Transformative Strategies

The Major Projects Office supports strategic areas of focus and activity that will be transformative for Canada and Canadians.

This work is being done in two general streams:

• Transforming regulatory processes: The Major Projects Office is working towards transforming the regulatory processes to ensure that major projects are reviewed within 2 years, from start to finish.
• Transformative projects and concepts: The Major Projects Office will work on transformative projects and concepts for Canada, which cover critical mineral development, wind energy, critical infrastructure in the North, ports and other transportation infrastructure connecting Canadians and our goods with the world, as well as innovative carbon capture and storage and carbon management technologies. While these projects and concepts have boundless potential and meet the criteria of growth, security, diversification of markets, and reconciliation, they are at earlier stages and require further development.

The Major Projects Office will create business development teams to work with provinces and territories, proponents, and Indigenous Peoples to further develop and make these nation-building projects a reality.

Transformative projects

Critical Minerals Strategy

Canada can be a powerhouse in the extraction and upgrading of critical minerals for industries that can emerge in Canada and to diversify and serve export markets. A priority for the Major Projects Office will be to get more critical minerals projects get to final investment decisions, with a focus on sustainability and regulatory certainty. This will enable critical mineral proponents working with Indigenous and local communities, investors, and provinces and territories to develop projects in regions like the Fosse du Labrador in QC and NL, the Northwest Critical Mineral and Conservation Corridor in BC, and the Ring of Fire in Ontario. The strategy will lead to the construction of ports and roads and focus on the first and last mile. Canada through its leadership at the G7 is also connecting with global partners to develop a Critical Mineral Alliance to match secure supply from projects with global partners who have industry demand. This work seizes opportunities to build new critical mineral value chains for clean technologies and defence applications for example:  developing “mines to magnets” using our rare earth resources and building processing and manufacturing abilities; and refining and processing minerals needed for clean energy and electricity battery storage, as well as electric vehicles.

Wind West Atlantic Energy

A project that would leverage over 60 GWs of wind power potential in Nova Scotia, and more across Atlantic Canada, connecting that renewable, emissions-free energy to Eastern and Atlantic Canada to meet rapidly growing demand. The Major Projects Office will advance Wind West Atlantic Energy with proponents to develop the projects and provide the regulatory certainty that attracts private investment and sets a course for long term wind resources development in the Maritime provinces. Wind West could be Canada’s first offshore wind development and will set the scale, direction and trajectory for future growth. Unlocking 5,000 MW in the first phase could produce 24 TWh of clean energy every year and drive billions in new investment and economic activity across Canada, led by the private sector. This Eastern Energy Partnership could include important projects like interties between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, transmission cables between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick as well as Quebec’s and Newfoundland and Labrador’s further development of Churchill Falls and Gull Island.

Pathways Plus

An Alberta-based carbon capture, utilization, and storage project with additional energy infrastructure that would support a strong conventional energy sector while driving down emissions and emissions intensity from the oil sands. Pathways creates the prospect of facilitating low-carbon oil exports from the Alberta oil sands to a variety of potential markets. The Major Projects Office will develop a strategy to build the Pathways project which would reduce upstream emissions from the conventional energy sector, while catalyzing private investment in additional energy infrastructure that would support a strong conventional energy sector while driving down emissions and emissions intensity from the oil sands. The Pathways project represents $16.5B in GDP, $12.2B in labour income, and between 18,500 and 43,000 jobs annually.

Arctic Economic and Security Corridor

The Arctic and Security Corridor is a strategic lifeline. Designed as dual-use infrastructure, it supports both Canada’s defence and economic goals. From fortified ports and all-season roads to runways and communications systems, it is built to serve military operations and commercial development alike. This corridor strengthens Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and opens new opportunities for northern communities and Canadian industry. It is where deterrence meets development — a backbone for both security and prosperity.

Port of Churchill Plus

Building upon the leadership of the Arctic Gateway Group, this project will upgrade the Port of Churchill and expand trade corridors with an all-weather road, an upgraded rail line, a new energy corridor, and marine ice-breaking capacity. The transformative strategy would prioritize Indigenous equity ownership, through a new Manitoba Crown Indigenous Corporation, and develop the projects needed to turn the Port of Churchill in major four season and dual-use gateway to the region. Expanded export capacity in the North through Hudson Bay would contribute to increased and diversified trade with Europe and other partners. The Major Projects Office will work with prospective proponents to bring certainty to the regulatory processes that will attract private and public sources of capital investment and more strongly link Churchill to the rest of Canada.

Alto High-Speed Rail

Canada’s first high-speed railway, spanning approximately 1,000 km from Toronto to Québec City and reaching speeds of up to 300 km/hour to cut travel times in half and connect close to half of Canada's population. Joining major centres through Canada’s most densely populated areas, this initiative will yield benefits for key government priorities, including:

• Housing: contributing to the housing supply along the route, with a target of 63,000 units.
• Environment: providing a sustainable means of travel, with a target of 25 million tonnes of CO2 emissions savings.
• Job creation: delivering well-paying jobs with a target of 51,000 new jobs over 10 years.

Canada is the only country in the G7 that does not have high-speed rail – to address our looming transportation crisis, Canada has chosen this bold and ambitious solution. The MPO will work to accelerate engineering, regulatory, and permitting work to enable and target the start of project construction in five years.