Fast-Tracking Major Projects: Federal and Provincial Developments

On May 12, 2026, the Government of Canada (Government) released the Getting Major Projects Built in Canada - Discussion Paper on Proposed Legislative, Regulatory, and Policy Reforms (Discussion Paper). The Discussion Paper outlines proposed legislative, regulatory and policy reforms to reduce the regulatory burden facing proponents of major projects, ensure federal decisions are made in a timely manner and ultimately attract investments in large-scale projects in Canada. 

The proposed reforms follow the introduction of the Building Canada Act in 2025 and, taken together, would represent significant changes to federal impact assessments and permitting, including allowing these processes to occur simultaneously — a significant departure from the status quo. These reforms align with the broader infrastructure-focused measures highlighted in our Blakes Bulletin: Spring Economic Update 2026: Key Initiatives for the Infrastructure Industry.

While the federal government has temporarily paused these reforms to allow time for additional consultations, this forms part of a much broader trend of governments across Canada seeking to streamline regulatory approvals for major projects.

Background

The Building Canada Act received royal assent on June 26, 2025, establishing a framework and a Major Projects Office to identify and advance projects of national importance. Under the Act, the Governor in Council (Cabinet) may designate projects as being in the national interest after considering factors including whether the project would strengthen Canada’s autonomy, resilience and security, provide economic benefits, have a high likelihood of successful execution, advance the interests of Indigenous peoples, and contribute to clean growth and climate objectives.

After a project is designated as in the national interest, federal permitting decisions listed in the Act are deemed made in favour of allowing the project to proceed, although proponents must still apply for authorizations. The responsible Minister issues an approval document setting out all required federal approvals, consolidating them into a single instrument with conditions as required by applicable legislation. Cabinet may pass regulations exempting designated projects from other federal legislation. 

Prior to designating a project, Cabinet must consult with any province or territory in which the project will be carried out; if the project falls within exclusive provincial jurisdiction, the province or territory’s written consent is required. To date, 21 projects have been referred to the Major Projects Office, which include, by way of example, mines, liquefied natural gas projects, a port expansion and electricity transmission projects.

Recent Federal Announcement on Further Streamlining

The Discussion Paper outlines the Government’s intention to make significant legislative changes and policies to decrease the timeline for federal decisions on project approvals. The Government’s stated goal is to demonstrate that major projects in Canada can be built efficiently, while maintaining strong environmental protection and respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples. In particular, the discussion paper proposes six key reforms:

1. Federal review and decision-making in no more than one year. The Government is proposing legislative changes to require that federal impact assessments and federal permit reviews occur concurrently rather than sequentially. A Federal Review Coordinator at the Impact Assessment Agency would be responsible for ensuring these processes meet the required timelines. Proponents would have one year to submit finalized studies and information (with the option for more time), following which federal review and decision-making would take no more than one year.
2. One Crown consultation process. The Government is proposing the creation of a Crown Consultation Hub within the Impact Assessment Agency to coordinate a single consultation process for each major project, replacing multiple overlapping processes.
3. One project decision. The Government is proposing legislative changes for certain projects listed under the Physical Activities Regulations of the Impact Assessment Act that would allow one federal decision document (including all federal decisions required for a project to move forward) to be issued by the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature. However, this would not apply to projects regulated by the Canada Energy Regulator or the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
4. Single project authority. Responsibility for certain project types would be assigned to the federal organization with the most expertise — the Canada Energy Regulator for international and interprovincial pipelines, transmission lines and offshore energy, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for nuclear and uranium projects. Projects overseen by the Canada Energy Regulator would no longer require a separate impact assessment under the Impact Assessment Act.
5. Federal Economic Zones. The Government is proposing legislation to create “Federal Economic Zones” covering transportation corridors, energy production and transmission, and industrial regions. Cabinet would have authority to pre-approve certain developments within the Federal Economic Zones, removing the need for separate project reviews within those zones.
6. Streamlined regulatory environment. The Government is proposing legislative amendments to make regulatory processes faster, more flexible and less repetitive. Examples include measures that would narrow the types of activities requiring navigation permits, make permits for fish and fish habitat more flexible, transfer certain decision powers from Cabinet to Ministers, allowing some early construction activities to start before an impact decision is made, authorizing Ministers to adjust impact assessment conditions and giving Cabinet limited power to exempt specific projects from certain requirements related to species at risk.

Provincial Initiatives

In addition to the initiatives taken and proposed by the Government, over the last year, several provinces have introduced regulatory streamlining measures directed at fast-tracking projects and development. Some of these initiatives are directly designed to complement the Government’s approach to fast-tracking major projects, while others are more focused on provincial developments. Key legislation and initiatives are highlighted below.

British Columbia: In May 2025, British Columbia passed the Infrastructure Projects Act to centralize and fast-track permitting for designated major infrastructure projects, and introduced the Renewable Energy Projects (Streamlined Permitting) Act, which exempts certain renewable energy projects from environmental assessment requirements and expands the authority of the British Columbia Energy Regulator to act as a “one window” permitting authority for wind and solar projects. In March 2026, the Environmental Assessment Office released a discussion paper proposing an expedited environmental assessment process that would take 20 months, compared to the 3–5 (or more) years required for a standard assessment[CG1.1].

Alberta: In November 2025, Alberta and the Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that establishes commitments to cooperatively streamline Alberta and federal regulatory processes, including a Cooperation Agreement on Impact Assessments designed to deliver project decisions within two years where both federal and provincial assessments are required. Commitments in the MOU were reaffirmed in the Implementation Agreement signed on May 15, 2026. For additional information, see our recent Blakes Bulletin: Implementation of the Canada-Alberta MOU: Key Takeaways for Carbon Markets in Alberta.

Ontario: In December 2025, Ontario and the Government signed a Co-operation Agreement to advance a “one project, one process, one decision” framework to implement single assessments for projects under Ontario and federal jurisdiction. 

Quebec: In December 2025, Quebec introduced Bill 5, An Act to accelerate the granting of the authorizations required to carry out priority national-scale projects, which proposes to fast-track projects by allowing the government to replace multiple provincial approvals with a single consolidated authorization for designated projects. See our previous Blakes Bulletin: Quebec’s Bill 5: Fast-Tracking Priority National-Scale Projects for more information. Quebec has also enacted Bill 69, An Act to ensure the responsible governance of energy resources and to amend various legislative provisions, which modernizes the province’s energy governance framework and regulatory processes applicable to electricity generation, transmission and distribution.

Commentary

The fast-track framework under the Building Canada Act provides significant opportunities and risks for the development of major projects in Canada. The Government’s recent proposals for further fast-tracking could significantly reduce federal approval times for major projects. Two-year decision timelines, concurrent permitting and single decision documents would be a marked departure from the current regime. 

There is a clear desire from both federal and provincial governments to get projects built faster. As many of these initiatives are in their infancy, it is less clear how the legislation will work in practice, which projects may benefit from fast-tracking under both federal and provincial initiatives and whether fast-tracking will increase the likelihood of litigation challenging approvals issued under these new and proposed processes. 

Fast-tracking legislation does not alter Canada’s duty to consult Indigenous communities, and it is unclear how the Crown will ensure meaningful consultation within the compressed timelines. Indigenous communities have already raised concerns about accelerated decision-making under the Building Canada Act, including a constitutional challenge commenced by nine First Nations in Ontario. 

Our team will continue to monitor these developments.

For more information, please contact the authors or any other member of our Environmental group. Also, visit our Major Projects practice page to learn more about our multidisciplinary expertise.