Carney grants new $5.9-billion Metro Vancouver superport national interest status | Daily Hive

Prime Minister Carney grants new $5.9-billion Metro Vancouver superport national interest status, targeting opening four years earlier

Preliminary artistic rendering of Roberts Bank Terminal 2. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

The new Roberts Bank Terminal 2 container port in Metro Vancouver could open four years earlier after Prime Minister Mark Carney formally designated it a project of national interest.

The Government of Canada announced the formal designation today, noting that it could bring the superport into operation in 2035 instead of 2039 by speeding up the remaining federal approvals.

It would be built by significantly extending the existing port causeway in Tsawwassen, which is already home to the GCT Deltaport superport container terminal and the Westshore coal export terminal.

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The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which is leading the project, is working toward a final investment decision by the middle of 2027. Excluding the interest costs from borrowing, the terminal’s estimated construction cost now stands at $5.9 billion — up from $3.5 billion about five years ago.

“Canada is working. By listing Roberts Bank Terminal 2 as a project of national interest, we are better connecting our economy with the world and diversifying our trade. As the world competes for capital, Canada will not wait. We are building a stronger, more independent, and more competitive Canadian economy,” said Carney.

B.C. Premier-elect Lorne Doerkson added, “Our incoming government is committed to making British Columbia a place to build. That means working collaboratively with our federal, industry, and First Nations partners, removing unnecessary barriers, and ensuring the infrastructure and connections needed to support economic growth are in place.”

“We recognize the importance of moving major projects like Roberts Bank Terminal 2 forward as quickly and efficiently as possible. Our teams stand ready to work closely with the federal government and project proponents to help move this project forward. British Columbia has enormous economic potential, and investments like this will help us build a stronger, more competitive and prosperous province,” continued Doerkson.

lorne doerkson gct deltaport oct 30 2026

Lorne Doerkson at the Oct. 30, 2026 announcement on Roberts Bank Terminal 2 gaining the Government of Canada’s project of national interest status. (Conservative Party of B.C.)

The decision follows the Prime Minister’s similar project of national interest designation on Oct. 1, 2026 for the new Pacific Link oil pipeline, which is intended to carry one million barrels of Alberta oil a day from the Edmonton area to a major new marine export terminal and storage facility in Tsawwassen. This could involve building a third causeway in the area west of Delta — in addition to the existing southern causeway for BC Ferries’ Tsawwassen ferry terminal and the existing northern causeway for GCT Deltaport, the Westshore coal export terminal, and the new Roberts Bank Terminal 2 superport.

Roberts Bank Terminal 2 is a completely separate project for shipping containers, but there is now the possibility of overlapping major construction timelines in the area for both the new superport and the Pacific Link oil pipeline’s marine export terminal and storage facility. The federal government is aiming for a construction start on Pacific Link in September 2027.

Existing condition:

Existing condition of the man-made peninsula home to the GCT Deltaport container terminal and Westshore coal export terminal. (GCT)

Existing condition of Roberts Bank in Tsawwassen, with the existing port causeway for GCT Deltaport and the Westshore coal export terminal. (Google Earth)

Future condition:

Artistic rendering of the existing port causeway at Roberts Bank in Tsawwassen, expanded with the new Roberts Bank Terminal 2 superport. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

Artistic rendering of the existing port causeway at Roberts Bank in Tsawwassen, expanded with the new Roberts Bank Terminal 2 superport. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

In Summer 2026, the port authority announced that, through a bidding process, it had selected a private consortium called TerraMarine to extend the existing port causeway by 320 acres through land reclamation. Early construction and site preparation work by TerraMarine is expected to begin in late 2027, followed by the start of major construction and land reclamation activities in 2028.

At a later date, the port authority will conduct separate bidding processes for additional contractors that will be responsible for building other components of Roberts Bank Terminal 2, including building the container terminal’s equipment and facilities and the supporting ground transportation infrastructure on the newly-created land mass.

In April 2026, the port authority announced it had reached a truce with GCT Global Container Terminals, the private company that operates GCT Deltaport, to work together on a joint strategy to advance Roberts Bank Terminal 2, with the company potentially becoming the superport’s builder and operator. They have provided their organizations with one year to reach an agreement. For years, both the port authority and GCT were engaged in a battle over competing concepts on how to expand the container terminal facilities in Tsawwassen.

As spearheaded by the port authority, the new Roberts Bank Terminal 2 will have three ship berths, a wider access causeway for roads and freight railway tracks, and a large basin for tugboats.

Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Port of Vancouver

Artistic rendering of the existing port causeway at Roberts Bank in Tsawwassen, expanded with the new Roberts Bank Terminal 2 superport. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

It would add annual capacity equivalent to 2.4 million standard 20-ft-long containers (TEUs), increasing the Port of Vancouver’s overall container capacity by about 50 per cent and the overall container capacity of Canada’s West Coast by about 30 per cent.

Moreover, this would double the immediate Tsawwassen area’s existing container terminal capacity, as GCT Deltaport can currently similarly handle about 2.4 million TEUs annually.

The federal government estimates that the added capacity could accommodate roughly $100 billion in goods each year.

Carney’s designation under the federal Building Canada Act follows the project’s referral to the Major Projects Office in July 2026. This federal office will help coordinate the outstanding federal approvals and bring them together in a single document setting out the requirements the project must meet.

Roberts Bank Terminal 2 already received federal environmental approval in April 2023, subject to 370 legally binding conditions. The existing environmental requirements will remain in place as the project advances.

Marine protection measures outlined alongside the designation include nearly $2 billion in investments aimed at protecting fish habitat, salmon, whales, and other species at risk, but some environmental groups remain unconvinced that the mitigation measures will be sufficient.

An agreement with BC Ferries includes a goal of reducing underwater noise from its vessels in southern resident killer whale habitat by 50 per cent by 2036. The federal government is also setting an interim objective to keep underwater noise in the whales’ critical habitat at 2023 levels while pursuing further reductions.

Artistic rendering of the existing port causeway at Roberts Bank in Tsawwassen, expanded with the new Roberts Bank Terminal 2 superport. (Vancouver Fraser Port Authority)

The federal government is presenting the new superport as a way to help Canadian companies reach more overseas customers and reduce the country’s reliance on the United States. Its broader goal is to double exports to markets outside the U.S. by 2035.

Once operating, the superport is projected to support approximately 17,000 jobs across the supply chain, contribute about $3 billion a year to Canada’s economy, and generate roughly $631 million annually in tax revenue. Those employment figures extend beyond people working directly at the terminal.

According to the federal government, a shortage of port capacity on Canada’s West Coast could otherwise add $800 million to $900 million a year to shipping costs, beginning as early as 2031.

The terminal is part of the wider Port of Vancouver Gateway Strategy, which also covers rail improvements, bulk cargo terminals, industrial land, and environmental protection. The federal government estimates that the new superport, combined with investments in railways and distribution centres, could help cut container import costs by up to 25 per cent and Vancouver-to-Toronto delivery times by about 17 per cent, with approximately $1 billion in annual shipping savings.

“British Columbia is Canada’s gateway to the Asia-Pacific, and this project represents a significant opportunity to supercharge our province’s economy, attract investment, and create good-paying jobs for British Columbians,” said Doerkson.

The region’s port facilities, including the new superport, would also benefit from the new crossing to replace the aging and highly constrained four-lane George Massey Tunnel, which cannot handle oversized freight trucks and vehicles carrying hazardous goods. For factors that include a lower construction cost and project risk, the incoming provincial government led by Doerkson’s Conservative party is looking to abandon the outgoing BC NDP administration’s eight-lane immersed tunnel project to restore the original project of building a 10-lane bridge.

A new bridge — cancelling the new immersed tunnel project, and removing the existing tunnel — could also potentially allow larger ships to head up the Fraser River to reach Fraser Surrey Docks.

gct deltaport container terminal port new cranes april 2025

New cranes arrive at GCT Deltaport container terminal on April 20, 2025. (GCT)

GCT Deltaport container terminal. (Port of Vancouver)

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