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ARTICLE · 25 SEPTEMBER 2026

Federal Government Removes Certain Energy Projects From The Impact Assessment Act Project List

McCarthy Tétrault
McCarthy Tétrault
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The Canadian government has removed seven types of energy projects from federal impact assessment requirements, shifting review responsibilities to the Canada Energy Regulator and provincial processes. This regulatory change affects pipelines, electrical transmission lines, oil sands facilities, and power plants, fundamentally altering how major energy infrastructure projects will be evaluated and approved across Canada.

CanadaEnvironment
Cindy Vaillancourt
Cindy Vaillancourt
Kimberly Howard
Kimberly Howard
Dominique Amyot-Bilodeau
Dominique Amyot-Bilodeau
Gurleen Randhawa
Gurleen Randhawa
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On September 9, 2026, the Government of Canada published the Regulations Amending the Physical Activities Regulations(the Amendments). The Amendments came into force on September 3, 2026, removing seven types of energy projects from the federal Impact Assessment Act (IAA) Project List.

As a result, certain international and interprovincial pipelines, electrical transmission lines and other CER Act-regulated projects will no longer be subject to a federal impact assessment under the IAA. Instead, these projects will be reviewed by the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act(CER Act). Certain in situ oil sands facilities and fossil fuel-fired power generating facilities will instead be assessed under applicable provincial environmental assessment processes.

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