Concurrent with the recently proposed tariffs and other trade policies of the Trump Administration, British Columbia's provincial government has announced a platform to strengthen economic resilience and drive development. In a press release dated February 1, 2025, the B.C. Government outlined a three-pronged approach under which it would seek to (1) respond to U.S. tariffs with counter-actions and outreach to American decision-makers; (2) strengthen B.C.'s economy by expediting major projects and supporting workers; and (3) diversify trade in products away from U.S. markets and customers.
As part of its response, the B.C. Government is assessing private-sector projects worth $20 billion with the goal of getting them approved as quickly as possible and issuing permits faster. Towards this end, the B.C. Government announced in a press release dated February 6, 2025 that new legislation will be introduced to accelerate renewable energy projects in B.C. by creating a single window permitting process under the B.C. Energy Regulator. Affected projects will include the nine wind energy projects awarded electricity purchase agreements with BC Hydro under the recent BC Hydro call for power, as well as the North Coast Transmission Line and other high-voltage electricity transmission projects in B.C. This measure is in addition to the intention stated by the B.C. Government in a press release dated December 9, 2024, to exempt all currently contemplated and future wind energy projects in B.C. from the statutory environmental assessment process.
Other initial actions taken by the B.C. Government included a direction to the B.C. Government and B.C. Crown corporations to prioritize buying products and services from Canadian suppliers, although it is not yet clear how this would affect the development of projects awarded electricity purchase agreements under the recent BC Hydro call for power.
McCarthy Tétrault continues to monitor developments in the B.C. region closely. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your McCarthy Tétrault advisors for further information about these measures.
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