By Tommy Osborne

Billion Dollar Project

Government bill to expedite $6 billion project narrowly passes vote

Nov 20, 2025 | 5:01 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – A bill to fast track the North Coast Transmission Line project narrowly passed in the B.C. legislature with a 47-46 vote, requiring the speaker of the house to side with the governing NDP in order to pass. According to the government, Bill 31, also known as the Energy Statutes Amendment Act, will play a key role in significantly boosting northern B.C.’s economy, as the transmission line going from Prince George to Terrace promises to power a wide variety of sectors.

“We must act with urgency to leverage our clean-electricity advantage and grow and diversify our economy,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Energy and Climate Solutions, in a press release when the project was announced. “Our new allocation framework will prioritize vital growth in sectors like mining, natural gas and lowest-emission LNG, while ensuring our clean energy is directed to projects that deliver the greatest benefit to British Columbians. We’re taking action to build the North Coast Transmission Line as fast as possible to accelerate the development and construction of major industrial projects and bring good, well-paying jobs to people in B.C.”

This $6 billion project was opposed by the Conservative Party of British Columbia, including all three Prince George MLAs, as concerns were raised over how the bill could create opportunities for potential government overreach.

“Bill 31 gives the NDP government too much control over who gets power and who doesn’t for industrial customers. I don’t think we want the NDP government having control over industrial policy in this province and who gets power. It’s not a market driven way of of allocating electricity in this province. We need the best projects to move ahead, not just the ones that the NDP prefers politically,” said Prince George – Mackenzie MLA Kiel Giddens.

Part of Bill 31 allows the B.C. Government through BC Hydro to limit how much energy goes towards specific sectors, with the press release stating it will “permanently ban new BC Hydro connections to the electricity grid for cryptocurrency mining to preserve the province’s electricity supply and avoid the overburdening of the electricity grid.”

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“We’re seeing unprecedented demand from traditional and emerging industries. The Province’s strategy empowers BC Hydro to manage this growth responsibly, keeping our grid reliable and our energy future clean and affordable. The North Coast Transmission Line is key to powering B.C.’s next generation of industrial development, and we’re proud to advance it in partnership with First Nations and the Province,” said BC Hydro’s President and CEO Charlotte Mitha.

However, Giddens doesn’t believe this is the best way to move forward, criticizing the Bill’s ability to allow the NDP Government to act through it.

“We need to fix B.C. Hydro’s process. Currently, it’s a first come, first serve, process in the system impact study process that they have that’s broken. We need a policy process that actually enables the best projects to move ahead,” he said.

“Clearly, Conservatives support mining, LNG, and the projects that we need to get our economy back on track in this province. But the NDP are limiting things like our data sovereignty. They’re limiting the amount of data centres we can have in this province. And they also cannot fill this power line with electricity. They haven’t presented a plan to generate enough power to fill the line as it is, and that’s a real problem. We don’t want ratepayers to be on the hook for an NDP boondoggle,” he continued.

The North Coast Transmission Line is a $6 billion project that is part of Premier Mark Carney’s Nation Building projects, and construction is expected to begin next year.

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