As part of a planned C$150 billion infrastructure investment plan to support greater trade with Asia the Canadian Federal Government “will support $10 billion in major infrastructure upgrades to expand capacity at the Roberts Bank Terminal.”
Announcing the “Canada-British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement” Prime Minister Mark Carney said government plans to “catalyse over $150 billion in new investment while advancing our trade agenda across Asia. In all cases, British Columbia is the lynchpin – the gateway to a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive Canada.”
Noting that G7 leaders have called on Canada to provide reliable energy, Carney said Canada must “do things differently” to seize current opportunities. “We need to move faster, build bigger, and work together. We must be ambitious, while building sustainably and inclusively.”
The Canada-British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement is designed to “accelerate the construction of new transportation corridors and the expansion of existing routes” to get Canada’s products to market, starting with LNG. The Federal Government will work with the private sector to “accelerate the permitting, financing, and construction of major LNG projects in B.C. This will include LNG Canada, Ksi Lisims, the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Project, Cedar, and Woodfibre.
Other investments include C$500m to expand copper output from the Red Chris Mine, a North Coast Transmission line to support industry, including wind energy projects, and creating a new conservation area “the size of Greece” pursuant to a commitment to preserve 30% of Canada as a designated conservation area by 2030.
Second box terminal at Deltaport
At Vancouver, Carney noted that the port “moves $1 billion in trade every single day with 170 countries, and more cargo than the next five largest Canadian ports combined. But success is now straining capacity, and bottlenecks are worsening. Ships wait to load their cargo. It takes too long to get imported goods to Canadians. That slows our trade, loses new business to the U.S., increases prices here at home, and holds our economy back,” he said.
As part of Canada’s “mission” to double its non-US exports over the next decade the Government of Canada will support C$10 billion in major infrastructure upgrades to expand capacity at the Roberts Bank Terminal, otherwise known as Deltaport. “This will unlock over $100 billion in new trade capacity and add approximately C$3 billion to Canada’s economy every year,” Carney said.
Expanding Roberts Bank is a controversial initiative as the entire terminal development will be an infill development in the Delta area. Around 450 acres of new land needs to be created to develop a three-berth container terminal with a capacity of 2.4m TEU per annum.
The development received regulatory approval in 2023, which was upheld when environmental groups appealed the decision through the courts. Carney said the conditions for the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 expansion will include “detailed measures to protect the habitats of killer whales”.
As far as is known, Roberts Bank 2 is still awaiting a final authorisation under a Species at Risk Act (SARA)-compliant Fisheries Act Authorisation. A final decision from the Canadian government is expected by October 2026. At this stage construction work is scheduled to start in 2028.
