The head of the new federal government Major Projects Office, Dawn Farrell, right, and Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, during the announcement of five major projects, in Edmonton on Sept. 11.AMBER BRACKEN/The Canadian Press
The pay stinks. The hours are brutal. Job security is non-existent. Yet ambitious young executives are beating down Dawn Farrell’s door to win positions at the Calgary-based Major Projects Office.
In a refreshing sign that the next generation of business leaders believe in the political process and in Canada, reams of twenty- to thirty-year-olds with finance, legal or natural resource experience are firing their resumes into the inbox of the newly launched federal agency responsible for fast-tracking nation-building infrastructure.
It’s not just early-career executives fighting for positions alongside Ms. Farrell, chief executive officer of the Major Projects Office. The slots are also coveted by dozens of candidates eligible for secondment, including some working for miners, pipeline operators, oil and gas producers, law firms and investment banks.
A Calgary-based managing director at one bank recently sat down with a promising associate to share some good news: The banker had been selected to apply for the experience of a lifetime, a two-year stint at the Major Projects Office with the promise of a more senior role at the bank once the gig finished.
The bad news was a massive pay cut, to 20 per cent of current compensation. The associate accepted on the spot.
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Retired executives who share the 65-year-old Ms. Farrell’s world view and work ethic are also reaching out – or being pitched – for roles in an agency projected to hire 40 to 50 professionals.
The job’s attraction is being able to spend the next few years getting big things done with Ms. Farrell, who built a reputation for doing just that as CEO at power producer TransAlta Ltd. and the Trans Mountain Pipeline, one of the largest infrastructure projects in the country’s history.
Those selected can look forward to spending the rest of their careers dining out on the experience. They just can’t expect too many meals with the boss.
“An important aspect to Dawn is, she is not someone who wastes a lot of time,” said Gordon Giffin, the former U.S. ambassador to Canada and chairman of TransAlta, in a recent interview with The Globe and Mail.
“She doesn’t like to go to dinners, she doesn’t like to have lunch and chit-chat. She likes to get to the bottom line and define what’s achievable,” said Mr. Giffin.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is expected to spell out the budget and staffing for the Major Project Office in his first federal budget.
It would be easy to be cynical about the Major Projects Office, launched in August by a federal Liberal government that spent the past decade making a lot of promises and getting relatively little done on infrastructure, outside Trans Mountain.
The first five projects Ms. Farrell’s team will work on – a list that includes copper mines and small modular reactors – have been under way for years.
On the day the government announced Ms. Farrell’s new role, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre spoke for many when he took to X to say: “We don’t need a new office, we need new pipelines, mines, ports, LNG & nuclear plants – and housing. That means shutting down bureaucracies, not opening new ones.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney has promised that on his watch, things will be different. In September, when he went to Edmonton to reveal the first five projects being reviewed by the agency, Mr. Carney said: “We will build big, build now, and build Canada strong.”
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That message resonated with Ms. Farrell, who had no previous political affiliation, and the legions of young talent applying to work at Major Projects Office. It also caught the attention of energy industry veterans, some of whom are lining up behind Mr. Carney.
Former Shell Canada president Susannah Pierce, who stepped down in February, is listening to requests to run for the federal Liberals in a potential by-election in the North Vancouver–Capilano riding. Ms. Pierce, a Vancouver resident, also worked at TC Energy and LNG Canada. And she speaks French.
Former natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson has held the seat since 2015. He didn’t make Mr. Carney’s cabinet. The Globe and Mail recently reported Mr. Wilkinson is in line for a European ambassadorship.
To establish a true nation-building agenda, Mr. Carney needs to entice major new infrastructure initiatives from every region, and particularly from energy-rich Alberta.
Mr. Carney is still establishing his credibility in the oil patch. Prior to running for office this summer, he made the transition to a net-zero economy his personal cause and served as the United Nations special envoy for climate action. That portion of the Prime Minister’s resume is a source of concern to CEOs weighing multiyear, multibillion-dollar investments in energy projects.
Ms. Farrell’s decision to take on the Major Projects Office, and the strong response to her appointment from talented young people, speaks to a sense of optimism in the oil patch. The long line of applications for relatively low-paying jobs at a Calgary-based federal agency show finance and industry executives believe government can do good.