Ottawa to contribute up to $3B to replace Massey Tunnel in B.C.

Motorists exit and enter the George Massey Tunnel in Richmond, B.C., on Friday, August 20, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The British Columbia government says it has secured up to $3 billion in funding from the federal government to replace the aging George Massey Tunnel.

The deal was announced Thursday as part of a multibillion-dollar investment package unveiled in Vancouver by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier David Eby.

The new eight-lane tunnel under the Fraser River connecting Richmond and Delta via Highway 99 is projected to cost approximately $4.15 billion.

“The Massey Tunnel replacement will improve a critical transportation corridor that people rely on every single day,” Eby told reporters at a news conference where the two leaders outlined federal investments in multiple projects under a memorandum of understanding between the two governments.

Last month, the B.C. government terminated its contract with a consortium it had selected to design and build the new river crossing, but insisted the project was still on track.

The province had been working with the Cross Fraser Partnership group since September 2024. The government announced on June 15 it was ending the contract despite what it said had been “significant progress” on the project.

Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth said B.C. had received “good value from the contractor” and made headway with the design, but the province was taking the project back to a competitive process to seek the best value for taxpayers.

Carney said Thursday the tunnel replacement will help unlock billions of dollars in new investment in B.C. as part of the broader memorandum of understanding with the province.

“British Columbia is the linchpin, the gateway, to a more prosperous, more sustainable and more inclusive Canada,” the prime minister said, estimating the partnership would bring more than $150 billion in new investment to the province.

The memorandum of understanding includes maintaining an oil tanker ban on B.C.’s northern coast, while acknowledging the province does not have the authority to block a new oil pipeline from Alberta.

The agreement says B.C. will be compensated for environmental risks if Ottawa forces a pipeline through B.C.

“We will not be going to court to fight a pipeline project,” Eby said.

The agreement also allocates $3.5 billion in federal funds for the North Coast Transmission Line to deliver electricity to communities and projects in northern B.C., and a $10-billion upgrade of the Roberts Bank container export terminal in Delta.