Canada greenlights $33 bn LNG expansion amid flare issues and rights-abuse concerns
Canada approved a $33 billion expansion of the LNG Canada plant in Kitimat despite a 2025 flare-stack incident and criticism of partner companies’ human-rights and environmental records.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced federal support for a $33 billion expansion of the LNG Canada terminal in Kitimat, intended to double production and add compressor stations to the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The plant, which started operations in mid-2025, already faced a major flare-stack malfunction that burned 350 million cubic metres of gas, prompting local complaints about noise and air quality. Critics point to the involvement of owners—Shell, Petronas, Korea Gas, PetroChina and Mitsubishi—and financiers such as KKR and TotalEnergies, whose overseas activities have been tied to environmental damage and alleged human-rights violations.
The expansion is framed as a response to U.S. tariff pressure, with the Major Projects Office fast-tracking approvals. Indigenous groups, including Wet’suwet’en and Nisga’a Lisims, have raised concerns over inadequate consultation for new compressor stations and pipeline routes. Analysts say the government is prioritising short-term investment over long-term ecological and community impacts.
Why it matters
The project could lock Canada into costly LNG production while tying domestic infrastructure to firms accused of serious rights and environmental abuses.
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