Investing.com -- Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled sweeping legislation Friday aimed at accelerating the approval of infrastructure projects and removing long-standing internal trade barriers, part of a broader effort to boost Canada’s economic potential amid mounting global uncertainty. The One Canadian Economy Act, a centerpiece of the Carney government’s pro-growth agenda, seeks to consolidate regulatory processes and create a unified domestic market across the national landscape.
“Canada’s a country that used to build big things,” Carney said at a press conference. “But in recent decades it’s become too difficult to build in this country.” To address these concerns, the bill would cut federal project approval times from five years to two by creating a one-stop permitting office and applying a “one-project, one-review” standard to infrastructure proposals.
Projects deemed “nation-building” by federal cabinet, such as railways, ports, pipelines, and transmission lines, would undergo streamlined assessments focused not on justification, but implementation. These proposals must satisfy at least some of five criteria, including economic benefit, Indigenous engagement, and contributions to climate goals, though officials stress these are considerations rather than strict thresholds.
The new approach was partially galvanized by concerns over regulatory paralysis that has slowed Canada’s ability to bring natural resources to global markets. “When federal agencies have examined a new project, their immediate question has been: Why?” Carney said Friday. “With this bill, we will instead ask ourselves: How?”
The legislation also tackles internal trade barriers, which economists estimate cost tens of billions of dollars in lost productivity and economic output annually. A major provision of the bill would recognize provincial standards for goods, services and labor certification as meeting the federal benchmark, though actual interprovincial mobility will still require the cooperation of provincial governments.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has expressed skepticism over the bill’s broader impact, calling the internal trade components “a small step.” “It’s baby steps when we needed a giant leap,” Poilievre said Friday, while suggesting provinces be offered cash incentives to dismantle remaining trade barriers.
While some provinces have already commenced bilateral trade agreements, others remain hesitant. The federal government says its own contributions include the elimination of all exemptions to the Canadian Free Trade Agreement by July 1, with the broader hope that harmonization efforts will follow across jurisdictions.