Roberts Bank Terminal 2 gets national-interest status, could open by 2035

Roberts Bank Terminal 2, the proposed container terminal at Tsawwassen, is now a federally designated project of national interest. Prime Minister Mark Carney made the designation under the Building Canada Act, and the federal government says it could allow the terminal to begin operating in 2035 rather than 2039 by speeding up the federal approvals still outstanding.

The announcement was made Oct. 30, 2026. A photo from the event shows B.C. Premier-elect Lorne Doerkson there. The project had been referred to the Major Projects Office in July 2026.

For Metro Vancouver, the decision brings a project with a large price tag closer to construction. Its estimated cost, not counting interest on borrowing, is $5.9 billion, compared with $3.5 billion about five years ago. Carney said the designation helps connect Canada's economy with the world and diversify trade. Doerkson said his incoming government is committed to making B.C. a place to build.

How the terminal would be built

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority leads the project and is working toward a final investment decision by mid-2027. The terminal would be created by extending the existing port causeway in Tsawwassen. Through a bidding process, the authority picked a private consortium, TerraMarine, to add 320 acres by land reclamation. Early construction and site preparation are expected to start in late 2027, with major construction and reclamation in 2028.

The terminal would have three ship berths and a wider causeway carrying roads and freight rail. It would add capacity equal to 2.4 million TEUs a year, which the federal government says would lift container capacity at the Port of Vancouver by about 50 per cent and on the West Coast by about 30 per cent. Ottawa estimates that capacity could handle roughly $100 billion in goods annually.

The port authority reached a truce in April 2026 with GCT Global Container Terminals on a joint strategy for the terminal. The two parties have one year to reach an agreement.

Environmental conditions and economic claims

The project received federal environmental approval in April 2023, subject to 370 legally binding conditions. Marine protection measures include nearly $2 billion in investments to protect fish habitat, salmon, whales and other species at risk. An agreement with BC Ferries sets a goal of cutting underwater noise from its vessels in southern resident killer whale habitat by 50 per cent by 2036.

The federal government projects the terminal would support about 17,000 supply-chain jobs and generate roughly $631 million a year in tax revenue. It also warns that a shortage of West Coast port capacity could add $800 million to $900 million a year to shipping costs from as early as 2031. Combined with rail and distribution investments, Ottawa says, the terminal could cut container import costs by up to 25 per cent and shorten Vancouver-to-Toronto delivery times by about 17 per cent.

A separate project with a similar status

The Pacific Link oil pipeline received its own national interest designation on Oct. 1, 2026. It is meant to carry one million barrels of Alberta oil a day from the Edmonton area to a marine export terminal and storage facility in Tsawwassen, which could involve a third causeway west of Delta. Ottawa is aiming to start construction in September 2027, so work on the two projects could overlap.

Separately, the incoming Conservative provincial government wants to revive a 10-lane bridge to replace the George Massey Tunnel, instead of the NDP's eight-lane immersed tunnel.

Daily Hive reported on the details of the announcement. The port authority's mid-2027 investment decision is the next major checkpoint for the terminal.