**Port of Vancouver. / Photo by** **Albert Stoynov** on **Unsplash**

The federal government is set to introduce new legislation to fast-track major infrastructure projects and remove internal trade barriers, aiming to boost economic productivity and national unity.

The proposed “One Canadian Economy” bill would give cabinet sweeping authority to modify federal regulations for projects deemed in the national interest. A single cabinet minister would oversee each project and issue a unified “conditions document” to serve as all necessary federal approvals.

“Once a project is determined to be in the national interest, federal reviews will shift from ‘whether’ to build these projects to ‘how’ to best advance them,” a background document states. The goal is to streamline federal approvals and reduce the risk of rejection after lengthy assessments.

The legislation, drafted by senior Privy Council officials Christiane Fox and Mollie Johnson, is designed to “open up the Canadian economy, reduce our reliance on the United States, and increase domestic productivity and competitiveness.”

The bill includes a two-year time limit for approving projects such as ports, critical mineral mines, pipelines, and clean energy corridors. It also pledges to eliminate all federal barriers to interprovincial trade.

In this week’s Throne Speech, King Charles outlined Prime Minister Mark Carney’s vision for “the largest transformation of (Canada’s) economy since the Second World War” and for Canada to become “the world’s leading energy superpower in both clean and conventional energy.”

“We are going to name specific projects to which these fast-track approvals apply so that the country can get moving,” Carney told CBC-TV. He cited pipelines, nuclear facilities, clean energy grids, and carbon-capture sites.

Ottawa is now asking premiers and industry leaders to submit project proposals that could benefit from the accelerated process. The move comes amid growing calls for national economic integration and pushback against regulatory delays.

At the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference Friday, Carney said that trade infrastructure linking to municipalities is also important. “What we look at on trade infrastructure is linking municipalities, large and small, into the ports,” he said. “There will be some major new ports that are built, new trade and energy corridors that will be built.”

He reiterated that these projects involve the provinces and that’s where conversations with the premiers will be key. “First and foremost, where we can help is, of course, in part on curating those discussions, but I don’t think we can wait for those discussions, and that’s why, where we focused on is specific types of infrastructure, specific housing programs, a sustained dialogue, not just at this level, on the stage, but at all levels,” he said.