Prince Rupert Strike Threatens AltaGas Propane Exports
Propane shipments through Ridley Island near Prince Rupert, B.C., face disruption in the coming months. AltaGas flagged the risk alongside record third-quarter results, Financial Post reports.
Market Impact
AltaGas exported a record 147,000 barrels a day of liquefied petroleum gas in the quarter. Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal handled 89,000 b/d, and the Ferndale terminal in Washington state handled 58,000 b/d. The company still expects full-year results at the upper end of its recently raised guidance. CFO Sean Brown told analysts Thursday the company is “actively mitigating that impact.”
The exposure comes from a neighbor. Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union walked off the job Oct. 2 at Trigon Pacific Terminals, which provides rail logistics and berthing at the shared site. Ridley Island sits inside the rail loop serving Trigon. On Oct. 27, the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled that Trigon broke the Canada Labour Code by letting contractors do work normally done by unionized employees during the strike. Those contractors had been handling LPG rail-car duties using Trigon’s infrastructure.
AltaGas is not a party to the dispute. It disagrees with the ruling and is weighing legal options. It says the decision hampers its ability to move Canadian propane reliably. On Oct. 20, the board had already ruled the strike legal. Data from RailState shows coal and petroleum coke trains into Trigon fell 48% a week after the strike began. The strike involves about 150 employees, most in ILWU Local 523A.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- Contractors doing rail-car, loading or logistics work at Ridley Island: The Oct. 27 ruling targeted contractor use during a strike. Pull your scope documents now and confirm whether any of your crews perform work that unionized Trigon staff normally do. Get the owner’s written position on that work before your next mobilization.
- Cash tied up in terminal-adjacent work: AltaGas expects disruption “in the months ahead” but gave no end date. Bill completed milestones now and confirm payment terms in writing, rather than waiting for a restart that has no date.
- Crews held for Western Canada schedules: Our inference is that Ridley Island and Prince Rupert-area work will slip while the dispute runs. Do not hold crews on open-ended standby. Ask for a standby rate or a release clause in any pending Ridley Island or Prince Rupert rail-side work order.
- Watch the legal track: AltaGas has not said whether it will challenge the Oct. 27 ruling. If it does, the outcome could shape whether contract labor is an option at shared sites. Hold off committing replacement-labor capacity to the site until that is clear.
- Ferndale, Washington: The source reports disruption only at Ridley Island, and Ferndale moved 58,000 b/d in the quarter. Cross-border service providers should not assume Ferndale work is affected, but should check with the owner.
- Precedent: AltaGas’s own Ridley Island workers (ILWU Local 523B) struck in November 2025, and the terminal ran on an alternate workforce until a five-year deal ended the almost month-long dispute. Terminal work here carries labor-disruption risk, so price it into bids.
