The proposed sale of one of British Columbia’s only two oil refineries to U.S.-based energy giant Sunoco is drawing fierce criticism from unions, who are calling on the federal government to block the $9 billion deal in order to protect Canadian jobs.
The Burnaby Refinery, which supplies nearly one-third of the region’s gasoline and jet fuel, is reportedly on the market. If the sale proceeds—particularly in B.C., where the United States currently purchases over half of the province’s exports, particularly in minerals and energy.
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, representing over 315,000 workers nationwide and many at the refinery, is urging both Premier David Eby’s and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government to impose binding conditions to maintain domestic control over this critical infrastructure.
Neither Eby nor Carney have weighed in on the proposed sale.
“This is not the time to hand over control of critical energy infrastructure to a foreign multinational,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne, warning that energy security is national security. The refinery employs roughly 180 workers.
The Eby government, meanwhile, has touted plans announced in February to fast-track 18 mining, energy and infrastructure projects worth an estimated $20 billion in response to threatened U.S. tariffs, arguing B.C. must reduce reliance on its largest trading partner.
The move, framed as a response to threatened U.S. tariffs, is part of a broader effort to reduce B.C.’s reliance on its largest trading partner.
However, critics argue that the premier’s economic security strategy is undermined by the very deal it now appears willing to allow. Allowing an American firm to acquire a major piece of domestic energy infrastructure during a time of escalating trade tensions, they say, contradicts the stated goal of economic independence.
In addition to streamlining industrial approvals, the B.C. government has taken symbolic actions—such as removing alcohol from U.S. “red states” off provincial liquor store shelves—measures seen by many as largely performative and unlikely to significantly affect U.S.-Canada trade dynamics.
Premier Eby claims the fast-tracked projects, which include wind power, LNG export terminals, and gold and copper mines, will help diversify B.C.’s export markets.