Federal help with infrastructure is critical to trade, B.C. Premier Eby says

VANCOUVER – Federal government investment in provincial transportation infrastructure is crucial to avoid long-term impacts on cross-Canada trade and companies’ willingness to work in British Columbia, Premier David Eby says.

Eby met with the federal government’s major projects office Wednesday and said he raised work that needs to be done on “trade-enabling infrastructure” such as Highway 1 through the Fraser Valley and the Massey Tunnel, a major route for commuters and truckers going to coastal ports.

Days after major flooding closed stretches of Highway 1, Eby said work needs to be done to protect the area. 

“The threat, if we don’t address that for the long term, (is) that that highway could face impacts that would last for months, disrupting trade across the country,” he said. 

The premier said if those problems aren’t dealt with, there will be more decisions like the one made by Saskatchewan-based Nutrien to ship its potash to global markets through Washington state, bypassing B.C.

Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens said on Friday that the federal government needed to prioritize flood-mitigation, saying that without infrastructure spending, the provincial and national economies “remain unprotected and at risk.”

Eby said he was grateful to Siemens for renewing calls for the federal government to recognize this corridor as not just the road, but also a gas pipeline and fibre optic infrastructure that serves the region, and the devastating impacts that could come from an uncontrolled release of water from Washington State into our province.

The Nooksack River along the border in Washington state burst its banks during last week’s storms, pushing water north into B.C.’s Fraser Valley, flooding homes and farmland. 

“We need the federal government at the table on this. I’m glad they are freshly invigorated on this,” Eby said.

Siemens said in a statement Wednesday that the city believes Highway 1 flood mitigation should be elevated to the status of a nation-building project. He said they appreciate Eby’s efforts to elevate the issue with the major projects office.

“Highway 1 is not only a vital route for the 90,000 vehicles that travel through Abbotsford each day, but also an essential part of the Asia-Pacific Gateway and a key trade corridor for our province and our country,” he said.

“Safeguarding Highway 1 against future flooding is essential to protecting provincial food security, supply-chain resilience and our regional and national economy.”

The premiers are scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Mark Carney this week, and Eby said he’ll be raising the issue of transportation infrastructure, which should be a huge priority if the government wants to increase transport out of ports.

“I am convinced that we can deal with these issues, but it will require attention and focus on those bottlenecks and a real push from the federal government,” he said.

“If they have $60 billion to take an hour off of the train ride between Montreal and Ottawa, then I am sure we can reach agreement on moving goods and people around British Columbia without difficulty.”

Four B.C. projects were named on Ottawa’s list of nation-building projects out of the major projects office. 

They are the LNG Canada Phase 2 in Kitimat, the expansion of the Red Chris Mine, the North Coast Transmission Line and Ksi Lisims, a proposed floating natural gas liquefaction and export facility

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2025.