B.C. premier defends new LNG pipeline with terminus near Prince Rupert
Project is a joint venture between the Nisga'a Nation and Texas-based Western LNG, opposed by hereditary chief
B.C. Premier David Eby is defending the provincial government's approval to continue construction on a new pipeline project that will supply natural gas to a proposed floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal north of Prince Rupert, saying his government would not turn away investment in the province.
The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project is a joint venture between the Nisga'a Nation and Texas-based Western LNG to supply natural gas to the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG facility, a project the province says is still undergoing environmental assessment.
"The Ksi Lisims project is an Indigenous-owned project led by the Nisga'a Nation. They are a treaty nation that has control over their jurisdiction," Eby said, speaking from Seoul, South Korea, as he nears the end of his 10-day trade mission to Asia.
"They have a vision for economic growth in the area, for their people, which includes selling B.C. resources into the Asian market, where I am right now."
The Nisga'a Nation and Western LNG say the Ksi Lisims project would be a floating production facility capable of producing 12 million tonnes of LNG per year.
The project faces opposition from several environmental groups and the Gitanyow hereditary chiefs, who argue it will have negative environmental consequences, including a risk to important salmon habitat.
Tara Marsden, sustainability director for the Gitanyow hereditary chiefs, previously told CBC News there are concerns about Western LNG's financial backing from Blackstone Inc.
Blackstone is a major American asset manager whose CEO publicly endorsed U.S. President Donald Trump and contributed to his election campaign — with Marsden saying the investment undermines any notion that the project is needed to push back against Trump's tariff threats.
CBC News asked Eby whether the bulk of the profits from the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project would enrich a U.S. company.
"We're not in the business of turning away investment in British Columbia," the premier responded. "Especially investment that assists us in diversifying our customers for our resources and allows us to get a higher price for those resources."
The pipeline was first approved in 2014 under the ownership of Calgary-based TC Energy Corp, when it was meant to supply the now-cancelled Pacific NorthWest LNG terminal spearheaded by Malaysian energy giant Petronas.
It was purchased by the Nisga'a Nation and Western LNG in 2024 under their revised proposal for the Ksi Lisims facility.
Eby says he wants to work with Alberta
Eby was also asked Monday about comments from Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who said she could convince him to drop his opposition to a second crude oil pipeline from Alberta to B.C.'s North Coast.
"I'm not the one who stands between Premier Smith and a pipeline to the coast. There's no proponent, there's no money, there's no project right now," Eby said.
"In the event that Premier Smith is successful in assembling those things, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week he supports "nation-building projects," including a possible decarbonized oil pipeline — if he can find consensus among the premiers.
Eby said companies in South Korea that he's talking to are focused on bringing in hydrogen.
He said that would involve Alberta using blue hydrogen, and B.C. exporting green hydrogen, which he said would aid in carbon transition.
"I'm happy to talk to Premier Smith about our shared goals of increasing prosperity, about uniting the country," he told reporters.
"Focusing on a project that currently does not exist, and focusing on our differences rather than where we can work together, is not the spirit."
Eby travelled from Malaysia to Seoul where he met with officials from conglomerates like Hyundai and Samsung as well as the Canadian ambassador to South Korea.
His trade mission to Asia, a bid to diversify the province's trading relationships amid the tariff war with the U.S., will wrap up Tuesday.
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With files from Andrew Kurjata and The Canadian Press