Enbridge B.C. Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion Receives Federal Approval
CALGARY, AB, April 24, 2026 /CNW/ - Enbridge Inc. (Enbridge or the Company) (TSX: ENB) (NYSE: ENB) announced today that the Canadian Government has approved the Sunrise Expansion Program (the Project), a $4 billion natural gas expansion of Enbridge's Westcoast pipeline system in B.C.
The Project is an essential energy infrastructure project that has been found to be in the public interest.
Sunrise Expansion is designed to add approximately 300 million cubic feet per day of natural gas transportation capacity to the southern portion of the Westcoast pipeline system. Once in service, the added natural gas transportation capacity is expected to strengthen energy security and affordability by supporting access to natural gas during periods of peak demand. Natural gas transported on the Westcoast system is used to heat homes, hospitals, businesses, and schools. It also supports electric power generation, industrial activity across B.C. and global LNG exports.
Expected to contribute more than $3 billion to Canada's economy, the Project will involve the hiring of approximately 2,500 workers during construction, including workers from local communities and Indigenous groups in B.C. To date, more than $52 million has been spent on the hiring and procuring of services from Indigenous businesses.
The Project will include the construction of new pipeline segments along the existing system, additional natural gas compression, and upgrades and modifications to existing facilities.
Construction is scheduled to begin in July 2026, with a targeted in-service date in late 2028.
QUOTES:
"The multi-billion dollar Sunrise Expansion Program is a shovel-ready, critical natural gas infrastructure project that supports the advancement of Canada's energy superpower ambitions. We are thankful for the support of the Canadian Government and other stakeholders who have helped to bring this project to fruition at this critical time for the country. We're proud of our long history investing and building in Canada and British Columbia, and are excited about the role this project will play in increasing economic prosperity and energy security." –Greg Ebel, Enbridge's CEO and President
"Leading up to and throughout construction, Enbridge will continue to work with Indigenous groups, local communities, contractors and other stakeholders. As part of our commitment to supporting local businesses, Enbridge is procuring pipe for the Sunrise Expansion Program from InterPro Pipe + Steel, a Canadian steel mill and pipe provider, who will use Canadian workers and expertise to produce the pipe." –Matthew Akman, Enbridge's Executive Vice President and President, Gas Transmission
"Our commitment to Canadians was to get projects approved and built – and with today's approval of the Sunrise Expansion Program, we're doing just that. This project will enable us to heat more homes, businesses, hospitals, and schools, while bolstering British Columbian industry, including for LNG, and creating thousands of jobs. It is proof that, in partnership with industry and Indigenous partners, we can strengthen energy security and price stability and create new international trade opportunities, while meeting rigorous environmental and safety standards. This is what being an energy superpower looks like." –The Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
"Approval of the Sunrise natural gas expansion project is good news for British Columbian jobs. It will also strengthen B.C.'s role as an engine for a more independent Canadian economy – delivering affordable energy people rely on and powering growth in major industries. At a time of uncertainty and global instability, this is how we create the prosperity needed to pay for the public services that make us all better off." –Premier David Eby, British Columbia
"Enbridge's Sunrise Expansion Project is an important initiative for British Columbia. B.C. is facing a time of major expansion as we work to bring online major industrial projects throughout the province. The Sunrise Expansion Project is a part of this work and will help support electric power generation, industry development, and LNG export facilities, while also ensuring affordable and reliable power for communities throughout the region. Enbridge's commitment to using Canadian steel mill and pipe ensure that investments stay in Canada and that Canadians experience all the benefits of this expansion." –Minister Dix, B.C. Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions
"Saskatchewan welcomes the approval of Enbridge's Sunrise Expansion Project. We are pleased to see that this project will utilize Canadian steel from InterPro Pipe + Steel. By using Canadian steel and expertise, this project will strengthen Canadian supply chains while supporting local jobs here in Saskatchewan and across our country." –Minister Warren Kaeding, Saskatchewan Minister of Trade and Export Development
About Enbridge's Westcoast natural gas pipeline system
Enbridge's Westcoast natural gas pipeline system is an essential piece of energy infrastructure that is capable of transporting up to 3.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. The Westcoast system stretches more than 2,900 kilometres from Fort Nelson in northeast B.C. and from Gordondale near the B.C.-Alberta border, south to the Canada-U.S. border at Huntingdon/Sumas. The existing Westcoast system is ~12.5% owned by the Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance Limited Partnership, which represents 38 Indigenous groups in B.C.
About Enbridge
At Enbridge, we safely connect millions of people to the energy they rely on every day, fueling quality of life through our North American natural gas, oil and renewable power networks and our growing European offshore wind portfolio. We're investing in modern energy delivery infrastructure to sustain access to secure, affordable energy and building on more than a century of operating conventional energy infrastructure and two decades of experience in renewable power. We're advancing new technologies including hydrogen, renewable natural gas, carbon capture and storage. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Enbridge's common shares trade under the symbol ENB on the Toronto (TSX) and New York (NYSE) stock exchanges. To learn more, visit us at enbridge.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements have been included in this news release to provide readers with information about Enbridge and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including management's assessment of Enbridge's and its subsidiaries' future plans and operations. This information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "anticipate", "expect", "project", "estimate", "forecast", "plan", "intend", "target", "believe", "likely", and similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking information or statements included or incorporated by reference in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Sunrise Expansion Program, including projected capacity, anticipated benefits, expected costs, key milestone dates, and other related matters.
Although Enbridge believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable based on the information available on the date such statements are made and processes used to prepare the information, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. By their nature, these statements involve a variety of assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, levels of activity and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Material assumptions include assumptions about the following: the expected supply of, demand for, export of and prices of crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), liquefied natural gas (LNG), renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable energy; anticipated utilization of assets; exchange rates; inflation; interest rates; tariffs and trade policies; availability and price of labor and construction materials; the stability of our supply chain; operational reliability; maintenance of support and regulatory approvals for our projects and transactions; anticipated in-service dates; weather; the timing, terms and closing of acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions; the realization of anticipated benefits of transactions; governmental legislation; litigation; estimated future dividends and impact of our dividend policy on our future cash flows; our credit ratings; capital project funding; hedging program; expected earnings before interest, income taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA); expected earnings/(loss); expected future cash flows; and expected distributable cash flow. Assumptions regarding the expected supply of and demand for crude oil, natural gas, NGL, LNG, RNG and renewable energy, and the prices of these commodities, are material to and underlie all forward-looking statements, as they may impact current and future levels of demand for our services. Similarly, exchange rates, inflation, interest rates and tariffs impact the economies and business environments in which we operate and may impact levels of demand for our services and cost of inputs, and are therefore inherent in all forward-looking statements. The most relevant assumptions associated with forward-looking statements regarding announced projects and projects under construction, including estimated completion dates and expected capital expenditures, include the following: the availability and price of labor and construction materials; the stability of our supply chain; the effects of inflation and foreign exchange rates on labor and material costs; the effects of interest rates on borrowing costs; the impact of weather and customer, government, court and regulatory approvals on construction and in-service schedules and cost recovery regimes.
Enbridge's forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to the successful execution of our strategic priorities; operating performance; legislative and regulatory parameters; litigation; acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions and the realization of anticipated benefits therefrom; evolving government trade policies, including potential and announced tariffs, duties, fees, economic sanctions or other trade measures; operational dependence on third parties; dividend policy; project approval and support; renewals of rights-of-way; weather; economic and competitive conditions; public opinion; changes in tax laws and tax rates; exchange rates; inflation; interest rates; commodity prices; access to and cost of capital; our ability to maintain adequate insurance in the future at commercially reasonable rates and terms; political decisions; global geopolitical conditions; and the supply of, demand for and prices of commodities and other alternative energy, including but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties discussed in this news release and in our filings with Canadian and US securities regulators. The impact of any one assumption, risk, uncertainty or factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as these are interdependent and our future course of action depends on management's assessment of all information available at the relevant time.
Except to the extent required by applicable law, Enbridge assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement made in this news release or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements.
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SOURCE Enbridge Inc.
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