Prime Minister Mark Carney is set to unveil the second phase of major projects Thursday — with that list including mining and energy developments, sources have confirmed to CTV News.
According to the sources, the new projects will include the Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in British Columbia, Ontario’s Crawford nickel project, the Sisson Mine in New Brunswick and a hydroelectric development in Iqaluit. The list is also subject to change, the sources say.
CBC News and the Globe and Mail were first to report on the projects.
Carney had previously pledged that the next tranche of major projects to be fast-tracked under his government would be unveiled before the Grey Cup on Nov. 16.
The Major Projects Office (MPO) — which is being led by former CEO and chair of the board of directors of the Trans Mountain Corporation Dawn Farrell — was launched in August to streamline and fast-track regulatory approval for the recommended projects and help further develop the projects under consideration.
The MPO was established under Bill C-5 — dubbed the Building Canada Act by the Liberals — and aims to give government sweeping new powers to approve major projects of national interest. Bill C-5 passed Parliament in June.
The first round of projects was announced in mid-September and includes an LNG expansion project, a nuclear project, a terminal container project, a copper mine in Saskatchewan and a mine expansion in British Columbia. But development of those projects was already well underway.
The next round of expected major projects is also at different stages of development.
The Ksi Lisims is a floating LNG export facility near Prince Rupert with 12 million tonnes of capacity, according to the project, that was greenlit by the B.C. government in September. The project is a partnership between the Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG and Western LNG LLC, but is facing two separate legal challenges by two First Nations in northwest B.C. — the Lax Kw’alaams Band and the Metlakatla First Nation.
The Sisson Mine project in New Brunswick, meanwhile, has faced more than a decade of environmental approvals and delays.
Back in August, the Carney government awarded Northcliff Resources, which is developing the project, $8.2 million for a feasibility study, while the U.S. Defence Department awarded it $20.7 million in May.
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt met with Carney on Monday, and later revealed New Brunswick would be getting a project.
“I don’t want to scoop the announcement that’s going to come, but we’ve been working hard on a number of projects, and the announcement won’t be the interties,” Holt said when asked whether the New Brunswick project included on Thursday’s list will simply be the expansion or interconnection — also known as interties — of the already approved Wind West Atlantic Energy project.
“It will be one of the other projects that we’ve been pushing for,” Holt said.
Focus on critical minerals
In the federal budget released last week, the Carney government highlighted new support for the development of critical minerals, announcing $2 billion over five years to Natural Resources Canada to create the Critical Mineral Sovereign Fund as a way to help fund investments in the sector.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, National Defence Minister David McGuinty was asked about his department’s involvement in the next wave of projects, with critical minerals being a strategic resource for the defence industry.
“(Canada happens) to be fortunate enough to possess in abundance 10 of the 12 core critical minerals that NATO describes as essential going forward,” McGuinty said. “The Department of Natural Resources is busy now developing a plan to identify, to stockpile, to eventually develop.”
The Crawford nickel project, which is located just north of Timmins, Ont., is one of the largest nickel deposits in the world.
Ontario’s Energy and Mines Minister Stephen Lecce called the project “very important” to disrupting what he called China’s monopolization of the sector.
“We have to disrupt (China’s) stranglehold of the supply chain,” Lecce said while speaking to reporters in Edwardsburgh Cardinal, Ont. on Wednesday.
“We’ve got the highest-grade nickel, a business operation that represents 1,000 permit jobs, 3,000 construction jobs, a 40-year operation with billions of dollars of gain to Canada’s economy. So we certainly would hope it will be prioritized on that list,” Lecce added.
On Monday, Carney called the major-projects list a “living list,” rather than a “one-and-done,” and said he would make the announcement in Prince Rupert, B.C.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre reiterated his ongoing criticism towards the Carney government on Wednesday, saying it needs to “get out of the way” to help get projects built.
“Mark Carney has been prime minister for eight months, promising to move at quote ‘unimaginable speeds,’ and yet there’s not a single project that he has launched that was not already in the making or approved before he took office,” Poilievre said in Calgary.
With files from CTV News Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos and CTV News’ Spencer Van Dyk
