On Monday July 20th a crowd that included local politicians, labour reps, and employers gathered in Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh’s BCR site to hear Enbridge’s executive vice-president of gas transmission, Matthew Akman, and CEO of Enbridge, Greg Ebel, announce the initiation of their $4 Billion dollar Sunrise Expansion Program. The project will install pipeline expansion loops in our region approximately between McLeod Lake and Hixon. The executives were flanked on-stage by Lheidli T’enneh Chief, Dolleen Logan, Federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson, and BC Minister of Jobs and Economic Development, Ravi Kahlon who welcomed the news.
That much investment in the pre-existing Westcoast Transmission System brought a lot of attention, with Ministers of this stature rarely making joint visits to our region. It also promises to bring a lot of opportunities and tax revenue to the area, including a $3 Billion estimated GDP growth for the country at large. Obstacles were navigated to bring the project to this point, and not just in terms of regulations and logistics, which were overcome with relative haste. To that effect, Minister Hodgson stated, “The Sunrise Expansion project has gone from approval to groundbreaking in just three months, showing how in 2026 Canada has gone from delay to delivery,”
Enbridge has had difficulty gaining traction in the area since its Northern Gateway Pipeline Proposal was cancelled in 2016, and a gas pipeline the company operates ruptured in 2018, 15km from Prince George’s city centre, in Shelley, that resulted in a fireball visible from several kilometres away. These trials have been handled with fortuitous results, but some questions remain.
Looking past local ecological impacts, or climate change factors that go along with fossil fuels, and the Woodfibre LNG facility incorporated into the greater pipeline network’s net-zero feature, the risks that “man camps” associated with industrial projects of this nature bring into communities are now on the company’s radar. Enbridge developed a Community Gender Safety (CAGS) Plan for the project in an attempt to address and mitigate the impacts that a temporary influx of working men can bring into a community. The plan fosters increased cultural awareness, incorporates human trafficking prevention, and outlines codes of conduct, among other aspects that intend to create respect for community policies.
Human resources are another challenge the project and community face, with an estimated 1,300 local jobs to fill. The timing of Enbridge’s announcement follows Canfor’s announcement of the Northwood Pulpmill closure by mere days. That closure represents about 300 layoffs, and hope has been expressed by Ministers in attendance at the BCR stockyard that a labour transition can occur between the two entities. When it comes to upskilling that cohort, or training a new workforce locally, the College of New Caledonia is the obvious choice for education. That institution made over 100 cuts to its workforce over the last two years though. To that end BC Minister Ravi Kahlon expressed, “Quite frankly the thing that stresses me out most from all the economic development, is how are we going to train enough people up for those opportunities.” The College had already taken advantage of the province’s doubling of trades funding amidst its cuts, but Federal Team Canada Strong funding Minister Kahlon referenced sounds promising.
While signatures now adorn a section of the 42” diameter pipe, and tires currently turn towards Minister Hodgson’s vision of Canada becoming an energy superpower, little Prince George–Lheidli T’enneh lays in the middle of a path where big interests shape a big picture.
