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Importing Australian LNG into Canada is akin to a river importing water from another river.
By Geoff Russ
Premier of New Brunswick Susan Holt speaks to media prior to the First Minister’s Meeting in Saskatoon on Monday, June 2, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards.
By Resource Works
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An LNG tanker that left Australia more than a month ago is set to deliver a cargo to Eastern Canada after a voyage of roughly 25,750 kilometres, a rare trade route being driven by weak Asian demand and buyers chasing better returns elsewhere.
Is it not ridiculous that we are importing the super chilled fuel into a country that sits on vast natural gas resources and has spent years debating how, or whether, to move more of them to tidewater.
In Saint John, N.B., the irony is sharper. The region already hosts a large LNG import terminal, now owned by Repsol, that has operated far below its nameplate capacity in recent years, receiving about 286,000 tonnes of LNG in 2024 and 176,000 tonnes in 2023.
The missing pipeline link
That terminal exists, in part, because Atlantic Canada lacks a direct pipeline link to western Canadian gas. New Brunswick’s Natural Resources Minister John Herron has been explicit about the missing piece, describing discussions with TC Energy and Repsol as being in a “nascent stage,” while pitching a new connection that would extend existing pipeline infrastructure east, allowing Saint John to ship LNG overseas, particularly to Europe.
Herron has said the concept could require $4 billion to $5 billion of investment, and would need buy-in from communities and First Nations along the route. An energy policy scholar, Warren Mabee of Queen’s University, says that Saint John has advantages over other export options, including faster access to the open ocean than Montreal, and year round operability unlike Churchill, Manitoba, though he warned that public consultation is where big projects often meet resistance.
Premier Susan Holt has been selling a similar message, including to Quebec Premier François Legault, who said any pipeline extension would have to deliver clear benefits to Quebecers. Holt said she was working to ensure communities between Quebec City and the New Brunswick border, including areas such as Rivière du Loup, could also gain access to natural gas.
Upgrades and past roadblocks
Repsol previously walked away from an LNG export idea in Saint John in 2023, citing high tolling costs to move gas from western production basins and uncertainty around supply. But Herron has said the situation has changed, pointing to a more supportive federal posture on projects deemed of national interest and the fact Saint John already has storage tanks, a jetty capable of handling large LNG carriers and other infrastructure that could be repurposed.
Separately, the terminal is undergoing upgrades aimed at improving storage efficiency, including new capability to reliquefy boil off gas that would otherwise be sent down the pipeline, according to both the contractor’s project description and company statements.
Critics of Ottawa’s approach have long argued the country has talked itself into scarcity. In a 2023 commentary on Repsol’s cancellation, then-premier Blaine Higgs blamed federal policy, saying “Trudeau’s stewardship has been a disaster” and that Ottawa “could be an ally and a part of the solution… but they’re not helping us develop natural gas.”
The price tag of indecision
The new Australian cargo is the outcome of that stalemate.
Instead of moving Canadian gas a few provinces east, a ship is hauling LNG across oceans and around continents to keep lights on and furnaces running in a Canadian winter. A river should have no need to import water, and Canada should have no need to import natural gas. It is all a reminder that geography does not build infrastructure, and that indecision has a price tag.
Geoff Russ is a writer for Resource Works, a non-partisan organization that champions responsible resource development in British Columbia and Canada. Reach Geoff at [email protected].
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