Carney Oultines New Criteria to Fast-Track Major Projects, Calls for Canada to Be an ‘Energy Superpower’

Several premiers commended Prime Minister Mark Carney for hosting a productive first ministers’ meeting on infrastructure and energy projects. The meeting did not conclude with specific project commitments, but the discussions focused on streamlining the overall process for advancing major projects, and Carney outlined the criteria for deciding what projects to speed up.

Carney said in a press conference following the June 2 meeting that Ottawa will work with the provinces, territories, and indigenous peoples to expedite projects “deemed in the national interest.” Prior to the meeting, each province and territory created a list of projects they would like to see approved.

A statement from the first ministers said the criteria used for selecting projects to streamline include evaluating whether the project strengthens the country’s “autonomy, resilience, and security;” provides “undeniable benefits” to Canada and helps in growing the economy; has a high chance of being built successfully; is a priority for indigenous leaders; and can drive “clean growth potential.”

Carney said once a project has been selected for streamlining, a newly established federal major project office would bring together different relevant government departments to create a single set of conditions that have to be met for the project to advance.

He also said the government would commit to making a decision on projects within two years.

“The commitment is to proceed with the ... approval process for a maximum of two years under a new streamlined process that prioritizes federal resources to these most important projects,” Carney said.

Projects

The prime minister said the premiers discussed specific projects such as the Western and Arctic corridor to connect energy, critical minerals, and trade infrastructure; the Eastern energy partnership; critical minerals pathways; small modular reactors; and other port and rail projects. However, Carney did not confirm any projects that would be approved or cancelled.

“The purpose of the meeting today was to catalyze, bringing projects up, getting a shared understanding of what would constitute a project of national interest,” he said, adding that the federal government would be refining its list over the summer.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said it had been the “best meeting” between the premiers in 10 years, and that while the premiers had discussed building projects like pipelines, roads, mines, and railways, nothing was “carved in stone.”

“I know the first question is going to be, what are the exact projects?” Ford said. “I have all the confidence in the world the prime minister and his team are going to bring back the list. They’re going to sit down, they’re going to discuss it, to build these large national infrastructure projects from coast to coast to coast.”

Ford also said that during the meeting, the premiers had discussed bail reform and supporting Canadians with drug addiction to keep communities safe.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said she had pushed for a “grand bargain” of Ottawa supporting both a pipeline running from northwest B.C. to the port of Churchill, Manitoba, as well as a carbon capture and storage network known as the Pathways project. She said while the Pathways project would cost $10 billion to $20 billion, it could be paid for with revenues from more oil being sold to Asian countries.

“If we had a million barrel a day pipeline going to the northwest B.C. coast, that would generate about [$]20 billion a year in revenues. And so that seems like a pretty good value proposition, if both of those projects can proceed at once,” she said.

Smith also said she was “encouraged by the immediate change of tone that we’ve seen from recent months” from the federal government, and pointed to Carney discussing Canada becoming an “energy superpower.”

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who along with Smith have been vocal critics of the Liberal government, said his province will need more rail capacity to move products like potash to other countries, as well as access to another port in the Pacific or Atlantic. “This is ... a generational opportunity for us to achieve some of the aspirations the prime minister has put forward, but a generational opportunity for Canadians as well.”

Among the requests of Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew before the meeting was to build a trade corridor through the Port of Churchill, establishing indigenous “fair trade zones,” and developing critical minerals infrastructure.

B.C. Premier David Eby, for his part, had asked for establishing rail and trade corridors, as well as a focus on renewable energy and critical mineral projects, and helping the housing crisis.

Pipeline Discussions Before Meeting

Prior to the meeting, Smith had said there appeared to be “an appetite” to discuss building pipelines in Canada, but the federal government needed to get rid of policies that had harmed investor confidence. “If we’re going to continue building pipelines, we have to change the environment, and I’ve made that point very clear to the prime minister,” Smith said.

Smith met with Carney on June 1 to discuss energy projects, and said in a statement afterward that there appeared to be a “desire to move forward with new projects,” but that Ottawa needed to get rid of policies such as the Impact Assessment Act (also known as Bill C-69), the ban on oil tankers off the northern coast of B.C., and the clean energy regulations.

Smith also told reporters that the premiers of the western provinces are working collaboratively on this subject, and that they would like to see a pipeline stretching from the Northwest Coast of British Columbia, “probably Prince Rupert,” to the northern port city of Churchill, Manitoba.

The Alberta premier also said she would like to see an oil pipeline going through Quebec, but that she would be working “where I think we’re going to have the most success.”

Quebec Premier François Legault was noncommittal on the idea of a pipeline through his province, saying they would need to see the economic and environmental impact before agreeing to it. “What I say is that if there’s a project going through Quebec, we'll study it. That’s all,” he said.

Prior to the meeting, Ontario Premier Ford said he wanted the federal government to make investments in the Ring of Fire region of northern Ontario and in small modular reactors, which he said would allow Canada to become a “superpower when it comes to energy anywhere in the world.”

“We have a gold mine, as I say, in Canada. We just have to start mining the gold and getting it out of the ground,” Ford said.

Ford was also asked if he thought there could be a national unity crisis if the federal government did not approve an oil pipeline for Alberta, and said he would do “everything in my power to keep the country together.”

“Let’s get that oil to other markets around the world and make sure that we don’t rely on the United States all the time,” Ford said.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.