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                                                                 Exhibit 99.1

                                                      [TC PIPELINES, LP LOGO]

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                               News Release

          TC PIPELINES, LP ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER DISTRIBUTION

Calgary, Alberta - January 16, 2004 - (Nasdaq: TCLP) - TC PipeLines, LP (the
Partnership) today announced that the board of directors of TC PipeLines GP,
Inc., its general partner, has declared the Partnership's fourth quarter 2003
distribution in the amount of US$0.55 per unit. This distribution is payable
on February 13, 2004 to unitholders of record as of January 30, 2004.

Northern Border Pipeline Company ("Northern Border Pipeline") has advised
the Partnership that it has declared today its fourth quarter 2003
distribution and has confirmed its intention to make such distribution to the
Partnership. The Partnership owns a 30% interest in Northern Border Pipeline,
the remaining 70% is owned by Northern Border Partners, L.P. ("Northern
Border Partners"). Notwithstanding Northern Border Partners' announcement
earlier today that it does not intend to declare its distribution for the
quarter ended December 31, 2003 by January 20, 2004, the Partnership will be
able to make its distribution in the ordinary course.

TC PipeLines, LP is a publicly held limited partnership. It owns a 30%
interest in Northern Border Pipeline Company, a Texas general partnership,
and a 49% interest in Tuscarora Gas Transmission Company, a Nevada general
partnership. Northern Border Pipeline, which is owned 70% by Northern Border
Partners, L.P., a publicly traded master limited partnership controlled by
affiliates of Enron Corp., owns a 1,249-mile United States interstate
pipeline system that transports natural gas from the Montana-Saskatchewan
border to markets in the midwestern United States. Tuscarora owns a 240-mile
United States interstate pipeline system that transports natural gas from
Oregon, where it interconnects with facilities of Gas Transmission Northwest
Corporation (GTN), to northern Nevada. TC PipeLines, LP is managed by its
general partner, TC PipeLines GP, Inc., a wholly
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owned subsidiary of TransCanada PipeLines Limited. Subsidiaries of
TransCanada also hold common and subordinated units of the Partnership.
Common units of TC PipeLines, LP are quoted on the Nasdaq Stock Market and
trade under the symbol "TCLP". For more information about TC PipeLines, LP,
visit the Partnership's Internet site at www.tcpipelineslp.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This news release includes forward-looking statements regarding future events
and the future financial performance of TC PipeLines, LP. All forward-looking
statements are based on the Partnership's beliefs as well as assumptions made
by and information currently available to the Partnership. When used herein,
words such as "believes", "expects", "intends", "forecasts", "projects", and
similar expressions, identify forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements reflect the
Partnership's current views with respect to future events and are subject to
various risks, uncertainties and assumptions including regulatory decisions,
particularly those of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the
Securities and Exchange Commission, cost of acquisitions, future demand for
natural gas, overcapacity in the industry, and prevailing economic
conditions, particularly conditions of the capital and equity markets, and
other risks discussed in detail in the Partnership's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Partnership's Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002. If one or more of these
risks or uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the
forward-looking statement. Except as required by applicable securities laws,
TC PipeLines, LP does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

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Media Inquiries:                        Kurt Kadatz/Hejdi Feick
                                        (403) 920-7877

Unitholder and
Analyst Inquiries:                      David Moneta/Debbie Stein
                                        (877) 290[cad 220]2772
                                        investor_relations@tcpipelineslp.com