Shifting Dynamics In Infrastructure Disputes

Originally published in Financier Worldwide Special Report: Corporate Disputes, September 2026.

Corporate Disputes convened practitioners from Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, Mexico, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland to discuss how infrastructure disputes are changing. Bryan G. West, a partner at McCarthy Tétrault LLP and a nationally recognised industry leader on construction, infrastructure and project disputes, provided the Canadian perspective. His contributions are distilled below.

Disputes more frequently managed inside the project schedule

The most visible change across Canada's most populous jurisdictions is timing. Infrastructure disputes were historically managed after the project was built; they are now actively managed during construction. Most files start and finish inside the project schedule, with only the larger mandates carrying into the post-project period.