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Home 9 Media Releases 9 Featured News Release 9 Leader Emily Lowan: Carney and Eby’s LNG deal puts B.C. in the pockets of U.S. billionaires

Leader Emily Lowan: Carney and Eby’s LNG deal puts B.C. in the pockets of U.S. billionaires

Nov 13, 2025

Lək̓ʔəŋən [LEKWUNGEN] TERRITORY / VICTORIA, B.C. — BC Green Party Leader Emily Lowan is calling out the federal government’s decision to fast-track the Ksi Lisims LNG export project as a “major project,” calling it a dangerous handout to foreign fossil-fuel interests disguised as a nation-building initiative.

“Carney wasn’t even welcome in Prince Rupert — local nations including Lax Kw’alaams and Metlakatla are opposing the Ksi Lisims project,” Lowan said. “He had to change the venue at the last minute, yet the federal and provincial government are still rushing to fast-track this giveaway to U.S. billionaires.

“This isn’t just a climate disaster — it’s a jobs disaster,” added Lowan. “The Ksi Lisims terminal will be built in Korea and floated over, which means the steel and high-paid construction jobs are overseas. Meanwhile, British Columbians are stuck with the pollution and higher energy bills, but very few lasting local jobs.

“Mark Carney and David Eby are dressing up a giveaway to billionaires as ‘clean growth.’ Ksi Lisims is 100% foreign-owned through Houston-based Western LNG, backed by U.S. private equity giants like Blackstone and Apollo Global Management. Its pipeline will be built by Bechtel, a U.S. defence contractor that’s made billions off war and oil. These are the same men who financed Donald Trump’s campaigns, lobbied for billionaire tax breaks, and wrote birthday poems for Jeffrey Epstein.

“The North Coast Transmission Line has also been added to the federal major projects list since the NDP government has approved LNG developments that the federal government has labeled as ‘nation-building’,” Lowan continued. “These projects require massive amounts of power — far more than our current grid can handle. It’s troubling that the Prime Minister appears to be influencing legislation before the House, namely Bill 31, which seeks to increase the power capabilities of the North Coast Transmission Line to electrify LNG and mining projects. This is irresponsible governance to serve corporate welfare. My colleagues in the BC Green Caucus are working to amend Bill 31 so that it reflects the needs of communities over corporations.”

Lowan warns that if these designations allow projects to bypass environmental safeguards or public oversight, “British Columbians should be furious. These are fossil-fuel megaprojects, not clean-energy investments. They lock B.C. into decades of emissions and hand control of our resources to foreign financiers.”

BC Green MLA Jeremy Valeriote added: “This government is prioritizing U.S. profit over B.C.’s health. More LNG plants and new transmission lines to serve them mean more pollution, more risk, and more public cost — while our communities pay the price.” [Read MLA Valeriote’s full statement here.]

The BC Greens are calling for:

  • A full, independent review of the federal “major project” fast-track mechanism to ensure no erosion of Indigenous rights, environmental protections or public accountability.
  • Strong conditions attached to any designation of Ksi Lisims: full transparency on flaring and emissions, enforceable community benefit agreements, and full Indigenous consent from all affected nations.
  • A course reversal and overhaul of provincial and federal climate and energy policy: prioritizing renewable-energy infrastructure, Indigenous-led clean-energy partnerships, and community-based green jobs — rather than doubling down on LNG exports.
  • An immediate moratorium on all fracking and LNG export facilities to align B.C.’s climate targets, Indigenous rights obligations and the transition to a clean economy.

“This designation doesn’t just green-light Ksi Lisims or the North Coast Transmission Line — it pushes forward a decades-long climate disaster” Lowan said. “The fracked gas being exported is dirtier than coal, and Carney and Eby are pretending this is ‘clean growth’ while they gamble with our climate, taxpayer dollars, and Indigenous rights.”

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Media contact
+1-888-473-3686 ext. 49
newsroom@bcgreens.ca 

Key concerns raised by the BC Greens include:

  • Ownership & export dynamics: Ksi Lisims is 100 % owned by Houston-based Western LNG, backed by U.S. private-equity firms including Blackstone and Apollo.
  • Foreign-contractor risks: The pipeline feeding the project (the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline) will be run by U.S. contractor Bechtel, which has history tied to war-zone profiteering and global fossil-industry ties.
  • Climate implications: Recent Cornell study shows that LNG is worse than coal across its lifecycle of emissions. Despite claims of “hydro-electric power”, the project is expected to burn natural gas for years before electrification, producing significant adverse effects on B.C. ‘s emissions trajectory. If all proposed LNG projects are electrified it would require 8.4 Site C dams in hydroelectric power. 
  • Indigenous rights & consent: While the Nisg̱a’a Nation is a partner, multiple neighbouring First Nations have explicitly withheld consent, raising serious questions about legitimacy and rights. 
  • Public health & community risk: Research shows LNG-plant flaring and start-up emissions are grossly underestimated, and regulatory oversight of these emissions is weak. A recent study by Northern Health found Kitimat already has 74 per cent higher rates of asthma than the rest of the province.
  • Economic & climate justice: The project locks B.C. into heavy fossil-fuel infrastructure at the very moment when global energy systems are shifting, risking stranded assets and lost opportunities in the clean-economy transition.
    • LNG development is expected to drive up gas and electricity prices in B.C. The projected rise in gas prices alone could cost the province’s non-LNG industrial sector approximately $222.76 million annually. Overall, higher energy costs will place additional pressure on consumers and reduce economic activity in other industries.

Sources:

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