From the American West to the Brazilian Amazon and the industrial hubs of China, a new era of priority permitting is emerging globally – and Canada is no exception. 

Last year’s Building Canada Act effectively created a new regulatory process for projects deemed to be in the ‘national interest.’ That status can come with a single authorization document that replaces most permits a project could need.

Ottawa says the goal is to greenlight projects within a two year window, instead of the current five year average, to defend national interests amid economic uncertainty. 

To do that, Canada launched a Major Projects Office (MPO), a high-powered federal concierge service for billion dollar projects. 

Prime Minister Mark Carney referred 11 projects to the MPO, but none have obtained a national interest status. It is expected that only one or two projects will eventually obtain the designation.

Carney pitched major projects as a way to bolster the economy and diversify trade, and it’s been a signature trait of his government so far – but he’s not the only leader to have turned to this playbook in 2025.

Brazil’s ‘strategic projects’

Late last year, Brazil overhauled its environmental law, empowering the government to identify ‘strategic projects’ that will benefit from accelerated permitting and approvals. 

Like in Canada, these projects are selected by government decree or order, at the discretion of political leadership, and are not defined in the law.

Brazil’s ‘strategic projects’ also benefit from a special environmental license that can be obtained through a single application process.

The new law also changes impact assessment requirements for large infrastructure projects, including the paving of a controversial 800 km highway across the Amazon. Those supporting Brazil’s reformed environmental law say the previous permitting system slowed down economic growth, with thousands of projects awaiting approvals.

Different labels, same principles

Germany also moved to fast-track major infrastructure projects in a broader Building Modernisation Act in late 2025. That allows governments to give an ‘overriding public interest’ designation to certain projects, and to exempt others (like rail electrification) from impact assessments altogether.

The United Kingdom also passed a new law aimed at tackling barriers to its Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) by speeding up and streamlining permitting timelines, down to two years from the current four year average.

The UK government plans on fast-tracking 150 planning decisions on major infrastructure projects by the end of the current parliament. 

In Australia, there is a Major Projects Facilitation Agency that helps developers of projects over $20-million navigate the permitting process.

Developers facing complex regulatory challenges can apply for a ‘Major Project’ status and benefit from additional government support, including improved intergovernmental collaboration. 

U.S. on legislative fast-track

The U.S. has had FAST-41, a fast tracking program for major projects, since 2015. Projects that land in FAST-41 benefit from more government support on permitting and better co-ordination across federal agencies.

The FAST-41 program includes projects in energy production, electricity transmission, surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resource projects, broadband, pipelines and manufacturing.

Under President Trump’s second term, the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council was asked to look at adding mining and data centre projects to the fast track list. 53 new projects were referred to a fast tracking program last year, according to the council. Some of these involved copper, gold and lithium projects.

When it added mining projects to FAST-41 last spring, the Trump administration said America had a lengthy and duplicative permitting process that can stretch seven to 10 years for a single mine. 

“Countries like Australia and Canada complete permitting in as little as two to five years, giving them a competitive advantage in attracting investment and building resilient mineral supply chains,” said a statement at the time. 

These fast-tracking ideas could have originated in China, where there are some 40 special economic zones. These are primarily geared to exporting processed goods, but feature policies like lower tax rates, reduced regulations, and faster permitting systems.