Prime Minister Mark Carney is now reportedly moving to fast-track a handful of large-scale energy, mining, and infrastructure projects, casting the push as an effort to revitalize a struggling economy and reduce Canada’s dependence on its southern neighbor.
Carney said Monday he has directed the newly created Major Projects Office to shepherd five ventures already in progress across the finish line. That means resolving lingering regulatory and permitting disputes, and securing financing where needed.
The projects identified include the second phase of LNG Canada’s export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia; Ontario Power Generation’s construction of a small modular nuclear reactor; Foran Mining’s McIlvenna Bay copper-and-zinc project in western Canada; the Port of Montreal’s proposed expansion; and Newmont Mining’s Red Chris operation, also in British Columbia.
“We will advance projects that turbocharge and connect our regional economies and our economy to the world,” Carney declared. He acknowledged that years of “burdensome regulatory requirements” had throttled business investment in critical sectors.
The five ventures are projected to generate 60 billion Canadian dollars — about $43.28 billion — in economic activity.
Carney promised to name a second round of projects by mid-November, potentially including a carbon-capture facility supported by major energy producers, an upgrade to Churchill, Manitoba’s subarctic port, and new infrastructure to unlock remote mineral deposits.
The initiative comes at a precarious moment. Canada’s economy contracted at a 1.6 percent annualized rate in the second quarter. Eric Lascelles, chief economist at RBC Global Asset Management, warned Canadians to brace for a “proper recession” as labor markets weaken under the weight of U.S. tariffs.
Carney, a former central banker, has positioned his plan as a strategic response to President Trump’s trade policies. The Trump administration’s tariffs have underscored Canada’s vulnerability after decades of reliance on north-south trade. Carney is now betting that projects with global reach — particularly in energy and resources — will help diversify Canada’s customer base.
The Business Council of Canada, representing top executives, has echoed that view. It cautioned that Canada’s rich deposits of energy and minerals cannot be fully developed without “new trade corridors that make it easier for producers here to sell to faster-growing markets in Asia and other non-U.S. markets.”
Energy leaders quickly welcomed Carney’s emphasis. François Poirier, chief executive of TC Energy, said the inclusion of LNG Canada in the initial list “reflects the essential role energy infrastructure plays in Canada’s economic sovereignty and energy security.” TC Energy operates the pipeline delivering natural gas from northern British Columbia to LNG Canada, where it will be liquefied for export.
Business leaders also pointed to lingering obstacles. Candace Laing, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, applauded the government’s new urgency but said deeper reform is required.
She cited “regulatory self-contradictions and red tape that keep private capital from investing in Canada,” pointing specifically to the Liberal government’s cap on oil-and-gas emissions and a “permitting purgatory” that hobbles even basic infrastructure.
“Canada needs a system where every project — whether in energy, infrastructure, or clean technology — faces a process that is reasonable, transparent, and predictable,” Laing said.
For Carney, the political stakes are high. He has pledged to wean the country from an overreliance on U.S. markets while bolstering jobs and investment at home.
Whether this first slate of projects can deliver — or be delivered on time — will test not only Canada’s regulatory regime but also its capacity to chart an economic course less tied to Washington’s trade whims.
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