Prime Minister Mark Carney will unveil the second round of Canada’s fast-track infrastructure initiative on Thursday, announcing major mining and energy projects worth billions in investment as the country seeks to reduce economic dependence on the United States amid ongoing trade tensions.
Carney confirmed the announcement to reporters on Monday in Fredericton, following meetings with New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt. The federal Major Projects Office will review the projects for expedited approval within a two-year timeline.
Sources familiar with the announcement told multiple news outlets the list includes the Indigenous-led Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas project near Prince Rupert, the Crawford Nickel development in Ontario, New Brunswick’s long-delayed Sisson Mine, and a hydroelectric project in Iqaluit.
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The projects focus heavily on critical minerals essential for clean energy technology and electric vehicle batteries, aligning with Ottawa’s $2-billion critical minerals fund announced in the recent federal budget.
New Brunswick is “very much part of this,” Carney said Monday, though he declined to specify which provincial projects would make the list.
The announcement comes as Canada faces what Carney called “radically different US trade policy” under President Donald Trump’s administration. The Liberal government has positioned the Major Projects Office as central to diversifying Canada’s economy and expanding trade relationships beyond the increasingly protectionist United States.
The first round of fast-tracked projects, announced in September, included five initiatives worth more than $60 billion, featuring LNG expansion in British Columbia, a small modular nuclear reactor in Ontario, and mining developments in Saskatchewan and B.C.
The Major Projects Office, led by former Trans Mountain CEO Dawn Farrell and allocated $214 million over five years, aims to cut project approval times from the current five-year average to two years maximum.
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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who has been pushing for a new oil pipeline to the Pacific Coast, expressed optimism about future announcements. Smith’s government has committed $14 million toward initial planning for a proposed bitumen pipeline to British Columbia’s northwest coast.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has criticized the initiative as creating additional bureaucracy rather than removing regulatory barriers that delay project development.
Read: Canada’s ‘New’ Major Projects Office Absorbs Year-Old Team With Same Mission
The Major Projects Office is a cornerstone of Carney’s economic strategy since becoming prime minister earlier this year, promising to accelerate “nation-building” infrastructure while maintaining environmental standards.
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