CALGARY — Alberta’s proposed one-million-barrel-a-day oil pipeline to the West Coast officially has a new name, Pacific Link, and has been designated a project of national interest—even though questions remain over its financing and a majority of Indigenous communities consulted said they weren’t prepared to support the designation. 

The decision by the federal cabinet, coming less than three weeks before Albertans vote on whether to hold an independence referendum, gives the pipeline a crucial green light, shifting Ottawa’s regulatory focus from whether the pipeline should be built to how it will proceed.

“Canada will remain a country of high standards, but high standards do not require slow decisions,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday at a news conference in Fort McMurray, Alta. “In a more volatile, dangerous and divided world, speed, certainty and predictability are competitive advantages.

“Now we’re making our position clear at the beginning of the process rather than at the end.”

Details revealed by federal officials on Thursday outline how the project, estimated to cost between $35.2 billion and $43.7 billion, will transition from an Alberta-led proposal to a joint federal-provincial venture. Federally-owned Trans Mountain and the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission, a provincial Crown corporation, will equally divide the majority of equity. Private pipeline company Pembina Pipeline will hold a 10 per cent interest through construction, with the option to acquire another 10 per cent once the pipeline is in service. At least a 10 per cent stake will be offered to Indigenous investors.

Trans Mountain is expected to lead development for the roughly 1,250-kilometre pipeline from near Bruderheim, Alta., to a new marine terminal at Roberts Bank, near Delta, B.C.

Cabinet’s national interest designation, however, does not guarantee that Pacific Link will be built. Ottawa aims to finalize a set of federal conditions governing the project by Sept. 1, 2027, while Pacific Link’s proponents work to firm up engineering, costs and commercial arrangements. Carney said that a “decision to go forward” will depend on the federal conditions, the project’s economics and other factors.

In a briefing held before Carney spoke, federal officials said Ottawa and Alberta expect to spend roughly $4 billion over the next 11 months on planning and preparations, including finalizing the route, conducting engineering and environmental studies and consulting with Indigenous communities. Trans Mountain will also gauge interest among oil producers in committing barrels to the new pipeline, said the officials, who provided the briefing on condition they not be named, with an open season expected to begin in the spring.

Cabinet’s decision came despite complaints from Indigenous communities they had too little information about the pipeline to reach an informed decision on whether to support the national interest designation. One government official described it as a “catch-22,” in which communities wanted more detail, yet also wished to be involved early enough to provide input that could shape the project.

Ultimately, cabinet concluded that delaying its decision “would not have resulted in additional project information coming forward, and would have been contrary to the public interest in advancing the project’s potential benefits at the earliest opportunity,” according to an explanatory note that accompanied the decision.

The Major Projects Office held more than 140 meetings with representatives of 110 Indigenous communities and organizations between July 3 and Sept. 18, according to the federal government. Officials acknowledged the timeframe wasn’t ideal, with consultations falling during a period when several communities were affected by wildfire.

Carney, however, said at Thursday’s conference that the national interest designation means “the real work begins in rolling up sleeves and having those consultations,” adding: “We will very much draw on Indigenous knowledge and perspectives on the environmental consultations and the solutions and mitigation efforts.”

Ottawa is betting a new route to Asian markets will spur another boom in oilsands growth, citing estimates that it could generate as much as $81 billion in pipeline and upstream investment, and as many as 144,000 jobs at peak construction. 

Pacific Link could also generate roughly $20 billion a year in additional export revenues, officials said, citing Royal Bank of Canada estimates, while alleviating Canada’s continued heavy reliance on the U.S. for roughly 90 per cent of its crude exports.

“The oilsands are part of Canada’s once-in-a-generation opportunity to become a global energy superpower, to transform our economy, to diversify our trade, to achieve greater strategic autonomy, so we can continue to live our lives as we choose,” Carney said.

Financing for the megaproject has not yet been finalized, though. Ottawa and Alberta are still sorting out funding commitments for Pacific Link’s development phase, and “a credible plan to finance the full construction of the project is being developed,” according to the federal background note. Pacific Link was included in the recent Canada Investment Summit’s pitch book of projects seeking investors.

Government officials said the $4 billion in public dollars that will be spent over the next few months in development costs will ultimately be recovered through pipeline tolls if the project proceeds. Pressed Thursday on the decision to back the project with public dollars, Carney gave a blunt response: “The Canadian taxpayer is going to make a lot of money off this pipeline.”