Posted on November 4, 2026
The federal government’s Oct. 30 decision to list the $5.9-billion Delta container port expansion as a project of “national interest” is a positive development for Nanaimo, according to Donna Hais, chairperson of the Nanaimo Port Authority.
Hais said Delta’s port expansion project is complementary to the NPA’s approximately $120-million expansion project at the Duke Point terminal, and all the ports along B.C.’s coast are working together to increase Canada’s trade sovereignty by helping to expand and diversify markets between Asia and other countries that can be accessed through B.C.’s port systems.
“This decision will definitely have positive impacts on our port, and this is good news for Nanaimo and for Canada,” she said.
“We’re moving forward with our port expansion at Duke Point. We already have the necessary permits and authorizations to proceed and construction has begun, with completion expected in 2027.”
Declaring the Delta container port expansion a national interest means the project will be able to bypass much of the remaining bureaucratic red tape that would normally be required for the project.
The decision by the federal government is intended to accelerate the project’s timelines, meaning work should be completed by 2035 rather than 2039, as was originally scheduled.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that making the Delta port project, which will increase Port of Vancouver’s overall container capacity by about 50 per cent, and Canada’s West Coast capacity by about 30 per cent when completed, will better connect Canada’s economy with the world and diversify trade.
“As the world competes for capital, Canada will not wait,” he said.
“We are building a stronger, more independent and more competitive Canadian economy.”
Port of Nanaimo’s expansion project will see the length of the Duke Point berth increase from 182 metres to 325 metres, and enable the berthing of 300-metre-long deep sea vessels for the first time.
