Why the B.C. port announcement was about much more than ports

The Carney government's latest whirlwind of infrastructure announcements came to B.C. Thursday.

On the surface, a Thursday-morning news conference in Delta, B.C., was just another government infrastructure announcement featuring MLAs, MPs, and assorted stakeholders hopeful a long-considered port expansion would finally become reality.

But the event was as much about assuring Metro Vancouver residents that the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (RBT2) plan would be environmentally responsible and economically rewarding as it was reiterating the message to domestic and international businesspeople that Canada is open for business and keen to pivot away from overreliance on the United States.

Mark Carney and his lieutenants have been promoting the goal of doubling non-U.S. trade since the fall, and his transportation minister, the local MP, and the CEO of the Port of Vancouver all focused on that message—as well as the notion that Canada is a safe and predictable place to do business.

“RBT2 will strengthen Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading nation, attract private investment, create good jobs,” promised Transportation Minister Steve McKinnon, who invoked “non-U.S. trade” several times during the event.

The prime minister, premiers, and top-level cabinet ministers have been criss-crossing the globe on trade missions and meeting with foreign dignitaries and businesspeople in pursuit of that goal. All signs point to them finding an eager audience with similar goals, including finding or expanding footholds in North America.

McKinnon’s provincial counterpart also doubled down on his own government’s consistent messaging that the West Coast is the smartest place in the country for investors to make a move.

“The world is looking for reliable strategic partners who have the resources that they need,” said B.C. Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth. “British Columbia has those resources, Canada has those resources, and we are the reliable stable partner that so many jurisdictions are looking for.”

• Related: B.C. power line and Ksi Lisims LNG added to federal government’s major-projects list

Delta Liberal MP Jill McKnight sought to pre-empt opposition to further development in coastal waters by insisting “strong environmental outcomes, meaningful Indigenous partnerships and sustainable economic growth are not separate goals.”

That idea was echoed by the chief of the Tsawwassen First Nation, who endorsed the RBT2 plan’s referral to the federal Special Projects Office, which is tasked with running concurrent assessment in various spheres while conducting further consultations.

“The benefits may be national, but the environment, cultural and harvesting impacts fall most directly on Tsawwassen people,” said Laura Cassidy. “This project was approved subject to hundreds of enforceable conditions designed to protect Tsawwassen interests (and) our consent to the project was based on this detailed work.”