Monday January 12, 2026 | VICTORIA, BC [Posted at 5:12 pm PT | Updated 7:30 pm PT]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet with leadership of Coastal First Nations tomorrow in Prince Rupert.
The January 13 meeting in Prince Rupert is scheduled for 9 am PT.
This comes in the wake of a Memorandum of Understanding that the federal government signed with Alberta back in November 2025.
The discussion will include aspects of major projects, marine conservation and ocean protection, and how Indigenous communities can be included as Canada strengthens its economy as the US trade threats continue.
Currently there is a tanker ban that protects the inner channels of the BC north coast from oil spills from tanker ships. The pristine coastal area of the north island region in particular can arguably be permanently damaged by any sort of spill.
Squeezing in this trip ahead of departing for China may be seen as important for assessing the possibility of success with a pipeline to the coast, before Carney meets with one of the intended international markets for oil through such a proposed pipeline.
Three others on the junket:
Carney will be accompanied in Prince Rupert by Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson, Housing Minister Gregor Robertson and BC Liberal MP Wade Grant who is Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Hodgson previously offered a Zoom call to discuss issues with coastal Indigenous leaders, which the Indigenous leaders said was insufficient.
Local business visit:
At 11:40 am tomorrow in Prince Rupert the prime minister will visit a local business before heading to Vancouver.
Departure to China:
Prime Minister Mark Carney will depart for China’s capital city of Beijing on a flight from Vancouver International Airport at 2:45 pm PT.
The trip to China is seen as a start to repairing Canada-China relations and ameliorating current trade tariff challenges.
Carney was already booked on a trip with many complexities, starting with China with high-stakes political and trade issues, then Qatar about trade, then Switzerland for the World Economic Forum.
Fitting in an equally significant visit to Prince Rupert shows the prime minister juggling domestic and national/international issues.
The trip to Prince Rupert also bears evidence of the importance of the MOU-related coastal major projects issue.
Travel takes a lot of energy. The range of commitments being fit into one lengthy high-stakes trip by Carney can be recognized by Canadians.
===== RELATED:
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- January 2026: International engagement by Carney in China & Switzerland (January 7, 2026)
- The Paris Declaration: guarantees for Ukraine once a ceasefire happens (January 6, 2026)
- Carney and Smith sign pipeline MOU to facilitate economic growth (November 27, 2025)
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