Building Momentum: Canada Advances Major Projects Under The Building Canada Act

Background

The federal government has taken another significant step toward operationalizing the Building Canada Act (the “Act”). On August 29, 2026, notices were published in the Canada Gazette advising that the Governor in Council is considering adding the Mackenzie Valley Highway and Roberts Bank Terminal 2 to Schedule 1 of the Act as projects of national interest.

The notices commence the statutory 30-day notice period required before a project may be listed. They do not constitute a decision to list either project. Interested parties may submit comments on the proposed listings until October 1, 2026. The notices follow the August 1, 2026 publication of a similar notice for the proposed West Coast Oil Pipeline.

Industry participants will recall that the Act, introduced as part of Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, received Royal Assent on June 26, 2025. The federal government subsequently established the Major Projects Office (“MPO”) to coordinate and advance major projects of national interest under the new framework. For projects ultimately listed in Schedule 1, the Act is intended to provide greater regulatory certainty by consolidating specified federal authorization decisions and replacing multiple downstream federal approval decisions with a single conditions document. Federal regulatory review, Indigenous consultation and, where applicable, treaty-based assessment processes continue to apply.

For further background on the Act, refer to our previous bulletins, here and here.

Below, we outline the two projects and consider what their potential listing may signal for other major project proponents.

The Projects: Mackenzie Valley Highway and Roberts Bank Terminal 2

Mackenzie Valley Highway (Northwest Territories)

The Government of the Northwest Territories is advancing a proposed approximately 800 km four-season highway extending from north of Wrigley through the Mackenzie River Valley, passing near Tulita, Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope and ultimately connecting with the Dempster Highway south of Inuvik. The project also contemplates new bridge crossings, including across the Great Bear River near Tulita and the Liard and Mackenzie rivers near Fort Simpson.

The highway would provide year-round road access to currently isolated communities, facilitate regional trade and tourism and support mineral and resource exploration and development. It is also closely aligned with federal priorities relating to Arctic sovereignty, security and defence, while providing significant opportunities for Indigenous participation and partnership along the corridor.

The project’s advancement extends beyond regulatory coordination. On September 8, 2026, the federal government announced $405 million in funding to advance components of the project, including environmental assessment and design work, the Great Bear River Bridge, an additional all-season access road and preliminary engineering and design for additional bridges.

Importantly, the project remains subject to treaty-based assessment processes. Potential listing under the Act does not displace those processes.

Roberts Bank Terminal 2 (British Columbia)

Roberts Bank Terminal 2, being advanced by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, is a proposed three-berth container terminal that would increase the Port of Vancouver’s container capacity by approximately 50%. The project includes a new approximately 120-hectare marine terminal landmass and wharf structure, a widened causeway supporting additional road and rail infrastructure, an expanded tug basin and associated on-land infrastructure.

RBT2 has been described as a central component of the Port of Vancouver Gateway Strategy and supportive of Canada’s trade diversification objectives, including the federal government’s stated objective of doubling exports to non-U.S. markets by 2035.

RBT2 also illustrates the potential application of the Act to a relatively mature project. The project has already received a Ministerial Certificate under the former Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, with certain other permits remaining outstanding. Consultation with the Government of British Columbia and First Nation continues as part of the potential Schedule 1 listing process.

What Do These Potential Listings Tell Us?

Together with the earlier notice concerning the West Coast Oil Pipeline, MVH and RBT2 provide some of the first practical indications of how the federal government may use the Act.

The projects share strong alignment with national economic and strategic priorities: trade diversification, supply-chain resilience, Arctic sovereignty and security, resource development and Indigenous participation. At the same time, they are at quite different stages of development and regulatory review. This suggests that there may not be a single project-development threshold for potential Schedule 1 listing.

For proponents, another important signal is the emphasis on execution. One of the statutory national-interest considerations is whether a project has a high likelihood of successful execution. RBT2’s regulatory maturity and the significant new federal funding supporting MVH suggest that proponents seeking MPO support should be prepared to demonstrate not only the strategic importance of their project, but also a credible path to permitting, financing, Indigenous participation and ultimately construction.

The timing is also notable. The notices precede the federal government’s Canada Investment Summit in Toronto on September 14-15, which is focused on mobilizing long-term capital for productive Canadian assets and advancing the government’s broader investment agenda. For infrastructure participants, the initiatives are closely connected: attracting significantly more domestic and international capital will depend in part on whether Canada can provide investors and proponents with greater regulatory predictability and a credible path from project development to construction.

Key Takeaways

• Potential listing, not approval: MVH and RBT2 have reached the statutory notice stage, but neither has yet been added to Schedule 1. The public comment period closes October 1, 2026.
• The emerging project profile is broad: Early candidates encompass transportation, trade infrastructure and energy and are at differing stages of regulatory development, but each is closely connected to identified national economic, security or resilience objectives.
• Execution matters: Strategic importance alone may not be sufficient. Proponents should be prepared to demonstrate project readiness, a viable regulatory and financing pathway, and meaningful Indigenous engagement and participation.
• The MPO’s role extends beyond permitting: Regulatory coordination, financing, government funding and resolution of project-development obstacles increasingly appear to be part of an integrated federal approach to advancing major projects.
• There is a finite window: The authority to add new projects to Schedule 1 is time-limited, with the five-year period ending in June 2030. Proponents of nationally significant infrastructure, energy, critical minerals and trade-enabling projects should therefore consider whether early engagement with the MPO is appropriate.