Prime Minister Carney Unveils First Projects for Canada’s New Major Projects Office

Nation-building investments target energy, trade, mining, and high-speed rail

Edmonton, Alberta — Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced the first slate of projects to be reviewed by the newly launched Major Projects Office (MPO), an initiative designed to fast-track critical nation-building infrastructure across Canada.

The MPO, unveiled last month, aims to streamline regulatory assessments, reduce approval timelines to a maximum of two years for projects of national interest, and coordinate financing with provinces, territories, Indigenous partners, and private investors.

Five priority projects referred to the MPO

The initial projects identified for review represent more than $60 billion in investment and span multiple sectors:

• LNG Canada Phase 2 (Kitimat, British Columbia): Expansion of one of the world’s largest liquefied natural gas facilities, with projected emissions 35% lower than the best-performing global plants.

• Darlington New Nuclear Project (Bowmanville, Ontario): Canada’s first small modular reactor, expected to power 300,000 homes and sustain 3,700 jobs annually over its 65-year lifespan.

• Contrecœur Terminal (Québec): A 60% expansion of the Port of Montréal to strengthen Eastern Canada’s trade capacity and generate $140 million annually in economic benefits.

• McIlvenna Bay Foran Copper Mine (Saskatchewan): A net-zero copper and zinc project developed with the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, supplying critical minerals for clean energy and manufacturing.

• Red Chris Mine Expansion (British Columbia): A decade-long extension boosting copper production by 15% and reducing emissions by over 70%, developed in partnership with the Tahltan Nation.

Transformative projects under development

Alongside these first five, the government highlighted additional large-scale proposals in earlier stages of planning. These include:

• Critical Minerals Strategy to accelerate projects in regions such as Ontario’s Ring of Fire.

• Wind West Atlantic Energy tapping into Atlantic Canada’s vast offshore wind potential.

• Pathways Plus carbon capture and storage project in Alberta.

• Arctic Economic and Security Corridor combining northern development and defence priorities.

• Port of Churchill Plus to expand trade capacity through Hudson Bay with Indigenous ownership opportunities.

• Alto High-Speed Rail, a proposed 1,000 km Toronto–Québec City line that could cut travel times in half and generate 51,000 jobs during construction.

Indigenous participation central to MPO

The announcement follows the appointment of an Indigenous Advisory Council to support the MPO, ensuring reconciliation, equity ownership, and shared economic benefits are embedded in all decisions.

Prime Minister Carney emphasized the scope of the agenda:

“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.”

Building “One Canadian Economy”

According to the government, the MPO will help Canada “build One Canadian Economy” by connecting regions, diversifying markets, and creating hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs while upholding environmental protections and Indigenous rights. Additional projects are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

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