Ottawa seems to have begun deploying “business development teams” to up-and-coming files, with at least one named assignment—Port of Churchill Plus—signaling the Major Projects Office will actively shepherd second-wave, undeveloped proposals.
Policy analyst Heather Exner-Pirot flagged the shift, noting assignments of so-called “business development teams,” a role she characterized as well outside the public sector’s usual lane.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson provided the first concrete example as they listed the Port of Churchill Plus as a possibly transformative project for Canada, stating “assigning a business development team at our brand-new Major Projects Office to advance the project” in a post after meeting Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew in Winnipeg.
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Port of Churchill Plus sits in the “second-wave” basket as a concept to turn Churchill, Manitoba, into a four-season, dual-use northern gateway by upgrading the port, rehabilitating the rail line, building an all-weather road, adding a new energy corridor, and expanding ice-breaking capacity. Two funding levers were flagged alongside this approach: $40 million over two years to build Indigenous engagement capacity and an expanded Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program to $10 billion, both meant to backstop ownership and financing pathways as Churchill is positioned to boost Hudson Bay exports and diversify trade links to Europe.
Notably, the first MPO list—five files named last week (LNG Canada Phase 2, Darlington SMR, Contrecœur terminal, McIlvenna Bay, and Red Chris expansion)—contained no crude pipelines, even as Prime Minister Mark Carney tied any future pipeline to “billions” in carbon-capture.
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