Woodfibre LNG study pegs benefits at $13.6B in output

The construction of Woodfibre LNG in Squamish, B.C., has contributed nearly $13.6 billion in economic output to the Canadian economy, according to a new report by the Canadian strategy and research firm Deetken Insight, released Oct. 22.

The study also projects the export facility and FortisBC’s Eagle Mountain Pipeline will generate $11.6 billion in nominal government revenue over construction and a 40-year operating period. That includes $485 million in municipal property taxes. The revenue would come from sources such as resource royalties, income taxes, carbon tax, property tax, motor fuel tax and provincial sales tax, the report said.

Woodfibre LNG will produce 2.1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year for export and has said it will be the world’s first net-zero LNG facility when it is completed in 2027. It has not yet shipped its first cargo.

“Woodfibre LNG has yet to produce its first shipment of LNG, but the project is already delivering significant economic benefits to British Columbia and Canada,” said Luke Schauerte, the company’s president and CEO.

The figures come from a study released by the project’s backers, and the numbers are projections that have not been independently verified by Canada News Media. Nominal dollars are not adjusted for inflation over the 40-year period.

The company said it has invested $50 million in remediating the former Woodfibre pulp mill site and has set hiring and contracting priorities for Squamish Nation members, other Indigenous peoples, District of Squamish residents and other British Columbians. It describes the project as the first industrial project in Canada to recognize a non-treaty Indigenous government, the Squamish Nation, as a full environmental regulator.

Pacific Energy Corporation (Canada) Limited owns 70 per cent of the project.

The project is one of several B.C. gas export developments. LNG Canada has approved a $33-billion expansion at Kitimat, and five B.C. First Nations have taken a stake in Coastal GasLink, the pipeline that feeds that terminal.

For Albertans, the interest is in demand. Western Canadian gas producers need more export capacity to reach overseas buyers, and each new terminal on the coast adds to it.

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Source: Woodfibre LNG news release via Canada NewsWire, Oct. 22, 2026.