What the next major projects list needs

As Canadians count down to Grey Cup Sunday, another much-anticipated lineup will take the field earlier in the week. On Thursday, the federal government will unveil its latest list of major nation-building projects, signaling not just what Canada plans to build, but what kind of economy it intends to shape for the future.

The last list marked intent. This one must mark strategy.

Because what matters now is not simply which projects are announced, but what outcomes they deliver. Canada’s next major projects list must be guided by four strategic outcomes: 

1. Prosperity – Increasing economic growth, productivity, employment, and affordability;
2. Security – Diversifying export markets and ensuring economic and resource sovereignty; 
3. Environmental responsibility – Reducing emissions while positioning ourselves to win in the post-transition, low-carbon economy; and 
4. Reconciliation – Supporting Indigenous ownership and economic participation.  

These outcomes — identified in PPF’s Build Big Things report — are the real scoreboard of nation-building.

To track that scoreboard, PPF developed a Major Projects Scorecard for the government’s consideration, a tool to measure progress in getting projects from concept to final investment decision, and ultimately shovels in the ground. It tracks whether Canada is attracting private capital, improving productivity, expanding Indigenous equity ownership and actually building the enabling infrastructure needed for long-term growth.

This kind of accountability is critical. We have seen too many well-intentioned announcements falter in the space between aspiration and execution. The new Major Projects Office, whose mandate was strengthened and broadened in the recent budget, is an important step toward closing that gap. But its success will depend on whether it can effectively coordinate financing (blending public, private, and Indigenous capital to de-risk investment), employ efficient regulation (cutting duplication and timelines), push promote infrastructure (ports, transmission lines and trade enabling gateways that unlock new trade routes) and guarantee Indigenous economic participation, which builds trust, equity ownership and long-term partnerships. 

Equally critical will be to staff the office with high-caliber experts, especially financial expertise that can execute deal-flow. Embedding this framework within the new Office’s mandate, along with the right expertise, will ensure Canada moves beyond permitting reform toward a coordinated system for getting projects to final investment decision and shovels in the ground. 

The first major projects list published earlier this fall took aim at low-hanging fruit — many projects were already well on their way to completion. The coming projects list should be bold, reflecting projects that can truly move the needle on Canada’s economic goals. That means trade-enabling infrastructure to build strategic gateways on the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic coasts. Canadian ports handle about 80 percent of the nation’s international trade, underscoring how expansions for the ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Churchill and Belledune can unlock global markets. 

It means transmission lines to power electrification and deliver the massive new power required by AI data centres, manufacturing and new industrial growth. 

LNG facilities to capture a share of the 60 percent increase in global LNG demand projected by 2040, driven by China and India. 

Small modular reactor (SMR) projects in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta to decarbonize grids, support industrial growth and serve as a platform for SMR deployment across Canada.  

Renewables projects such as the Gull Island hydro dam project. 

Critical minerals projects that include processing, not just extraction. 

Emissions reduction technologies such as the carbon capture utilization and storage Pathways Project to fulfill the “grand bargain” with the Alberta government. 

And AI-enabling infrastructure, from reliable power supply to energy efficient data centres and advanced cooling system technologies to win the global AI race. 

If built, these projects can begin to build the backbone of a new Canadian economy, one that is more productive, low-carbon and more secure.

But physical infrastructure alone won’t build that future. Talent is the hidden infrastructure. We need to connect the dots and match skills requirements with the designated nation-building projects to ensure all these projects can actually get built.  

The federal budget’s investments in skills and training are vital and must continue, especially in the construction, skilled trades and engineering fields that will determine whether we can deliver at scale and speed. Equally important is removing interprovincial barriers to labour mobility, so workers can move freely to where the projects and opportunities are.  

Which brings us to internal trade. What happened to the big push to remove internal barriers to trade? We haven’t heard much about it lately, yet these barriers continue to fragment our economy, slow projects, and drive-up costs. If we can’t move goods, power, or even skilled workers freely across provincial borders, we will never realize the full benefits of the nation-building projects now being fast-tracked. We can’t allow Canada’s drive to build big things to stall the way internal trade reform has. 

Governance and accountability will be key in this regard. Without disciplined machinery to coordinate across departments, provinces, Indigenous governments and investors, even the best projects will falter. This means regular First Ministers’ meetings, a federal Cabinet committee and a Deputy Minister committee that are laser focused on the project list to ensure two-year regulatory timelines are met and the provinces and territories are aligned to deliver on projects. The Major Projects Office must also be empowered not just to convene, but to make decisions and to clear bottlenecks and align incentives across the system. 

The prize is enormous: a new economy that combines economic growth with energy security, reconciliation and sustainability. But the window to act is narrowing. Every year of delay means lost investment, shrinking competitiveness and missed climate goals.  

Meeting this moment demands nothing less than a modern Manhattan Project — a coordinated national effort, with the federal, provincial and territorial governments all rowing in the same direction.  

Canada has what it takes to build big things.  The next project list must prove we also have the discipline, urgency, and execution to deliver them.