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ARTICLE · 06 OCTOBER 2026

Building Canada Strong: Major Projects Acceleration

Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP
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Canada's federal government has introduced sweeping regulatory reforms aimed at accelerating major project approvals through compressed timelines and streamlined coordination. The Building Canada's Success Act establishes a one-year federal review period for designated projects while creating new mechanisms for regional preapprovals and consolidated decision-making. These changes fundamentally reshape how infrastructure and resource projects navigate federal environmental assessments and permitting processe

CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
Sarah Powell
Sarah Powell
Zachary Silver
Zachary Silver
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The federal government recently tabled Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act (BCSA), an omnibus bill that, among other things, would implement proposals first set out in the government’s May 2026 discussion paper. The BCSA aims to streamline federal environmental assessment and permitting processes. Part 1 of the BCSA, on which this bulletin focuses, would enact significant changes to the government’s June 2025 legislative effort to accelerate major projects development – namely, the Building Canada Act (BCA) – as well as to the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, the Fisheries Act (FA) and the Department of Transport Act (DTA). These changes are aimed at modernizing Canada’s regulatory and permitting system, increasing investor confidence and bolstering Canada’s economic sovereignty.

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