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Federal Government to Proposes Measures to Streamline Canada’s Regulatory Process for Major Projects

May 13, 2026

The federal government announced they will engage with Indigenous Peoples, provinces and territories, and the Canadian public on potential changes that would ensure federal reviews and decision-making timelines take no longer than one-year, once all information from the project proponent has been received.

To that end, the government is launching two discussion papers to engage Canadians over a 30-day period on proposed reforms to:

Comment from Electricity Canada:

Demand for electricity in Canada is increasing rapidly: it will double by 2050 as we meet the needs of population growth, new technologies, and electrification. Canada’s regulatory regime needs to adapt to meet the urgency and pace of the task ahead if we are to become an energy superpower. We are pleased that the government is pursuing changes that would simplify and speed up approvals for key electric infrastructure. Single authorities, federal economic zones, and more flexible fisheries permitting processes will help move projects forward. Electricity Canada looks forward to being actively involved in the process.

– Francis Bradley, President and CEO of Electricity Canada

These proposals aim to improve regulatory efficiency, while maintaining robust environmental standards and respecting Indigenous rights, by:

  • Ensuring federal reviews and decision-making timelines take no more than one year, once all information from the project proponent has been received;
  • Establishing a Crown Consultation Hub to strengthen Crown consultation on project reviews and coordinate one Indigenous consultation process, per community, per project;
  • Creating a regulatory system where a single comprehensive federal decision is made on permits and approvals for major projects;
  • Assigning responsibility and authority for certain projects to the federal regulatory organization with the most expertise; and
  • Creating federal economic zones through regional impact assessments, in consultation with Indigenous Peoples.

The Government is also advancing a number of proposals aimed at diversifing Canada’s trade and attract new investment:

  • National Trade Corridors: Modernize Canada’s National Transportation Policy to emphasize the importance of supply chain efficiency through the designation of National Trade Corridors. This will better reflect the reality of how transportation supply chains support trade corridors and identify solutions to increase performance.
  • Modernize Port Governance: Modernize Canada’s port governance framework to better reflect the realities of modern trade and the role of marine infrastructure in supporting Canada’s non-US trade diversification goals, and foster collaboration amongst the port authorities.
  • Simplifying Regulatory Reporting: Adopt a “tell-us-once” approach to information sharing between departments and agencies and streamline redundancies and inefficiencies in transportation regulations.

Other Background

  • The Government of Canada established the Major Projects Office (MPO) to bring business development and project execution experience to accelerate nation-building projects and advance transformative strategies that helps build a stronger, more independent and resilient economy for Canada.
  • The 15 projects and six transformative strategies supported by the MPO represent a combined investment of more than $126 billion in our economy and will create tens of thousands of well-paying jobs for Canadians.
  • Over five years, the government’s capital investments and incentives in support of third parties, totalling about $280 billion, are expected to enable more than $1 trillion in total investment from public, private, and institutional partners.
  • Canada is working with provinces to implement a “one project, one review” approach by developing co-operations agreements. These agreements are helping to accelerate major infrastructure, mining, and energy projects by eliminating duplication and streamlining assessment processes, while continuing to protect the environment and Indigenous rights. To date, agreements have been finalized with Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, while an agreement with Newfoundland and Labrador is in development.
  • The Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program facilitates access to affordable capital to Indigenous groups. Initially launched with $5 billion in loan guarantee authority focused on the energy and natural resources sectors, the Government of Canada doubled the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program to $10 billion and extended its scope to major projects across all sectors of the economy.
  • These measures build on new infrastructure programs announced in Budget 2025 to strengthen our trade corridors and Arctic sovereignty by further addressing barriers to investment, modernizing port governance, and enabling enhanced collaboration across transportation trade corridors.

More information from the federal government:

CBC Reporting on the annoucement:

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