Canadian public engagement organisation Resource Works has welcomed the Canada-British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement signed on July 2 by Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier David Eby, calling the deal the most significant federal commitment to British Columbia’s resource economy in a generation.

The deal intended to unlock more than $200-billion in new investment.

The same day, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced that Trans Mountain Corporation and Pembina Pipeline will partner with the province to build the new west coast route — a million-barrel-a-day oil pipeline from Bruderheim, northeast of Edmonton, to the southern British Columbia coast, at an estimated cost of between $35-billion and $44-billion.

The project has been submitted to the federal Major Projects Office and is expected to be listed as a project of national interest by October 1.

“This is a landmark day for Canada’s resource economy. The Prosperity Agreement puts natural resources such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the centre of the national economic strategy in a way we have not seen in decades," says Resource Works president and CEO Stewart Muir,

Coupled with the west coast pipeline proposal, with Trans Mountain and Pembina as partners, the agreement is the clearest signal yet that Alberta and British Columbia are building together rather than fighting apart, Muir adds.

Additionally, the Pathways carbon capture project alone will create about 175 000 new jobs.

The agreement also commits the federal government to accelerating the permitting, financing and construction of LNG Canada Phase 2, Ksi Lisims LNG, Cedar LNG and Woodfibre LNG.

"It invests $500 million to expand the Red Chris copper mine, increasing Canada’s annual copper production by more than 15%. It provides $3.9-billion for the North Coast Transmission Line, and it invests in expanding Roberts Bank Terminal at the Port of Vancouver, unlocking more than $100-billion in new trade capacity," Muir points out.

The combined impact represents an unprecedented partnership binding the federal government, provinces and territories, Indigenous peoples, and the private sector.

“The scale is striking. Four LNG projects accelerated. The largest copper mine expansion in the country. A transmission line that will power the north coast for generations. Roberts Bank expanded to reach new export markets, and $250-million for whale protection. This is what it looks like when a government decides that resource development and environmental stewardship are the same agenda, not competing ones," Muir says.

He affirms the agreement reflects the leadership of Prime Minister Carney and the willingness of two neighbouring provinces to find common ground.

“British Columbia and Alberta have spent too many years on opposite sides of resource debates that should be unifiers, not dividers. This agreement shows what happens when the two provinces that are most consequential to Canada’s energy future decide to cooperate rather than compete. It builds not just individual provinces but the whole country.”

Muir further notes that many questions remain to be worked through, including the exact role of First Nations in shaping the next phase of major project development. “Indigenous communities will participate in all of these projects as partners and decision-makers, not afterthoughts. That work matters more than ever now.”

Muir adds that the Cooperative Prosperity Agreement is a direct reflection of the commitments to nation-building that have been gathering momentum across the country and especially in British Columbia in recent years.

“This is not one announcement. It is the culmination of a shift that has been underway for some time - a recognition that Canada’s resource economy is the foundation of its prosperity, and that the communities and First Nations who live closest to that economy deserve to lead its future.”