Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith this week in Edmonton. ‘The Premier and I are focused on getting big things built here — to empower Albertans and build greater prosperity for all Canadians,’ he wrote on **social media**.

Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday unveiled the first five proposals to be fast-tracked under Ottawa’s new Major Projects Office (MPO), designed to speed approval of projects deemed in Canada’s national interest. The announcement drew praise from energy leaders and Alberta’s government but criticism from environmental groups over the inclusion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure.

“When I looked at the first five projects, I thought: ‘Finally — they get it,’ because it’s all the projects that have been difficult to build,” Alberta Premier Danielle Smith told reporters in Edmonton.

According to the government's press release, Phase 2 of LNG Canada in Kitimat, B.C., will double the export terminal’s output. The facility turns natural gas piped from Alberta and northeastern B.C. into liquid form for shipment to Asia. The first cargoes from Phase 1 began moving across the Pacific this summer.

“At this moment of transformative change, Canada’s new government is focused on delivering major projects to connect our communities, empower Canadian workers, and build Canada’s strength. With the first in a series of new projects, we will build big, build now, and build Canada strong,” Carney said in the press release.

Proponents argue that expanding LNG exports could reduce Canada’s reliance on the U.S. as a natural gas customer and diversify its global trade relationships.

“Building LNG export capacity and other oil and natural gas-related projects are among the fastest ways to diversify Canada’s global customer base and increase our economic and energy sovereignty in the face of international economic uncertainty,” said Lisa Baiton, president and CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP).

Energy analysts also see strategic benefits. François Poirier, CEO of TC Energy — which built the Coastal GasLink pipeline connecting Alberta and B.C. gas fields to Kitimat — said in a news release: “The inclusion of LNG Canada’s Phase 2 on the government’s nation-building projects list reflects the essential role energy infrastructure plays in Canada’s economic sovereignty and energy security.”

Kent Fellows, economist at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, described the project as “not a game changer, but with nation-building infrastructure, I don’t think we should expect a one-silver-bullet answer to this. It’s going to be a bunch of incremental projects and this seems like one of them — and an important one.”

The announcement shows the government is serious about “carry[ing] out their promise that Bill C-5 will create good-paying, unionized jobs,” said Canada’s Building Trades Unions executive director Sean Strickland.

Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on social media: “And all of a sudden, we went from ‘building at speeds not seen in generations,’ to 4 years to get shovels in the ground. Time for the Liberal government to get out of the way so builders can build and workers can work.”

‘Makes no sense’

Environmental groups, however, criticized the government’s emphasis on LNG.

“Nation building should secure Canada’s future, not tie us to the polluting past,” said Aly Hyder Ali, oil and gas program manager at Environmental Defence. “Expanding LNG in a climate crisis is a dangerous mistake.”

Greenpeace Canada added that Ottawa’s designation of LNG as a nation-building project is misleading. “Doubling down on LNG exports from a project that has faced fierce Indigenous opposition makes no sense at a time when wildfires are bringing home the cost of the climate crisis and key markets like China and Europe are turning to solar and wind rather than fossil fuels,” the group said.

Alongside LNG Canada Phase 2, the initial MPO list includes:

Darlington Nuclear Project, Bowmanville, Ont. — Canada would become the first G7 nation with operational small modular reactors, advancing clean energy commercialization.
Contrecœur Terminal Expansion, Qué. — Aims to increase the Port of Montréal’s capacity by about 60%, strengthening trade and supply chains.
McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine, Saskatchewan — Expected to become Canada’s first net-zero copper project and create 400 jobs.
Red Chris Mine Expansion, B.C. — Extends the mine’s life by over a decade, boosts copper production by 15%, and cuts greenhouse gas emissions by over 70%.

Future projects and carbon capture

Carney also highlighted potential additions to the fast-track list, including the $16.5-billion “Pathways Plus” carbon capture and storage initiative proposed by Alberta’s largest oilsands companies.

“We are going to accelerate work on Pathways. We see this as a potentially viable project,” Carney said, noting that “the ‘plus’ is potential pipelines to a variety of potential markets.”

“We are encouraged the federal government has recognized the importance of our proposed foundational carbon capture and storage project, and that future oil pipelines to international markets will help build Canada into an energy superpower,” said Pathways president Kendall Dilling .

Premier Smith has proposed linking Pathways with a new West Coast oil pipeline to create a “grand bargain” — sequestering oilsands emissions underground while expanding export capacity. However, no private companies have committed to building the pipeline.

“While we would have liked to have seen pipeline projects identified on this first list of projects in the national interest, we also understand that more work needs to be done to attract proponents, and that process will take some time,” Baiton said.

Moore asks ‘Why stop there?’

Observers note that while the MPO promises faster approvals and coordinated stakeholder engagement, challenges remain, including potential environmental opposition, regulatory hurdles and financial risks.

Carney’s announcement reflects a hands-on approach to nation-building infrastructure. Analysts see both opportunity and risk in tying federal leadership closely to the success of these complex projects.

Former Conservative Industry minister James Moore wrote in an op-ed: “Surely if large multijurisdictional projects that require sophisticated financing, aboriginal engagement, stakeholder collaboration, strategic procurement, environmental assessments and more can be driven to such efficiency, why stop at a select few ‘major’ projects? Why not drive the same ambition through the whole catalogue of infrastructure opportunities, and not just a tight list of five projects every few months? I am hopeful that this question will be asked in the coming session of Parliament at some point, but I digress.”

He said, however, given that major projects will not be totally without controversy and the fact Carney is leading on it anyway is admirable.

“This will not be all smooth sailing, great photo-ops, peace and prosperity. This will get tough at times,” he wrote. “So, for the prime minister to take personal ownership of these projects as a direct proxy for the success or failure of his leadership is truly leading from the front and admirable.”

Approvals for ‘transformative’ projects by Grey Cup day

In its extensive release of plans and priorities, the government said that, besides the five projects announced Thursday, Ottawa is flagging several strategies for projects that could be “truly transformative for this country” that are at an earlier stage of development. These approaches, which Carney said should lead to more project approvals by Grey Cup day, include:

Critical Minerals Strategy: Canada will accelerate critical mineral projects to final investment decisions within two years to grow its clean tech and defence value chains, especially in regions like Ontario’s Ring of Fire.
Wind West Atlantic Energy: Canada will develop regulatory certainty to attract investment in over 60 GW of Atlantic wind power, linking it to Eastern Canada and U.S. export markets.
Pathways Plus: An Alberta carbon capture and storage network will cut oil sands emissions while supporting low-carbon energy exports and future pipeline development.
Arctic Economic and Security Corridor: A dual-use Arctic infrastructure corridor will boost northern development, support critical minerals, connect communities, and strengthen Canada’s defence presence.
Port of Churchill Plus: In partnership with Indigenous Peoples, Canada will transform the Port of Churchill into a four-season trade and energy hub linking the North to national and global markets.
Alto High-Speed Rail: A Toronto–Québec City high-speed rail line will halve travel times, create jobs, cut emissions, and drive major economic growth.

Carney also said he will ask the MPO to help with the development of a “Canadian Sovereign Cloud” that would build data centres and computing capacity in a way that ensures the country's competitiveness and digital sovereignty.

Thursday’s announcement did not specify any new federal funding for the named projects. Some projects, such as LNG expansion, may involve relatively small federal financial contributions, Carney said. But some projects such as Arctic ports that are important for defence would be federally-led with significant funding from Ottawa.

At a press conference in Montreal regarding major projects, One Canadian Economy Minister Dominic LeBlanc noted that the MPO will not add new reviews, alter existing partnerships, or provide direct funding, but will outline project funding needs for government consideration and to attract private investment. If projects stall, the MPO will alert ministers, who will decide how to expedite them.

Meanwhile, Carney also appointed 11 members to the Major Project Office’s Indigenous Advisory Council.