Identifying nation-building projects

The Major Projects Office (MPO) works with proponents, federal departments, provinces and territories, Indigenous Peoples, and industry to identify projects that would offer the greatest benefits for Canadians.

Submitting a project

Major projects may be presented to the MPO for consideration by:

• project proponents
• Indigenous groups as proponents of projects
• industry associations on behalf of project proponents
• Premiers through First Ministers' Meetings or other fora
• federal departments or ministers

We encourage you to submit proposals for major projects through the project intake form.

Evaluating projects

Once a project is submitted to the MPO, we conduct an initial assessment against the five factors outlined in the Building Canada Act, including the extent to which the project can:

• 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
• contribute to clean growth and to Canada’s objectives with respect to climate change

If the initial assessment demonstrates that a project has the potential to move forward, it undergoes a more detailed evaluation. This includes further assessment, including against the five factors outlined in the Building Canada Act.

Following this assessment, we provide recommendations and advice to federal ministers and the Prime Minister who ultimately decide whether a project is referred to us for more structured support.

To ensure referred projects remain competitive from development to operation, they will benefit from policy or regulatory challenge resolution, support to structure financing, or other efforts to reduce project risk.

Learn more about project support after referral

Projects not ready for referral to the MPO

Not all projects submitted to us will meet the requirements for either referral to the MPO or designation under the Building Canada Act. These projects may still move forward under the existing regulatory process.

Potential projects that are not referred can receive help in other ways:

• to discuss requirements and measures they can take to advance their project
• referral to another federal or provincial department for their assistance
• benefitting from our work on regulatory reform