An Indigenous-led LNG project in northwest B.C. last week agreed to supply Germany with one million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year for the next 20 years.
This was no small deal. The agreement between the Ksi Lisims project and government-owned German energy utility Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE) marks a significant step toward shoring up Germany’s energy security at a moment of profound European insecurity, with the war in Ukraine and rising tensions involving Iran unsettling global supply.
How is it that the Nisga’a Nation, the driving force behind Ksi Lisims, has put itself at the centre of energy and geopolitics, and become a trusted supplier to a major European ally?
I am of Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en ancestry. As a “neighbour” of the Nisga’a, I have watched up close their decades-long struggle to control their own destiny — a struggle built on hard-fought legal victories, a modern-day treaty and a refusal to be told their project wasn’t viable.
The Nisga’a advanced the Calder case in the 1970s which was a landmark judgment that helped set the table for land-claims negotiations and for Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution. The Nisga’a’s modern-day treaty with Canada and B.C. then put them in a position to chart their own course.
Over the past decade, the Nisga’a chose to strengthen their economic future by pursuing an LNG project on Nisga’a-owned land. First Nations advancing trade is not a new concept — not at all. Going back to the grease trails where Nations traded amongst themselves in pre-colonial times, our people understood the importance of trade, and the connection between trade and security.
When they started on their LNG journey, neither Ottawa nor Victoria were as enthusiastic as they are today. Many observers did not give the project much of a chance. The Nisga’a and their partners held to their vision.
When built, their proposed LNG facility will be one of the largest in the world, and with the lowest emissions. The goal is to make it fully electrified. When BC Hydro can supply the power, the plant’s emissions would be 94 per cent below the global average.
It will deliver generational revenue for the Nation, create employment, drive the economy of northern B.C. and help generate tax revenues that can offset the province’s significant budget deficit.
That is why B.C. Premier David Eby and the federal Minister of Natural Resources Tim Hodgson stood alongside Nisga’a President Eva Clayton this past week to announce the deal with Germany. The Nisga’a are advancing B.C.’s economy and Canada’s economy.
This is the kind of economic reconciliation we need — and we need more of it. Across B.C. and Canada, First Nations are stepping up to lead in the economy: the Treaty 8 nations in northeast B.C.’s natural gas sector; the Haisla Nation’s Cedar LNG project; the more than 20 First Nations with agreements on the Coastal GasLink pipeline and LNG Canada; the Stonlasec8 partnership on the Westcoast Energy line; and the Musqueam and Squamish Nations’ involvement in Tilbury LNG and Woodfibre LNG respectively.
We take it for granted in B.C. that we have a world-class supply of natural gas in Treaty 8 territory. The world needs that gas, and our democratic allies need it most of all.
We have a choice: send it by pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast and let Americans capture the benefits of LNG or build the industry here at home. To move Canadian gas to tidewater on the Pacific, it must cross the territories of dozens of First Nations. LNG Canada and the Coastal GasLink pipeline — now in operation — showed how First Nations and industry can come together for the common good.
We all win. Indigenous people own their future. The projects are built to the highest standards. Canadians benefit. And our allies, like Germany, have a little more peace of mind that they can count on a trusted partner, and lessen their reliance on Russian gas.
It’s not just LNG. It’s Indigenous LNG.
That’s what we need to reconcile: the hard work of reconciliation brings real benefits. The Nisga’a have shown again that when First Nations, industry and government work together, the impact can stretch beyond our borders, and the economic benefits remain here.
Karen Ogen is CEO of the First Nations Natural Gas Alliance
Opinion: Indigenous-led LNG deal with Germany is the kind of reconciliation Canada needs
2026-06-03 10:00:21
