Eby’s LNG Phase 2 Push Needs Receipts Before Another Megaproject Bet
Ottawa, B.C. and LNG Canada are advancing work toward a possible 2026 final investment decision on Phase 2. Before the next celebration, taxpayers need the full ledger: power, emissions, enforcement, incentives and public return.
The May 14 announcement from Natural Resources Canada says the federal government, the B.C. government and LNG Canada have reached “enhanced investment co-operation” to help close final items for a possible 2026 final investment decision on LNG Canada’s proposed Phase 2 expansion. CityNews, carrying Canadian Press reporting, quoted Premier David Eby saying he is hopeful the decision will come by year-end and would represent the largest private-sector investment in Canadian history.
That may be good news for Kitimat workers, contractors and export ambitions. But for British Columbians paying the bills for power infrastructure, roads, regulation and public services, the headline is not enough. The question is whether the NDP government can show the numbers before asking the public to accept another megaproject promise on trust.
LNG Canada Phase 1 is already a massive industrial commitment. LNG Canada’s own 2025 first-cargo statement said the facility initially exports from two trains with a total capacity of 14 million tonnes per year. Federal project tables list Phase 1 at 14 MTPA, or 1.84 billion cubic feet per day. A Phase 2 expansion would move B.C. deeper into long-term gas export policy while the same government claims climate leadership, affordability discipline and clean-power advantage.
That balancing act needs facts, not slogans. If Phase 2 requires new transmission, ratepayer exposure, public incentives, tax treatment, permitting changes or regulatory compromises, those items should be published in one place before final decisions are locked in. B.C. voters should not have to piece together the public cost from press releases and investor presentations.
Environmental enforcement also belongs in the ledger. In April, the B.C. Energy Regulator issued an order to LNG Canada over non-compliant black-smoke flaring, requiring reports on events lasting more than 15 minutes, a root-cause report by August 15, measures by October 15, and monthly reporting into 2027. The regulator said air-quality readings had not indicated an immediate or imminent public-safety risk, but the order still shows that operational problems are real and measurable.
Eby’s government wants credit for building. Fine. Then it should accept accountability for the full build-out: how much power, whose money, which emissions, what enforcement, what Indigenous agreements, and what public return.
If LNG Phase 2 is truly a nation-building project, the NDP should publish the receipts before the next ribbon-cutting — not after the public is already committed.