The mechanism worth understanding this month is the Major Projects Office and the Building Canada Act. When Canada referred the West Coast pipeline to the MPO on July 2, it started a process to consider listing the project as being in the national interest, with a target listing date of October 1, 2026, and Indigenous consultation beginning immediately.
Listing matters because it is designed to compress and coordinate what used to be a slow, fragmented approvals path. For proponents of large energy, resource, or infrastructure projects, three things follow. The national-interest designation is becoming the fast lane. The designation raises expectations on Indigenous partnership and environmental performance rather than waiving them. And the projects that move quickly through this door will be the ones that arrive with their assessment work, routing, and engagement already well advanced. The office can streamline the process. It cannot manufacture the technical and consultation groundwork a serious submission needs, and that groundwork is where a project is won or lost.
For First Nations, the same process raises questions of participation, equity, and how consultation is carried out, and these are being worked through as projects are listed. Whether a Nation is assessing an ownership position or protecting its interests through review, experienced technical and advisory support matters.
We work on both sides of this: helping proponents get submission-ready, and helping Nations engage on their own terms. If you are weighing how to approach a major project, we are glad to talk it through.
Contact Our Team.
We would love to hear more about you and the project that you have in mind.
Jesse Unke, P.ENG., PE, PMP, RMP, CMC
Vice President, Transportation & Infrastructure
jesse.unke@priengineering.com