CALGARY – AltaGas Ltd. is preparing for a slowdown in operations at its propane export facility in northern British Columbia as a strike by workers at the Port of Prince Rupert drags on.
Members of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union employed by Trigon Pacific Terminals walked off the job on Oct. 2. Trigon provides rail logistics and berthing services for the Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal that AltaGas operates. Up until a few days ago, there has been minimal impact on the Calgary-based energy infrastructure company.
But on Tuesday, the Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered Trigon, which also operates northern B.C.‘s largest bulk export terminal, to stop using contractors for some duties, including handling the petroleum products that AltaGas exports to high-demand Asian markets.
“We’re obviously very disappointed about this ruling because we don’t believe that the ruling takes into account all case law in Canada and we’re going to vigorously take all legal actions we can to reverse its decision,” AltaGas chief executive Vern Yu told analysts on a conference call to discuss third-quarter results.
“But in the interim we’re going to operate under modified mitigation plans, which will slow down our ability to load vessels at planned throughputs.”
Yu said the Trigon labour dispute gets at a broader problem that the governing federal Liberals are seeking to address in legislation now winding its way through Parliament. Among a raft of other items aimed at speeding along infrastructure projects, Bill C-39 includes changes to the Canada Labour Code to clarify a minister’s power to end a work stoppage in some cases.
“We need to have a better method of how the government can help labour and companies deal with these actions,” Yu said.
In Ottawa on Thursday, labour leaders warned unions could bring about countrywide job action if the Labour Code changes are rammed through. They’ve said it amounts to an attack on the right to strike.
The disruption in Prince Rupert comes as Asian countries clamour for stable supplies of propane, a commonly used fuel in that part of the world. Yu said export volumes of liquid petroleum gases through the Strait of Hormuz are more than 70 per cent lower than they were before the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran in February, causing prices in the Asian market to spike.
“The feedback we’ve already seen from these customers is they’re highly disappointed in Canada’s ability to provide these (liquid petroleum gases) because of this labour unrest,” Yu said.
“So this is something I believe the government’s going to have to keep a keen eye on.”
The ability for AltaGas to route shipments through a port terminal in Washington State is limited, Yu added.
Earlier Thursday, AltaGas reported a third-quarter loss of $21 million attributable to common shares compared with a loss of $25 million in the same quarter last year.
The loss amounted to seven cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a loss of eight cents per diluted share a year earlier.
On a normalized basis, AltaGas says it earned 29 cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with a normalized profit of four cents per diluted share a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $3.43 billion, up from $2.60 billion in the same quarter last year.
Yu said the company is carrying strong momentum into the fourth quarter and now expects to deliver full-year financial results toward the high-end of its 2026 guidance ranges.
In its outlook, the company has said it expects normalized earnings per share for 2026 between $2.35 and $2.60, up from its actual normalized earnings per share of $2.23 in 2025.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2026.
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