B.C. Premier David Eby, left, shakes hands with Nisga'a Nation President Eva Clayton, centre, in Vancouver on Tuesday.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
The leader of the Nisga’a Nation in northwest British Columbia is touting economic reconciliation after a liquefied natural gas project on the Indigenous group’s territory gained approvals from the B.C. and federal governments.
The Nisga’a, U.S.-based Western LNG and a group of natural gas producers named Rockies LNG are partners in the Ksi Lisims LNG project near Gitlaxt’aamiks, which is home to the elected Nisga’a Lisims government.
“This is what reconciliation looks like: A modern treaty Nation once on the sidelines of our economy, now leading a project that will help write the next chapter of a stronger, more resilient Canada,” Eva Clayton, elected president of the Nisga’a Lisims government, said in a statement on Tuesday.
She made the comment one day after the B.C. and federal governments announced that they have conditionally approved the LNG venture.
Ksi Lisims will require up to 800 workers at the peak of construction and will hire about 250 people during regular operations.
“We have a lot of work still left to do,” Ms. Clayton said during a news conference with B.C. Premier David Eby in Vancouver. “Together, we can do it because Canadians do matter.”
Mr. Eby characterized LNG exports to Asia as a crucial way for Canada to diversify its economy and reduce reliance on the United States.
TotalEnergies signs LNG deal as B.C. project’s pipeline costs soar to $12-billion
He said that while U.S. President Donald Trump has been promoting Alaska LNG as a potential venture to supply Asian markets, B.C. is well positioned with Ksi Lisims.
“We are not going to stand by and let this opportunity pass us,” Mr. Eby said.
Production facilities are scheduled to be opened on Pearse Island in Nisga’a territory by 2029, with other vessels exporting LNG to Asia.
The construction costs alone for Ksi Lisims are expected to total $10-billion, including two floating liquefaction platforms to be built in South Korea.
The project plans call for construction of the 750-kilometre Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline project that would transport natural gas from northeast B.C. to Pearse Island. The capital costs of the natural gas pipeline could reach $12-billion.
Gitanyow hereditary chiefs and several Gitxsan Nation leaders have opposed the contentious pipeline route, which would cross their traditional territories. Other Indigenous groups such as the Kitsumkalum First Nation also have expressed concerns about the pipeline.
In mid-2024, the Nisga’a and Houston-based Western acquired the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project from Calgary-based TC Energy Corp.
Western’s backers include an affiliate of Blackstone Inc., the New York-based investment management company.
“Ksi Lisims LNG is exactly the kind of development Canada’s new government is championing, advancing and approving,” federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson said in a statement.
B.C. gives conditional approval for LNG project backed by Nisga’a Nation
B.C. Environment Minister Tamara Davidson and B.C. Energy Minister Adrian Dix have issued an environmental assessment certificate for Ksi Lisims, imposing 23 legally enforceable conditions.
Those conditions include a greenhouse gas emissions plan by Ksi Lisims and having the project eventually connect to BC Hydro.
BC Hydro is proposing the North Coast transmission project, in collaboration with First Nations, that would run along the existing route of its B.C. line between Prince George and Terrace, but the venture could take a decade to complete.
In 2023, the federal government designated B.C.’s environmental regulator to lead the review of Ksi Lisims, in collaboration with the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.
Julie Dabrusin, the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, issued a statement shortly after the B.C. government’s announcement, saying she gave the green light to Ksi Lisims.
The B.C. and federal governments are now more supportive of energy investments than in the past, but there will be construction cost pressures faced by Ksi Lisims, Scotia Capital Inc. analysts said in a research note.
Environmentalists and climate activists criticized the decisions to approve Ksi Lisims.
“LNG locks us into decades of emissions and every approval pushes B.C.’s emissions targets further out of reach,” Wilderness Committee climate campaigner Isabel Siu-Zmuidzinas said in a news release.
The Lax Kw’alaams Band in northwest B.C. has cited climate concerns, expressing skepticism about the goal of net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases from Ksi Lisims.
Ksi Lisims, which plans to make a final investment decision by the end of this year, is aiming to become Canada’s second-largest facility for exporting LNG.
Shell PLC-led LNG Canada’s Phase 1 terminal in Kitimat, B.C., has an export capacity of 14 million tonnes a year, while Ksi Lisims plans to ship 12 million tonnes annually.
LNG Canada began shipping the fuel to Asia from Kitimat in June, when it became the country’s first LNG export terminal.
Shell and LNG Canada’s four other co-owners are expected to make a final investment decision in 2026 on whether to proceed with a Phase 2 expansion.