Prime Minister Mark Carney says he'll announced more projects set to be fast-tracked at an event Thursday in Prince Rupert, B.C.JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images
The federal government will announce the next round of projects on the Major Projects Office list on Thursday in Prince Rupert, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Monday.
The office was established over the summer to fast-track the approval of what the government calls “nation-building” infrastructure and resource projects.
The first five MPO projects, announced in September, included an expansion of the LNG Canada export terminal in British Columbia, an expansion of a port in Montreal, support for small modular nuclear reactors in Ontario and two mines in Saskatchewan and B.C.
Speaking to reporters in Fredericton, Mr. Carney said this is a “living list” that will grow over time.
He said the next round of projects will be unveiled on Thursday in Prince Rupert, an important northern B.C. port city that is seen by many people as a crucial node for diversifying overseas trade.
He also said that Ottawa will announce additional support measures for the softwood lumber industry, which has been hit by a bevy of U.S. duties and tariffs.
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This will follow sometime after a First Ministers’ meeting between Mr. Carney and the provincial and territorial premiers, scheduled to take place next Monday, he said.
The support measures could include initiatives to boost the use of Canadian lumber in modular home building, and changes to building standards to make sure “they are consistent across the country, so Canadian softwood, Canadian products, Canadian housing, can flow readily from coast to coast to coast,” Mr. Carney said.
While he did not spell out what projects would be added to the MPO list this week, he assured his New Brunswick audience that their province would be represented.
“I’ve had a number of conversations with the Premier about major projects [in New Brunswick] that meet the criteria,” Mr. Carney said.
“They strengthen Canada’s autonomy. They diversify our economy. They’re built with Indigenous partners. They’re consistent with our climate goals, and they have a real economic return. And so you would expect to see some of those in the announcement later this week.”
He pointed to an offshore wind project in Nova Scotia, which the MPO identifies as one of six “transformative strategies” alongside the list of five initial projects.
Mr. Carney said that the wind project would likely involve electricity grid connections with New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Quebec – something that the government has pursued for years as part of what was called the Atlantic Loop initiative.
“It’s a broad strategy, it’s all connected,” Mr. Carney said.
The location of the Thursday announcement offers a hint at what might be coming. The Port of Prince Rupert has several projects in the works, including a $1.35-billion terminal to export energy products such as propane to Asia.
Construction began last year on the Ridley Island Energy Export Facility, or REEF, located on 77 hectares of land leased from the Prince Rupert Port Authority.
Calgary-based AltaGas Ltd. ALA-T and Netherlands-based Royal Vopak NV are equal partners in the venture, with plans to export liquefied petroleum gas such as propane and butane, as well as methanol and other bulk liquids.
Earlier this year, an Indigenous-led logistics project secured a $60.7-million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank to forge ahead with construction at the port. Total project costs are estimated at more than $117-million at the site owned by the Metlakatla First Nation.
For the long term, there are plans to expand container capacity. The port authority, which reports to federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, serves as the landlord for tenants such as DP World PLC on the existing Fairview container site.
The northwest B.C. region is also where a new project for exporting liquefied natural gas is envisaged. The construction costs alone for Ksi Lisims LNG are expected to reach $10-billion, plus another $12-billion for the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline project.
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PRGT is co-owned by the Nisga’a Nation and Houston-based Western LNG. Nisga’a leaders say Ksi Lisims and PRGT are prime examples of economic reconciliation.
The MPO, which was allocated $214-million in the federal budget last week, stands at the heart of Mr. Carney’s agenda to build more infrastructure, diversify trade and pull in private sector investment to offset the negative impact of U.S. tariffs on the Canadian economy.
The office is overseen by energy executive Dawn Farrell and has been tasked with speeding up project approvals and helping to co-ordinate public and private-sector financing for large projects.