LNG Canada’s Phase 2 decision: what investors approved and what remains projected

For people in northern British Columbia, LNG Canada’s expansion could bring thousands of construction jobs, followed by a much smaller additional workforce at the terminal. For Canadians elsewhere, it advances a major export project. Understanding those effects means looking behind the headline C$33 billion figure: investor approval, a construction forecast and a completed outcome each tell a different story.

LNG Canada announced on September 28, 2026, that its five owners had made a final investment decision on Phase 2. Shell, TC Energy and the federal government published follow-up announcements on September 29. The decision establishes the investors’ approval to proceed.

The physical scope they backed is substantial. Two processing units, known as trains, would join the two operating at Kitimat, doubling the terminal’s stated annual liquefied natural gas capacity from 14 million to 28 million tonnes. One additional LNG storage tank, one condensate tank, a loading berth and expanded utility and process systems are included, according to LNG Canada’s announcement.

More gas must reach that equipment. TC Energy says Coastal GasLink currently transports approximately 2.1 billion cubic feet daily along its existing 670-kilometre route from the Dawson Creek area. Five new compressor stations and facility upgrades are planned to nearly double capacity without building another long-distance pipeline. LNG Canada’s approval satisfied the conditions attached to TC Energy’s previously approved conditional investment decision for the pipeline expansion.

The BC Energy Regulator’s project page documents the existing pipeline, permits and continuing inspections. Its stated potential expansion to five billion cubic feet daily is not the announced Phase 2 capacity. The announcements and regulatory page do not establish the complete permitting status of Phase 2; that does not establish that any particular permission is missing.

The federal Major Projects Office says Phase 2 is expected to attract C$33 billion in private-sector capital. That is an anticipated investment figure. The summary supplies neither an itemized, fixed-price construction bill nor a breakdown among processing units, tanks, loading equipment, compressors and supporting systems.

The timetable is also a forecast. Shell expects commercial operations in the early 2030s. TC Energy expects pipeline-expansion construction to begin in early 2027, with service in the early 2030s. LNG Canada will manage that construction, while Coastal GasLink remains the pipeline’s owner, operator and permit holder.

Shell owns 40% of LNG Canada and expects nearly six million tonnes of additional annual LNG from the expansion. Each venture participant takes its proportional share of production. Shell’s announcement is therefore an investor’s account, related to LNG Canada’s release. The Major Projects Office and prime minister’s pages are both published by the Government of Canada. Repetition across these announcements does not independently validate projected benefits.

For five neighbouring First Nations, the decision advances a specific ownership opportunity. Gitga’at, Gitxaała, Haisla, Kitselas and Kitsumkalum participate through MNT Investments LP, a partnership of their economic development organizations. Under the agreement announced on July 14, MNT may invest up to C$1 billion for a majority interest in an entity that would purchase the planned LNG storage tank.

That entity would lease the tank back to LNG Canada, which would continue operating and maintaining it. Phase 2 approval meets the agreement’s disclosed investment-decision condition, but the announcements do not establish a completed acquisition. They also do not spell out financing terms, lease payments, expected returns or the allocation of investment risk.

Employment forecasts show why construction and operation matter differently to local communities. LNG Canada expects up to 4,000 construction jobs at peak activity in Kitimat. TC Energy separately estimates up to 2,100 people employed at peak construction on the pipeline expansion. Those peaks are not established as coinciding.

Once complete, LNG Canada projects approximately 90 additional full-time roles and 150 contractor positions at the terminal. These figures describe expected employment rather than positions already filled.

In its September 28 announcement, LNG Canada says it and the B.C. and federal governments estimate potential government revenues exceeding C$50 billion over the project’s life. The release includes “direct spend” alongside taxes, royalties and other government revenues, but supplies no breakdown explaining how that spending is treated. The figure therefore cannot be presented as a clearly defined total of money received by governments.

Environmental performance requires another distinction. The Major Projects Office expects greenhouse gas emissions from Kitimat’s operations to be lower than those of any similarly sized facility operating today. Its summary provides no measured comparison establishing that worldwide ranking. This leaves the expectation unverified by these pages, rather than disproven.

B.C.’s latest public industrial-emissions report covers 2024, while LNG Canada began exporting in June 2025, according to the September 29 federal release. That report predates those exports; it cannot establish the government’s comparison or show how the expanded terminal will perform.