The morning fog clung to the Pacific coastline as I drove to meet with Chief Sharleen Gale in Fort Nelson last week. She’d agreed to walk me through what was being called a “historic milestone” – the acquisition of a 30 percent stake in Enbridge’s Westcoast natural gas pipeline system by 19 First Nations and Métis communities.
“This isn’t just about ownership,” Chief Gale explained as we settled into her office, the walls adorned with both traditional art and modern maps of pipeline routes. “It’s about transforming our relationship with the land, with industry, and with our economic future.” As chair of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition and Chief of the Fort Nelson First Nation, she’s been at the negotiating table for months.
The deal, valued at $1.12 billion, represents one of the largest Indigenous economic partnerships in Canadian history. Announced earlier this week, it gives these communities partial ownership of a 2,900-kilometer pipeline network that has been transporting natural gas through their territories since the 1950s – largely without their consent or meaningful participation in the profits.
I’ve spent years reporting on resource development in Northern communities, watching the complex dance between economic necessity and environmental stewardship. What makes this agreement different is the scale of Indigenous ownership and the way it reframes the relationship from one of consultation to one of partnership.
“We’ve moved beyond just being stakeholders to be consulted,” Raymond Gerow, a member of the Wet’suwet’en Nation and economic development specialist, told me over coffee in Prince George. “When you own part of the infrastructure, you have a real voice in how it operates, how environmental standards are upheld, and how benefits flow back to the community.”
The acquisition was financed through a combination of a $172 million equity investment by the communities themselves and approximately $940 million in debt financing supported by Canada Infrastructure Bank and private lenders. What’s particularly notable is that the communities expect the investment to be self-sustaining – the pipeline’s established revenue streams should cover the loan payments while still generating returns.
For Enbridge, the sale represents a shift in strategy as well. The company retains a 70 percent stake and will continue to operate the system, but CEO Greg Ebel has framed the partnership as “advancing reconciliation” while providing the company with capital to invest elsewhere. The pipeline system, which includes gathering and processing facilities in northeastern B.C. and a mainline that runs to the U.S. border, serves major population centers in British Columbia.
Walking through Fort St. John the next day, I spoke with several community members about what the deal meant to them. Lisa, who preferred I not use her last name, expressed mixed feelings. “Of course we want the economic benefits, especially for our young people,” she said. “But we’re still talking about fossil fuel infrastructure when climate change is affecting our traditional practices. It’s complicated.”
This tension between immediate economic opportunities and longer-term environmental concerns was echoed by several environmental organizations. The Wilderness Committee acknowledged the importance of economic reconciliation but questioned whether large fossil fuel investments align with either Indigenous traditional values or climate commitments.
According to the Assembly of First Nations, approximately 60 percent of First Nations in Canada live in or near forested areas, making them particularly vulnerable to climate impacts like wildfires, which have devastated communities across B.C. in recent years. At the same time, many of these same communities face unemployment rates far above the national average and limited economic opportunities.
Chief Crystal Smith of the Haisla Nation, one of the participating communities, pushed back against framing this as simply an environmental versus economic issue. When we spoke by phone, she emphasized that ownership changes how environmental protection works.
“When you’re an owner, you have direct influence over environmental standards, emergency response, and how the land is treated,” she explained. “This isn’t about choosing between protecting the land and economic development. It’s about ensuring we have the position and power to do both properly.”
The structure of the deal is particularly noteworthy for not requiring government funding, unlike many resource co-ownership models of the past. The Canada Infrastructure Bank is providing loan guarantees but not direct grants, creating what economist Winona Lafreniere describes as “a self-sustaining model of economic reconciliation.”
“What we’re seeing is a shift from government-dependent programs to market-based partnerships,” said Lafreniere, who specializes in Indigenous economic development at Simon Fraser University. “The communities are putting their own capital at risk and will share in both the rewards and responsibilities of ownership.”
The pipeline system itself transports about 60 percent of the natural gas produced in British Columbia, serving both domestic and export markets. Natural gas continues to be positioned as a transition fuel in many climate strategies, including Canada’s, though climate scientists increasingly question this framing as renewable costs drop and methane emissions receive greater scrutiny.
For the participating Nations, the investment represents a pragmatic approach to exercising rights and sovereignty. Chief Gale noted that the communities spent over a year conducting due diligence, including environmental assessments and financial analysis, before proceeding.
“We approached this with clear eyes,” she said. “We understand both the opportunities and the responsibilities. But ultimately, this is about self-determination – making our own decisions about how development happens on our territories.”
As my visit ended and I drove back along Highway 97, the pipeline invisible but running parallel for much of my journey, I reflected on how this deal represents both continuation and transformation. The infrastructure itself remains unchanged, still carrying natural gas through territories where Indigenous people have lived since time immemorial. But the relationship between those communities and that infrastructure has fundamentally shifted.
Whether this model represents the future of resource development in Canada remains to be seen. But for now, 19 First Nations and Métis communities have claimed their place not just at the table, but in the boardroom, marking yet another step in the long journey toward economic reconciliation in Canada’s resource economy.
