‘Brace for impact:’ B.C. town prepares for life with one of Carney’s major projects

Debate heats up in B.C. over the economic, job, and environmental impacts of the nation-building projects. Andrew Johnson reports.

TERRACE, B.C. -- In the heart of LNG and mining investment territory, Terrace B.C., Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday unveiled his latest list of nation building projects being given high federal priority.

Two of those projects – the North Coast Transmission Line and Ksi Lisims LNG will have a direct impact on Terrace, a town poised for decades of growth.

“We’re super excited to be a part of growing the economy in the country, but we can’t leave Terrace behind,” said Mayor Sean Bujtas, who met with Carney privately after his speech. “We have to make sure we take care of Terrace.”

Bujtas says he told Carney his community is going to need federal help navigating growing pains.

“All this economic activity is around our community, but it’s not inside our community,” Bujtas said. “We don’t receive the taxation from these jobs, but we do receive the impacts – so we’ve got to support this town that’s going to grow, and brace for all this impact.”

BC Hydro’s new transmission line will double the amount of electricity flowing into northwestern British Columbia, enough to power new mines and energy projects. It will stretch from Prince George to Terrace. Construction is set to begin in summer 2026.

Ksi Lisims LNG, the proposed floating export facility near Prince Rupert, could create hundreds of permanent jobs. That comes on top of the economic lift generated by the LNG Canada facility in Kitimat, about 40 minutes south of Terrace, which could soon expand and double its capacity.

Hereditary chiefs dissent

Ksi Lisims is being partially led by the Nisga’a nation, but other local First Nations leaders are opposed to the LNG project, citing environmental risks and saying key public services are already strained.

“We don’t have enough doctors, we don’t have enough nurses, we don’t have enough caretakers,” said Gitanyow Hereditary Chief Watahayetsxw. “Yet we’re talking LNG and transmission lines.”

Watahayetsxw is vowing to fight – threatening to set up a blockade if Ksi Lisims pipeline construction goes ahead. “If the Canadians don’t want to protect the environment, and they don’t want to protect health, then we’ll do it,” she said.

It promises to be a very active next decade in northwestern British Columbia, with its proximity to Asian markets seeking new energy sources, at a time Canada is eager to satisfy new customers who are not the U.S.