Calgary-based pipeliner AltaGas Ltd. reported record third-quarter earnings Thursday on the strength of its liquefied petroleum gas exports to Asia. But a strike at a neighbouring terminal in Prince Rupert, B.C., and a labour board ruling this week are now expected to slow shipments through the company’s most important export gateway. The Calgary-based company exported a record 147,000 barrels a day of liquefied petroleum gas during the quarter: 89,000 barrels a day through its Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal near Prince Rupert, and 58,000 through its Ferndale terminal in Washington state. AltaGas said it still expects full-year results at the upper end of projections it recently raised, but its outlook now carries a caveat. Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union walked off the job Oct. 2 at Trigon Pacific Terminals, which provides rail logistics and berthing services. AltaGas said the Prince Rupert strike had not materially affected its results so far, but following a Canada Industrial Relations Board ruling earlier this week, it now expects some disruption in the months ahead. “We are actively mitigating that impact and continue to expect results toward the upper end of our recently increased guidance ranges,” chief financial officer Sean Brown told analysts on a conference call Thursday. AltaGas is not a party to the dispute, but the layout of the site leaves it exposed. Trigon runs a multi-commodity bulk terminal on Ridley Island that ships metallurgical and thermal coal, petroleum coke and liquefied petroleum gas from B.C. and Alberta. The two terminals share rail access, with Ridley Island sitting inside the rail loop that serves Trigon. On Oct. 27, the labour board ruled that Trigon broke the Canada Labour Code by letting contractors do work normally performed by unionized employees during the strike. Those contractors had been handling liquefied petroleum gas rail-car duties at the shared site, using Trigon’s infrastructure. The board found Trigon allowed the arrangement and benefited from it, because it freed the company’s small group of trained non-union staff to keep coal moving. AltaGas said it disagrees with the decision and is weighing its legal options. The company said the ruling hampers its ability to move Canadian propane reliably through Ridley Island. And it warned that disruption at the gateway ripples across the energy sector, hitting producers, midstream companies and customers, while hurting Canada’s reputation as a dependable supplier to global markets. The ruling was the second setback for Trigon in a week. On Oct. 20, the board dismissed the company’s complaint that the union was bargaining in bad faith, rejected its request to have the walkout declared unlawful, and ruled the strike legal. The strike is over wages, benefits and working conditions. The terminal has about 150 employees, most of them members of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 523A. The walkout is already slowing traffic at the terminal. Data from rail-traffic monitoring firm RailState shows coal and petroleum coke trains into Trigon fell 48 per cent a week after the strike began. Over the same period last year, weekly train counts rose. AltaGas has managed through labour trouble on Ridley Island before. Its own Ridley Island workers, represented by International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 523B, walked out in November 2025. The company kept the terminal running with an alternate workforce until a five-year agreement ended the almost month-long dispute. Whitecap rides high oil prices, banks the cashCanada’s largest oil and gas driller heading into one of its busiest winters in yearsAlberta's oilpatch dealmaking boom continues as Ovintiv buys Logan Energy for $1.26 billionWhy investors are gushing over Canada’s oilpatch • Email: jarose@postmedia.com