A 1 million b/d pipeline to British Columbia's coast became Canada's first designated project of national interest on Thursday, giving the proposed West Coast Pacific Link oil pipeline a single regulatory review track and a projected startup of at least 2032.

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the designation in Fort McMurray alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. "This is an important day for Alberta, and for Canada," Carney said.

The pipeline would move Alberta crude to terminals on the B.C. coast from the Athabasca oil sands region, which Carney described as holding the fourth-largest oil reserves in the world. "There's more than three-and-a-half million barrels of oil that leave here every day to markets around the world, bringing home more than $40 billion to the Canadian economy every year," the prime minister said.

The federal government expects the project to add $30 billion to Canada's GDP annually once complete. Ottawa pegs capital costs between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion.

Premier Smith framed the economics in employment and royalty terms. "Pacific Link has the potential to connect Canadian energy to growing global markets, attract billions in investment, create up to 140,000 jobs in Alberta, British Columbia and across Canada, and help people across the country capture more of the value of our natural resources," she said.

"The tens of billions that Alberta's government will collect in royalty revenue while the pipeline is operational means more revenue to support the schools and hospitals and essential services that Albertans rely on."

Regulatory path

The designation places Pacific Link under Schedule 1 of the Building Canada Act. That triggers a single regulatory review process rather than parallel approvals, with provisions to identify and mitigate issues before the review formally begins.

The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) will support the review, which the government says will run over the next year and consult stakeholders on project conditions. Ottawa's Major Projects Office aims to finalize those conditions by next September.

Trans Mountain Corporation, the government-owned operator of the existing Edmonton-to-Burnaby pipeline, will lead project development.

Ownership splits evenly between the federal and Alberta governments at 45% each. The remaining 10% stake goes to Indigenous communities, financed through government loan guarantee programs.

Political friction

The Bloc Québécois signaled it will contest the designation. Environment critic Patrick Bonin said the listing lets Ottawa sidestep its own rules.

"With this designation, the Liberals will now be able to bypass their own environmental laws to fast-track their pipeline project of over 1,200 km, which could cross more than 1,000 waterways," Bonin said in a statement issued in French.

The Conservatives, through immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner in comments made earlier this week, said the party would press for details on construction timelines and costs.

Business Council of Canada president and CEO Goldy Hyder welcomed the announcement. "To invest with confidence in Canada, investors need certainty. Today's announcement delivers it," he said.

"A new pipeline to the West Coast would attract investment and support wealth creation through employment and higher government revenues. The project would also support the country's goals to diversify trade, preserve economic security, bolster competitiveness and ensure that Canada receives fair value for its energy products."

Watch item

The project remains pre-FID. The CER-backed review must conclude and Ottawa's Major Projects Office must finalize conditions by September before construction scheduling and firm cost estimates take shape. The stated startup window of at least 2032 — seven years out against a line-item cost approaching $44 billion — leaves ample room for revision.