Construction on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project began in the summer of 2018. The project, which involved construction of a new pipeline parallel to the existing one, was proposed to ease the bottleneck on Western Canadian crude and increase flows to the West Coast, opening access to new markets.
The pipeline expansion became fully operational in May 2024 and since then has nearly tripled the capacity of the existing pipeline through the Rocky Mountains from Edmonton, Alberta, to the port of Burnaby, British Columbia, where Canadian crude can be shipped to new markets by sea.
Following the first year of operation, let’s look at the impact of the pipeline expansion on crude oil movements, inventories and exports.
Pipeline movements
In the 12-month period since the opening of the expansion in May 2024, average pipeline movements of crude oil and equivalent products from Alberta to British Columbia increased more than fivefold (+449.9%) compared with the 12 months before the opening, reaching a series high of 2.8 million cubic metres in March 2025.
Movements of hydrocarbon gas liquids and refined petroleum products were less impacted by the expansion, but still grew on average by over one-quarter (+28.3%) during the same period.
Monthly gross domestic product (GDP) by industry at the national level for crude oil pipelines and other pipeline transportation also rose following construction of the new line. Average GDP for this industry from May 2024 to April 2025 was 8.5% higher than the average during the same period one year earlier. Some other pipeline movements may also have contributed to this gain, although the Trans Mountain expansion was the lone new major pipeline project added during this period.
Inventories
In conjunction with the pipeline’s construction, the storage terminal was expanded in Burnaby, British Columbia, to store the crude oil after it has made its way across the Rocky Mountains.
With a new storage capacity of approximately 875 000 cubic metres (5.5 million barrels), up from the previous capacity of nearly 270 000 cubic metres, the additional terminal storage—along with the crude in the expanded pipeline—were the primary contributors to the overall increase in closing inventories of crude oil and equivalents in British Columbia. Closing inventories in British Columbia reached a series high of 1.1 million cubic metres in May 2024 when the new pipeline was opened, 158.4% higher than the same month in 2023.
Export volumes and destinations
The United States remained the primary destination for Canadian crude oil, accounting for 93.8% of all Canadian crude oil exports from May 2024 to April 2025, with 92.8% of total US-bound crude oil exports moving across the border through the existing pipeline network. With the Trans Mountain Expanded System, Canadian crude can now be exported in higher volumes by ship to US West Coast states and Asia.
According to Canadian International Merchandise Trade statistics, within the first 12 months of the pipeline opening, total crude oil volumes exported through British Columbia surged by more than sixfold. The United States remained the primary destination, even as it fell to 51.9% from May 2024 to April 2025 compared to 100.0% in the previous 12 months.
During the same period, crude oil shipments to non-US destinations accounted for 48.1% of exports by volume. China accounted for almost one-third (31.9%), followed by Hong Kong (7.1%), Singapore (6.3%), South Korea (1.6%) and India (1.2%).
Crude oil exports shipped via British Columbia to all destinations were valued at nearly $13.9 billion in this period.
By: statcan / August 26, 2025.
