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Enbridge’s $4 billion B.C. Sunrise expansion of the Westcoast natural gas pipeline is being broken into four segments to complete the work by 2028 with Alberta’s OJB Energy Solutions as the mainline contractor overseeing the 139 kilometres of new line added.

The project, which started �鶹��ýӳ�� in July, will add 11 pipeline loops using 42-inch 80-foot-long pipe supplied by the Interpro Pipe and Steel facility in Regina as well as new compressor units and powerlines to increase Westcoast Energy Inc.’s capacity by adding 300 million cubic feet per day capacity.

The four section primary contractors are as follows: Surerus Murphy Joint Venture (North – McLeod Lake area); OJB Energy Services (North/Central – north and south of Prince George); Ledcor Pipeline (Interior/South pipeline in the Cariboo and Thompson District); and Macro Piplines (Southern area – Fraser Valley Regional District).   

Labour-wise CLAC is the big winner, grabbing two of the four segment contracts (Ledcor and Macro), while a consortium of unions (IUOE 115, LIUNA 1611, Teamsters 213 and UA 170) will work the OJB section and CISIWU works the Surerus Murphy’s stretch.

“We are looking forward to the work,” said Bryan Railton, IUOE 115 business manager, adding his members are pleased to see the energy sector moving. “But, we are disappointed to only get a minority of the work.”

Both CLAC and CISIWU are non-members of the Canadian Labour Congress.

The project’s start has been applauded by both industry and Indigenous leaders with over 2,500 workers at peak employed, including workers from local and Indigenous communities along the route which runs from Chetwynd to Sumas.

“This is an outstanding project — private capital, an Indigenous ownership share, thousands of �鶹��ýӳ�� jobs,” said Jordan Bateman, Independent Contractors and Businesses Association vice-president of communications and advocacy. “But it still took nearly two years to approve a natural gas pipeline that follows an existing route. If we’re serious about standing on our own two feet, we can’t keep taking years to say yes to projects this good.”

Indigenous groups have a strong presence in the expansion. Westcoast Energy Inc., in July 2025, closed an alliance with 38 B.C. First Nations groups for a 12.5 per cent ownership of the Westcoast natural gas pipeline for $736 million through Stonlasec8 Indigenous Investments.

Enbridge said in a fact sheet “as of March 2026, over $54 million has been spent on the hiring and procuring of services from Indigenous businesses.”

The 6,000-member strong BC Métis Federation (BCMF) is helping place its members on the project as it has placed Sunrise information on its website but also a procurement link.

“We do it in different ways,” said BCMF president Keith Henry, as he talked about how the BCMF is serving as a facilitator on these large projects.

It can tip members to where opportunities and contracts are being offered, help companies or individuals gain the attention of employers but also help smaller companies by linking them up for possible alliances to gain better contract opportunities.

“We are really there to ensure that entrepreneurs get the support and help with their development,” he said.

On this expansion, Enbridge is following an upgrade to its compressor that it carried out in its northern B.C. section. It will be installing four new electric-drive units to reduce greenhouse gas with 10 kilometres of new transmission lines built for servicing. The new units will be installed at Azouzetta Lake, 93 Mile, Kingsvale and Othello.

“For the compressor station work, the contractor selection process for the installation of new facilities is ongoing,” Enbridge said in an email.

Several contractors have been hired to do crossover work (hooking up the loops to the main line), access roads, site preparation, facility upgrades and modification.

These include: Surerus Murphy (crossover scopes near Azouzetta Lake, Hixon and 150 Mile House); Macro Industries Inc. (crossover work near Savona, as well as on facilities site preparation including civil works, earthworks and piling for Azouzetta Lake); Duz Cho Construction (access roads for the crossovers near McLeod Lake, Summit Lake and Hixon); and Ogilvie Mtn. Holdings Limited Partnership (facilities’ site preparation including clearing and earthworks for 93 Mile House, Kingsvale and Othello).

Ogilvie Mtn. Holdings will also be working on minor facilities upgrades for 93 Mile House and Kingsvale. OCL Services will work on facilities upgrades for Summit Lake and 150 Mile House. 

While most of the major contracts have been awarded, according to an Enbridge spokesperson, “local workers, businesses and service providers can submit their resume, business details and rental through the project’s , which is shared with contractors and hiring teams”

Enbridge’s Sunrise expansion on Westcoat’s line (known as T-South) will support domestic heating, regional industrial growth, the U.S. market and export facilities such as Woodfibre LNG, which is expected to come on stream in 2027.

Westcoast’s northern section (T-North) is undergoing capacity expansion on two fronts: its Aspen Point program, adding 535 million cubic feet per day, through new pipeline segments and electric drive compressors and is set to complete in late 2026.

The Birch Grove program is a proposed $400 million expansion to further add 178 million cubic feet per day with in-service proposed for the third quarter of 2028. Enbridge maintains this project is needed to meet growing regional demand for natural gas and to support potential LNG exports.