Prime Minister Mark Carney's highly-touted Major Projects Office is facing increased scrutiny after the announcement of its second round of approved ventures, with evidence suggesting economic returns are being deprioritized in favor of other considerations.
Promises Versus Reality
When the Major Projects Office launched in late August 2025, Carney promised it would streamline regulatory approvals and help structure financing for proposals deemed to be in the national interest. The initiative was positioned to move at unprecedented speeds to secure community consent and unlock private-sector investments that would boost Canada's GDP.
The prime minister appeared to have undertaken a fiduciary responsibility to secure the best financial deal for taxpayers, particularly given the billions in borrowed dollars allocated in the federal budget. However, the evidence from Thursday's announcement in Terrace, British Columbia, tells a different story.
Shifting Priorities Revealed
During his press conference, Carney emphasized that the newly added projects should provide economic benefits to Canadians but crucially must advance Indigenous interests and contribute to sustainable clean growth. This emphasis suggests that financial returns are no longer the primary consideration for project selection.
Heather Exner-Pirot, senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, observed that fast-tracking appears unnecessary for many projects on the list since they were already at advanced stages, with some possessing full environmental approval.
"The Major Projects Office is obviously more about financing projects than moving along the regulatory process," Exner-Pirot noted. "We were under the assumption that we need to double non-U.S. exports and become an energy superpower. But the government is instead selecting projects the private sector would not want to advance on its own."
Questionable Project Selection
Of the six projects announced on November 13, 2025, only one—the Crawford Nickel mine in northern Ontario—appears to genuinely need regulatory assistance. Canada Nickel Company, the project's proponent, received a letter from the Impact Assessment Agency last May indicating that their environmental impact statement failed to provide required information about effects on fish habitat and downstream contamination.
Despite the need for nickel in EV batteries and involvement from three local First Nations, the project faces significant regulatory hurdles that cast doubt on its approval prospects.
Dawn Farrell, head of the Major Projects Office, stated her role involves "making sure people get across the finish line, get everything they need to get built on time and on budget." However, neither she nor the prime minister effectively explained how listing already-approved projects provides additional value.
The growing concern among economic observers is that the government is prioritizing political and environmental considerations over solid financial returns, potentially putting taxpayer investments at risk for projects that lack sufficient economic merit to attract private funding.
