The federal Liberal government took a significant step on June 24 toward accelerating three large-scale infrastructure projects it has deemed vital to national interests, triggering a formal designation process under the Building Canada Act that could allow developers to bypass certain regulatory hurdles and speed up approvals.
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, speaking from Yellowknife, announced that Ottawa has identified the Mackenzie Valley Highway Project, the Grays Bay Road and Port Project, and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s Deep Geological Repository as candidates for “national interest” designation under the legislation the first time any projects have been put forward under that category since the Act came into force in May 2025.
“They are about strengthening arctic sovereignty, creating economic opportunity, and supporting the communities that call the North home,” MacKinnon said at the announcement.
The Building Canada Act, which originated as Bill C-5 and passed with support from both the Liberals and Conservatives, gives Ottawa a mechanism to streamline regulatory approvals and, in some cases, circumvent certain federal laws to move major projects forward more quickly. Before any project can receive a national interest designation, however, the government is required to consult with provincial and territorial governments as well as indigenous peoples who could be adversely affected.
The three projects have long histories. The Mackenzie Valley Highway a proposed 800-kilometre all-season gravel road that would connect isolated northern communities has been in the planning stages since 2013. The Northwest Territories government is the project’s proponent, and Transport Canada has already committed more than $100 million toward building the corridor. NWT Premier R.J. Simpson, who appeared alongside MacKinnon at the announcement, said reaching this point marked “another significant milestone,” noting that northerners had been dreaming about this road “for generations.”
The Grays Bay Road and Port Project in Nunavut, which has been under consideration since 2018, would create the first road connection to a deep-water Arctic port, with potential dual civilian and military uses. MacKinnon said his department has committed $21 million toward planning and environmental assessments for that project.
The third initiative the Deep Geological Repository is a facility designed to permanently and safely store used nuclear fuel in northwestern Ontario. It was formally referred to the government’s Major Projects Office on June 24, the same day as the announcement. Energy Minister Tim Hodgson, who unveiled Canada’s broader nuclear strategy just two days earlier, tied the repository directly to the country’s ambitions to build up to ten new large-scale nuclear reactors.
“If Canada is serious about expanding nuclear energy, we must also be serious about safe, responsible, long-term management of used nuclear fuel,” Hodgson said.
The Major Projects Office, an agency created by the Carney government to accelerate regulatory timelines and help facilitate project financing, has now received 16 project referrals in total. Ottawa says the Building Canada Act framework offers proponents and investors a more predictable and centralized path through the regulatory process including a more consistent approach to indigenous consultation and partnership.
Not everyone is convinced the move amounts to meaningful progress. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre dismissed the announcement as political theatre, arguing on social media that the government had done little more than shuffle paperwork between federal offices.
“Today, the Liberals announced they are beginning consultations on moving their permit applications from one office in Ottawa to another office in Ottawa,” Poilievre wrote on X. “Another Liberal press conference expected next year announcing Canada Post has delivered the application to the second office. Bureaucratic busywork does not build countries.”
The Conservatives had supported the passage of the Building Canada Act but have argued the more direct approach would be to repeal legislation they consider anti-development particularly the Impact Assessment Act rather than layering new mechanisms on top of existing ones.
The three projects have collectively waited more than a decade for meaningful progress, and whether the designation process will translate into shovels in the ground any sooner remains to be seen. The next phase will require Ottawa to carry out the consultations mandated by the Act before any designation can be formally granted.
