Ottawa signals its C$3 billion can follow B.C.'s switch from a C$8.5 billion tunnel to a 10-lane bridge

MacKinnon spoke at a news conference in Delta on the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 port expansion, The Canadian Press reported. Asked whether the federal money committed to the tunnel would survive the change, he said Ottawa supports crossing the river however the premier chooses and is "for a bridge" if B.C. wants one. Daily Hive noted it is unclear whether the funding agreement or the amount would be revised, since a bridge is expected to cost less.

Ottawa committed up to C$3 billion toward the crossing in July 2026. The tunnel was estimated at C$4.15 billion five years or so earlier, when the NDP government settled on an eight-lane immersed tube; the figure rose to C$8.5 billion this July. In June the province ended its deal with the design-build consortium it had chosen in 2024, after the two sides failed to agree commercial terms for main construction, and re-tendered the rest as five separate packages. The provincial environmental assessment is still open.

Early works and site preparation have run since January on Deas Island, next to the south portal of the 1959 tunnel, but no main construction contract has been awarded, Daily Hive reported. Doerkson's Conservatives, who won the Oct. 24 election, say a bridge would save billions and carry less geotechnical and construction risk. The original 10-lane bridge was cancelled in 2017, when the lowest fixed-price bid for the bridge and Highway 99 upgrades was C$2.6 billion against a C$3.5 billion provincial estimate.