Building Canada Strong: Major Projects Acceleration

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.

The key changes under Part 1 of the BCSA would do the following:

• establish a one-year review timeline for all federal decisions related to a designated project, starting from receipt of the proponent’s complete application;
• allocate responsibility to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) for impact assessments regarding projects regulated by the CER and the CNSC respectively;
• mirror in the IAA the BCA’s single “conditions document” approach; and
• allow for the designation of regions of national interest under the BCA within which projects may proceed on an accelerated basis.

One-Year Federal Review and Decision Under the IAA

Part 1 of the BCSA would amend the IAA so as to require proponents to provide all of the information and studies set out in the project’s notice of commencement within one year (previously within three years) of the date on which the notice was posted online. However, the amended IAA would allow for an extension of this period, upon the proponent’s request, by any period necessary for the proponent to provide the required information and studies.

Once the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) is satisfied that the proponent has provided all such information and studies, the IAAC must post online a corresponding notice of determination to that effect. As amended by the BCSA, the IAA would require the Minister of the Environment to issue a decision statement regarding the project’s assessment within one year of the publication of the notice of determination or publish an online notice that explains why a decision statement has not yet been issued, and sets out a proposed timeline for the issuance of the decision statement.

New Cabinet Directive

In parallel with the BCSA, the government released the Cabinet Directive on Getting Projects Built in Canada (the Directive), which replaces the previous Cabinet Directive on Regulatory and Permitting Efficiency for Clean Growth Projects (the 2024 Directive). The Directive, which is broader in scope than the 2024 Directive, covers any “project that requires a federal permit,” articulates the government’s expectation that federal departments and agencies must structure their project review procedures to enable decisions to be made within the one-year federal review timeline contemplated in the BCSA.

The Directive applies the one-year review timeline to any federal permit required for a project (except for authorizations under the Indian Act), even if the underlying legislation is silent on timelines. The Directive also refers to the existing processes set up for the Major Projects Office but adds that if an impact assessment is not required but multiple federal permits are, a permit plan is to be issued and overseen by the Federal Review Coordinator. The application of the Directive to projects currently in the regulatory queue is to be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the Federal Review Coordinator and the Major Projects Office.

Coordination of Federal Assessment and Permitting Processes

The BCSA expands the purpose of the IAA to include the coordination of the processes relating to the assessment of designated projects and to the review of the federal authorizations required for such projects, which are now to run concurrently. Such coordination would be the responsibility of the IAAC, and would be effected under both the amended IAA and the Directive. The amended IAA requires, for example, any federal authority that is responsible for an authorization required for a designated project to notify the IAAC as soon as feasible upon becoming aware of a barrier to the granting of the authorization; the Directive provides that the president of the IAAC would act as the Federal Review Coordinator, overseeing the coordinated federal review process for projects designated under the IAA and for any other projects that may benefit from such coordination (as determined by the Federal Review Coordinator and the Major Projects Office).

One Project, One Decision

Similarly to the BCA’s approach, which contemplates the issuance of a single “conditions document” setting out all required federal authorizations for the associated national interest project, the BCSA would amend the IAA to require that following the assessment of a designated project, the Minister of the Environment issue a decision statement that both informs the proponent of the determination regarding the project’s assessment and sets out the required federal authorizations that have been granted for the project, including any required conditions and mitigation measures.

The BCSA would also remove the BCA’s prohibition against subsequent amendments to previously issued conditions documents for designated national interest projects; the Minister of One Canadian Economy would now be authorized to remove or amend any existing condition and to add any new condition.

Designated Regions of National Interest

Following the approach taken by Ontario in the Special Economic Zones Act, 2025, the BCSA would amend the BCA to allow for the designation of Regions of National Interest in which certain eligible project types would be deemed to be preapproved. Under the amended BCA, if the Governor in Council (GIC), upon the recommendation of the Minister of One Canadian Economy, is of the opinion that the designation of a region is in the national interest, the GIC may issue an order to that effect. Such a designation may not occur, however, until after a regional assessment has been completed and its results taken into consideration by the GIC.

Although “national interest” remains undefined, for the decision to designate a Region of National Interest, the BCA provides that the GIC may consider the same five factors that may be considered in the designation of national interest project – namely, the extent to which projects of an eligible type within the region can

• strengthen Canada’s autonomy, resilience and security;
• provide economic or other benefits to Canada;
• have a high likelihood of successful execution;
• advance the interests of Indigenous peoples; and
• contribute to clean growth and to meeting Canada’s objectives with respect to climate change.

Additional Regulatory Streamlining

In addition to the foregoing, the BCSA and the Directive would do the following:

• make the CER and the CNSC solely responsible for the assessment of certain specified project types, including interprovincial and international pipelines and nuclear projects;
• create a Crown Consultation Hub within the IAAC;
• allow the Minister of the Environment to authorize proponents to engage in certain preparatory work prior to the issuance of the project’s decision statement, if deemed to be in the national interest;
• allow for the generation, sale and use of habitat credits that may be used to offset harmful impacts to fish and fish habitat under the FA; and
• amend the DTA to create a new Transportation Project Office that would be responsible for coordinating the review processes for federal authorizations and consultations with Indigenous groups regarding transportation projects.

First Designated National Interest Project

On October 1, 2026, the federal government announced the West Coast Oil Pipeline (redubbed the Pacific Link) as the first designated national interest project. Over the next year, the Major Projects Office and the CER will lead the federal review and engage in consultations relating to the development of the Pacific Link Conditions Document, which the government aims to finalize by September 1, 2027.