Implementation of Bill C-5: One Canadian Economy

Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy: An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act, received Royal Assent on June 26, 2025.

Outlined below are next steps towards implementation of both Acts. Further details will be announced as they become available.

Building Canada Act

With the Building Canada Act in place, the Government of Canada will immediately move forward on consultations – as required under the Act – with provinces, territories and Indigenous rights-holders to determine the initial list of national interest projects.

The criteria that will be weighed in those discussions and decisions include the extent to which the project will:

• Strengthen Canada’s autonomy, resilience and security;
• Provide economic or other benefits to Canada;
• Have a high likelihood of successful execution;
• Advance the interests of Indigenous Peoples; and
• Contribute to clean growth and to meeting Canada’s objectives with respect to climate change.

After consultations with provinces, territories and impacted Indigenous rights-holders, if the Governor in Council is of the opinion that a project may be in the national interest, an Order in Council will add it to the Building Canada Act Schedule of projects. Before adding the name of a project to the Schedule of projects, a notice that includes the name and description of the project must be published in the Canada Gazette for 30 days, so that everyone including the public has an opportunity to provide feedback on this choice. Projects can continue to be added to the Schedule of projects over the course of 5 years following the Act coming into force.

Canada is committed to respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and the rights set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous Peoples will be consulted throughout the process of choosing projects of national interest as we work together towards the success of future projects. No projects will be added to the schedule until consultation has taken place.

For projects that are added to the Schedule of projects, the regulatory review process will continue to include further consultations with potentially impacted Indigenous Peoples.

Currently, the review process for projects can take many years to complete. Determining ahead of time that a project is in the national interest provides certainty, helping to attract investment. The intent of this Act is to ensure these nation-building projects complete the federal review within 2 years. We will do this by focusing these reviews on “how” to get the project built, instead of “whether” it should be built.

Once the environmental and other review processes and consultations with potentially impacted Indigenous rights-holders are completed, the Minister responsible for the Act will issue a single set of binding conditions for the project. These conditions will include mitigation measures to protect the environment and accommodation measures to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples.

To reduce project approval duplication between the federal and provincial/territorial governments, the Government of Canada is committed to a ‘one project, one review’ approach. This will include working with provinces and territories to eliminate project assessment duplication and build a more efficient and timely system.

A major projects office will be established to help implement this new process for national interest projects and serve as a main point of contact for the project proponents. The office will be supported by an Indigenous Advisory Council, with First Nation, Inuit, and Métis representatives, to advise the Minister on issues related to the implementation of the Building Canada Act, including best practices for Indigenous consultations. The Council will not replace consultation with Indigenous rights-holders. The Government will provide funding to strengthen Indigenous Peoples’ capacity and participation in consultation processes.

The Prime Minister and other members of Cabinet will meet over the summer with First Nations, Inuit and Métis to ensure that consultation, partnership, engagement and participation are at the heart of every project of national interest. Indigenous equity participation in major projects is a central focus of this initiative. Backed by the federal government’s expansion of the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program from $5 billion to $10 billion, this commitment will help create long-term economic opportunities and build lasting prosperity for Indigenous Peoples across Canada.

Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act

With the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act in place, the Government of Canada will develop regulations to provide further clarity around the definition of “comparable”, to assist in the determination of comparable federal and provincial/territorial requirements. The regulations will also exclude certain federal requirements from the application of the legislation if there are unacceptable risks to the health, safety and security of Canadians, their social and economic well-being, the environment, or international trade objectives.

The Government of Canada will not be revoking existing regulations; rather, it will recognize a comparable provincial or territorial requirement, removing the duplicative burden for businesses.

The same applies for workers, where a worker authorized to work in a province or territory would be authorized to work the same occupation in federal jurisdiction without the need for further approvals or requirements.

Once the regulations are approved by the Governor in Council, a plain language user guide will be available for Canadian workers and businesses, which will clarify where the Act applies, how they can take advantage, and who to contact to answer any questions.

Where the legislation applies

The Act only applies to federal requirements on the interprovincial trade of goods and services when there are comparable provincial or territorial requirements. In this case, “comparable” means that a provincial or territorial regulation/standard addresses the same aspect of a good or service and is intended to achieve a similar objective.

When a good or service produced, used, or distributed in line with provincial or territorial requirements is recognized as meeting comparable federal requirements on interprovincial trade, it will be treated as if it meets federal requirements.

However, the Act will not apply to areas where the Government of Canada decides there is an unacceptable risk to the health, safety and security of Canadians, their social and economic well-being, the environment, or international trade objectives.