Welcome to Economic Insights, your twice-weekly deep dive into the major projects and policy shifts shaping the Canadian economy.

Stories we are following:

– Parliament starts with a doubling down on the powers of the Building Canada Act. 

The Building Canada Act’s unprecedented powers sparked backlash when Parliament rammed the bill through in early summer 2025 — and that hasn’t stopped the Carney Liberals from expanding them as the fall sitting opens. 

One of the standout proposals in the Building Canada Strong Act, introduced Monday, is the creation of “regions of national interest.”

We have a breakdown of how those might work here.

Then, beyond expansion, the bill proposes to make Ottawa’s fast-tracking powers permanent, deleting the five-year sunset clause that was part of the Building Canada Act. 

Another notable measure: Impact assessments for nuclear projects would now be carried out by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, who has also been tasked with reducing approval timelines. A government official suggested Tuesday in a technical briefing for reporters that would mean the regulator needs to hire more staff. 

The bill also says federal project decision making should happen in more than one year. 

What happens if the review takes longer than a year? Nothing, an official suggested in the technical briefing — there’s no binding language in the bill.

– Might this end up in court? 

Officials declined to comment on the litigation risk posed by the proposed legislation. But a lawyer speaking on background told iPolitics it’s hard to imagine the bill’s powers won’t escape some kind of legal challenge. 

Speaking of which, the Carney government has lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging Ottawa no longer has a credible plan to meet Canada’s 2030 emissions target, after a judge ruled the case can proceed to a full hearing.

The case is based on the Canadian Net Zero Emissions Accountability Act, a Trudeau-era legislation that requires setting national targets for greenhouse gas emissions and establishing a credible plan to meet those goals.

More on that here.

– Major Projects Office ‘doesn’t know what they are doing’ on First Nations, says national chief. 

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak criticized the federal MPO’s approach to First Nations at a press conference Tuesday.

“I’m going to say it outright: they don’t know what they are doing when it comes to First Nations,” she said. 

She says CEO Dawn Farrell has turned down repeated chances over the past year to speak to chiefs and assemblies.

“Why, you’re too good to come and talk to our chiefs? Stay at home, stay in Calgary,” she said, adding that she’s stopped bothering to invite the special government agency’s leadership altogether. 

We have that story.

By the numbers:

246: The number of pages in Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act.

30: The number of days CER has to review a large pipeline project.

$50 million: The amount spent to build a “Centre of Expertise” in Ignace, Ontario, in a bid to do research and engage the public in the area to support a deep geological repository for nuclear waste.

Major projects watch:

– Ottawa has gazetted the deep geological repository for nuclear waste in northern Ontario, signalling it could be among the projects to be designated as ‘national interest’ under the Building Canada Act. So far no project has been granted that status, although the rumour on the Hill is that the West Coast Oil Pipeline could get it sometime this week (the Alberta-Ottawa deal does say before October 1…)

– Good news for the long delayed Sisson mine in New Brunswick, one of the first projects to be referred to the Major Projects Office. A new feasibility study for the tungsten-molybdenum project puts its post-tax value at more than four times the cost to build it, compared with less than one times initial capital in a study 13 years ago. Changing prices of Tungsten, supply dynamics from China, have changed project economics. Mining.com has the breakdown.

– The Globe and Mail is reporting that Finance Canada has offered $2.5 million lump-sum payment to the 129 First Nations along the Trans Mountain corridor who will sign on to a 15 per cent equity stake into the line. That’s much lower than what most communities were anticipating. Here’s an iPolitics piece from earlier this summer that took at close look at this issue: Alberta’s pipeline pitch rests on Indigenous equity, a promise unfulfilled on the line it would twin.

– Sources tell Reuters that LNG Canada could reach a final investment decision on its Phase 2 expansion as early as next month. More on that here.

– Proponents behind a 13-year-old bid to build a shipping container port in Cape Breton say they’re now focused on developing a terminal to support the offshore wind sector.Novaporte, led by CEO Albert Barbusci, issued a statement Tuesday saying that as of last week, it had drummed up investor interest for the new proposal at Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Canada Investment Summit in Toronto. CP has the latest.

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