’intérêt national, promettant ainsi un examen fédéral dans les deux ans et tous les enjeux et conditions environnementales n’entrant en compte qu’après le feu vert.

Les travaux préparatoires dans la nouvelle zone terrestre du port sont censés commencer ce mois-ci, tandis que l’administration portuaire attend le permis de Pêche et Océans Canada pour débuter les travaux en zone aquatique. L’administration a reçu la nouvelle que la demande a été complétée le 28 août et devrait recevoir une réponse d’ici le 28 novembre.

La même journée où Carney dévoilait sa liste de grands projets, le Centre Québécois du Droit de l’Environnement a décidé de poursuivre le gouvernement fédéral en justice afin de remettre en question le bien-fondé de la loi C-5, déclarant que la législation donne au gouvernement des pouvoirs excessifs qui portent atteinte à la démocratie et à la protection de l’environnement. Selon Branchaud, si le permis de Pêche et Océans Canada est donné, SNAP Québec pense également poursuivre en justice le gouvernement fédéral pour avoir enfreint la Loi sur les espèces en péril, puisque le projet empiéterait sur l’habitat essentiel du chevalier cuivré. Le poisson a été inclus dans la Loi sur les espèces menacées du Québec en 1999, et a également été inscrit comme à risque sous la Loi sur les espèces en péril au niveau fédéral en 2007. En 2022, un rapport de Pêche et Océans Canada a montré qu’un rétablissement était possible grâce à un programme de frayage artificiel — bien qu’il soit dépendant du fait d’éviter ou réduire les menaces à ses habitats.

Le Port de Montréal est le port le plus grand de l’est du Canada, et l’Administration portuaire de Montréal a dedié des années à promouvoir son expansion. Un des arguments des défenseurs du project est que la capacité accrue est nécessaire parmi les perturbations commerciales avec les États-Unis. Photo: Christopher Katsarov Luna / The Canadian Press

Pour sa part, l’administration portuaire a déclaré que, pour le moment, vu qu’elle est en attente du permis de Pêche et Océans, il n’y a pas d’intention d’utiliser la Loi visant à bâtir le Canada pour contourner la loi environnementale. « Il n’y a pas de plan B, il n’y a qu’un plan A qui est de respecter le processus et la loi», un représentant de l’Administration portuaire de Montréal a dit lors d’une conférence de presse le 1er octobre.

L’expansion de Contrecoeur permettrait l’entrée et sortie additionnelle de ce qui serait plus d’un million de conteneurs maritimes de taille standard, par an. C’est une affaire dont le coût s’estime à $2.3 billions qui proviendront en partie du gouvernement fédéral et provincial, leurs parts respectives étant de $150 millions et $130 millions (le reste du financement n’a pas de source claire attribuée).Cependant, des groupes environnementaux comme SNAP tout comme des experts en affaires questionnent le besoin même de l’expansion, vu que les quais bondés de la fin de la pandémie sont maintenant de l’histoire ancienne et le nombre d’importations continue de baisser. En 2024, 4.8 pourcent de conteneurs en moins que l’année précédente étaient gérés dans le Port de Montréal, le plus grand dans l’est du Canada. Un des arguments de la part du premier ministre québécois François Legault et d’autres défenseurs est que la capacité accrue est nécessaire pour diversifier les marchés parmi les perturbations commerciales avec les États-Unis.

Le chevalier cuivré a vu son habitat être transformé par les humains pendant des siècles et ne tient qu’à un fil

Un scientifique et pêcheur de Montréal fut le premier à mettre l’attention du gouvernement fédéral sur le chevalier cuivré en 1942. Bien avant ça, le poisson était déjà important pour les communautés autochtones de la région. « Depuis les années 1950 la limite de la communauté vis-à-vis des impacts cumulatifs sur les droits de pêche autochtones dans le fleuve Saint-Laurent a été dépassée. Plusieurs de ces impacts et ceux d’autres projets qui seront certainement liés au projet à Contrecoeur iront s’ajouter à l’impact existant sur la qualité de l’eau, les milieux humides, les poissons et leurs habitats », a déclaré le Conseil Mohawk de Kahnawà:ke dans une lettre à propos de la proposition d’expansion du port adressée à l’agence gouvernementale s’occupant des évaluations environnementales en 2019.

La lettre disait que le Kaniatarowanenne, ou le fleuve Saint-Laurent, est important pour les Mohawks depuis la nuit des temps. Le chevalier cuivré n’est qu’un des aliments que la rivière offre, nous dit la lettre, de même que la sauvagine, l’anguille, l’esturgeon, le doré jaune et les moules. Des siècles de dégradation environnementale et de développement ont pollué le Saint-Laurent et ses tributaires, dit-elle encore, rendant la pêche et la récolte dangereuses et enfreignant les droits constitutionnels des Mohawks, résidents de Kahnawà:ke — juste au sud de Montréal — inclus.

Une illustration de l’artist Ghislain Caron pour l’etiquette de Rescousse, une bière lancée en 1998 pour une campagne de levée de fonds pour le chevalier cuivré. Le développement et la dégradation environnementale dans le fleuve Saint-Laurent et la region de Montréal ont contribués au déclin du poisson. Photo: Fournie par SNAP Québec

Aucune des trois Premières Nations qui furent consultées sur la proposition a accepté d’être interviewée par The Narwhal, mais dans sa lettre, le conseil a souligné que les dégâts de dragage aux herbiers qui servent d’alimentation au chevalier cuivré ne sont qu’une parmi de nombreuses inquiétudes soulevées par Kahnawà:ke à propos du projet. En juin, le grand chef de Kahnawà:ke Cody Diabo est allé à Ottawa pour protester contre la loi C-5, et a dit à l’APTN que Carney a refusé sa demande pour une rencontre.

Les scientifiques expliquent que la baisse du nombre de chevaliers cuivrés est sûrement dû à une confluence de facteurs : l’agriculture qui répand des pesticides et des herbicides dans les eaux, des activités sportives en plus grand nombre dans les espaces de reproduction ainsi que le développement. Les préparatifs de Montréal pour l’exposition universelle Expo 67 ont aussi radicalement modifié le paysage, comprennant des excavations, des remblayages et l’utilisation du DDT, un pesticide qui depuis a été banni au Canada. Des fouilles archéologiques ont découvert des restes de chevalier cuivré dans des sites de préparation alimentaire autochtones et à une auberge du Vieux Montréal, ajoutant la pêche aux possibles facteurs de stress.

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Branchaud voit cette liste comme une suite de coups individuels qui ont été reçus : un coup vous mettrait en colère, puis un deuxième vous déstabiliserait et un troisième pourrait vous mettre KO. « Le chevalier cuivré, on est rendu à 123 coups de bâton sur cette population, on ne peut pas se permettre d’en donner un autre », a-t-il dit.

En 2021, Pêche et Océans Canada a donné à l’Administration portuaire de Montréal une liste de 330 conditions pour que l’expansion soit approuvée. Parmi celles-ci, l’administration portuaire doit compenser pour les herbiers détruits par le projet, un superficie que l’administration planifie doubler. Le travail de dragage qui fera des dommages à l’habitat essentiel du chevalier cuivré est censé commencer en 2027, même si l’Administration portuaire affirme que l’établissement fructueux d’herbiers compensatoires à l’Île aux Boeufs, soit 25 kilomètres en amont de la rivière, viendra en priorité.

« On pourra développer, durant un an et demi à deux ans, tous les travaux compensatoires pour rattacher le chevalier cuivré aux nouveaux herbiers. … Il y a deux choses qu’on regarde. C’est sa performance et sa propagation », a dit Paul Bird, le directeur commercial de l’Administration portuaire lors d’une conférence de presse en début octobre.

Dans un rapport d’avis scientifique de 2021, publié par SNAP Québec, quatre scientifiques se sont opposés à l’expansion proposée à Contrecoeur par peur qu’elle mène à l’extinction du chevalier cuivré. Ils disent que les conséquences néfastes du projet sont sous-estimées et les bénéfices tirés des mesures de compensation comme au mieux hypothétiques. La valeur du remplacement des habitats de poisson est questionnée ailleurs au Canada également : en Colombie Britannique, des scientifiques estiment qu’un manque d’entretien fait entrave au succès.

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La construction et le dragage du Saint-Laurent feraient aussi une sédimentation et perturberait les contaminants enfouis dans les profondeurs, y compris des composés de butylétain — des perturbateurs endocriniens qui pourraient porter atteinte au cycle reproductif déjà compliqué du poisson. Il n’y a que quelques centaines de spécimens connus de l’espèce de chevalier unique à cette partie très occupée du Saint-Laurent et quelques-uns de ses tributaires, des eaux pour lesquelles Branchaud est en première ligne de défense. En 1998, il a fait partie d’un effort concluant pour changer le nom du poisson de suceur cuivré à chevalier cuivré — une refonte qui a connu son succès grâce à une attention médiatique accrue, ou encore des campagnes de levées de fonds, telles que le lancement d’une bière appelée Rescousse avec le poisson sur son étiquette.

Branchaud croît que l’expansion du port arrive à un moment où le chevalier cuivré est déjà aux soins intensifs. Il voit la proposition de restituer une partie de l’habitat essentiel comme étant tellement grande qu’elle pourrait finir par nuire à d’autres espèces sans réellement apporter une contribution de taille à la protection du poisson menacé.  Lors de la conférence de presse, un représentant de l’Administration portuaire de Montréal a déclaré : « On vise à intervenir sur 0.9 hectares, l’équivalent d’un terrain de soccer d’herbier. L’habitat complet du chevalier cuivré, il fait plusieurs milliers d’hectares ».

Branchaud est en désaccord. « Imagine que l’habitat du chevalier cuivré est une personne. Les différentes parties de l’habitat essentiel seraient le cœur et le cerveau. Est-ce que tu accepterais de te faire enlever un petit bout de cœur ? Et ne sois pas inquiet, nous allons t’en greffer un autre, disons dans le dos », a-t-il dit … « [Le représentant] n’est pas scientifique et ne comprend pas ces concepts ».

Le chevalier cuivré est difficile à voir dans son habitat naturel, dû à son déclin. À gauche, un biologiste tient un poisson dans une station de recherche; à droite, un pêcheur tient un poisson sauvage qui sera relâché. Photos: Fournies par SNAP Québec (gauche) et Darian Savage (droite)

Les habitants de Contrecoeur ont d’autres inquiétudes vis-à-vis l’expansion du port, ayant créé le groupe et site web de Vigie Citoyenne Port de Contrecoeur/Montérégie. Leurs soucis par rapport à leur qualité de vie comprennent environ 1,200 camions lourds qui passeraient à travers la ville quotidiennement, ainsi que la perte de 20,000 arbres et 675 mètres de littoral.

Le gouvernement municipal a affirmé sa volonté de voir le projet aboutir, citant le gain économique.  « Cependant, le plus important à cette étape-ci est que le projet se réalise dans les règles, sans compromettre l’environnement naturel et la qualité de vie des Contrecoeurois. Nous prenons au sérieux notre rôle, et tenons à rassurer les citoyens que la Ville veille au grain », a-t-il dit à The Narwhal dans un courriel.

Au-delà de la protection du poisson endémique, auquel il a déjà dédié une partie considérable de sa carrière, une des inquiétudes principales de Branchaud est que l’accélération de ce projet ainsi que d’autres avec la loi C-5 pourraient esquiver les lois environnementales, même si l’administration portuaire dit que ce n’est pas le cas pour l’instant. Pour le biologiste, ceci irait en contre des valeurs concrétisées en loi à travers la Loi sur les espèces menacées en 2002.

« On est entré avec la nouvelle loi, on s’est donné la possibilité de contourner tout le cadre législatif environnemental du pays, bâti sur plus de 150 ans », a dit Branchaud. « La loi visant à bâtir le Canada pourrait éventuellement devenir la loi ayant détruit le Canada, non seulement au sens propre de détruire des éléments de notre patrimoine naturel mais aussi détruire toute cette démocratie-là qu’on a construite ».

The Narwhal’s reporters are telling environment stories you won’t read about anywhere else. Stay in the loop by signing up for our free weekly dose of independent journalism.