In lead-up to the opening of Canada’s Major Projects Office in September, the Pembina Institute has released recommendations for how the federal government should approach its efforts to identify and fast-track selected “nation-building” projects, as part of the Building Canada Act.
While the federal government identified five criteria to help guide the decision-making process, we assert that a focus on criteria 4 and 5 – advance the interests of Indigenous peoples, and contribute to clean growth and to meeting Canada’s objectives with respect to climate change – must be foundational to all projects and will provide a pathway to success. Fully realizing our commitments to climate action and the rights and title of Indigenous people will ensure projects aim to multi-solve our current challenges while creating a legacy of multi-generational benefits.
The recommendations argue that clean electrification must be at the core of Canada’s nation-building strategy, as leading economies around the world are moving at pace into what the International Energy Agency calls the Age of Electricity. In 2024, global investment in clean energy beat out fossil fuels, $2 trillion to $1 trillion. Now is not the time to advance projects that present a high risk of becoming stranded assets and market liabilities.
