The liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that Marinvest Energy wants to build in Quebec has yet to be publicly unveiled. Elected officials are unaware of its details and it has not yet been submitted for an environmental assessment. The Alberta natural gas export complex will nevertheless be showcased at the Canadian Investment Summit, organized by Prime Minister Mark Carney to “facilitate” the development of industrial projects.
The first Canadian Investment Summit, being held Monday and Tuesday in Toronto, is being presented by the federal government as “a practical forum focused on long-term investments, business opportunities and productive assets that drive growth and resilience.”
Ottawa’s goal is to “attract billions of dollars in new investment to Canada,” particularly in mining, transportation, port infrastructure and “clean” energy, but also in “conventional” energy — namely, oil and gas.
The Carney government is banking on increased production and exports of these energy sources, particularly gas shipped overseas in the form of LNG. Ottawa presents these exports as a way to “produce clean growth” amid a climate crisis fuelled by our dependence on fossil fuels.
Dozens of major projects
The “prospectus” prepared for participants, which showcases “a selection of investment opportunities in Canada” in a list of dozens of major projects, thus provides a showcase for Marinvest Energy’s project. The company, recently renamed Kino Aski, is proposing a project very similar to the now-defunct and controversial LNG Québec project. The new $30-billion industrial complex is described as “a Canada-scale LNG export project that will connect Western Canada’s natural gas fields to the Port of Baie-Comeau, Quebec.”
The summary reiterates the main elements of what would be the largest industrial project in Quebec’s history, the existence of which was revealed by Le Devoir in July 2025. The project would involve building a roughly 1,000-kilometre pipeline through the heart of the boreal forest, as well as installing three floating LNG production facilities in the waters of the St. Lawrence River, on Quebec’s North Shore.
“Developed through a partnership between Indigenous and private-sector stakeholders, this project is designed to produce up to 15 million tonnes of very low-emissions LNG per year,” the prospectus also states. After working behind the scenes with the Carney government for more than a year, Marinvest Energy recently announced that responsibility for developing the project had been entrusted to an entity “led by First Nations.”
So far, only the Atikamekw Nation is said to have agreed to take part, even though the project would also encroach on the territories of Anishinaabe, Cree and Innu communities in Quebec. The involvement of First Nations could pave the way for federal funding, as well as for potential expedited and guaranteed approval as a project deemed to be “in the national interest.”
On Monday, the Anishnabe Nation of Lac Simon plans to make a public statement during the Toronto summit to reiterate that the LNG complex “does not currently have either the community’s consent or social acceptance.” In an interview with Le Devoir, the Nation’s council chief, Lucien Wabanonik, has already said that the project’s proponents offered money at their very first presentation meeting.
“Partner” to investors
The document provided to participants at the summit also states that the government agency Invest in Canada “acts as a trusted partner throughout the investment journey.” Beginning in May 2025, the agency organized monthly meetings involving various federal departments to “provide advice and support to facilitate” Marinvest Energy’s investment.
The same prospectus touts the overhaul of environmental assessments as a way to strengthen the “investment environment,” but also to “accelerate the development and implementation of projects.”
For now, however, it is unclear what environmental assessment process will apply to the pipeline and LNG plant project, since it has not yet been formally submitted. The Carney government has nevertheless just adopted regulations that remove pipelines from the scope of the federal law that previously allowed their environmental impacts to be assessed. Responsibility for reviewing them now falls to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), a decision that has received “massive support” from the fossil fuel industry. In a written response, the project’s proponents say they intend to follow “all applicable regulatory processes, including those of the CER and the Quebec Bureau of Public Hearings on the Environment (BAPE).”
Is it premature to showcase Kino Aski, given that it is not known whether the project will be approved by Quebec and that its environmental risks remain unknown? “The projects presented by proponents as part of the Canadian Investment Summit Prospectus are at various stages of development, ranging from the conceptual phase to the implementation-ready phase. Presenting a project to investors, as well as any discussions that may arise from it, in no way prejudges the outcome of environmental assessments, regulatory processes or any other required approvals,” a spokesperson for Invest in Canada said after Mark Carney’s office referred Le Devoir’s questions to the agency.
Environmental groups, for their part, are denouncing a “lack of transparency” surrounding the project. “While the Quebec and Canadian governments keep repeating that there is no Marinvest project on the table, Ottawa and the proponent are already looking for foreign investors. How can they seriously continue to claim that there is no project? The people of Quebec are being deliberately kept in the dark while the project moves forward behind the scenes,” said Alice-Anne Simard, executive director of Nature Québec.
September 15th 2026
