Gary Mar
Published in Financial Post
June 10, 2025
Gary Mar: Carney’s Bill C-5 is a good start, but prosperity doesn’t follow good intentions — it follows action and investment
Canada has never lacked big ideas. The challenge has always been turning ambition into action — especially when it comes to getting major projects built.
Bill C-5, the federal government’s new approach to project approvals, shows promise. There are clearer timelines, a Major Projects Office and an acknowledgement that the current system has slowed us down. These are welcome signals.
Western Canada is ready. We want this new approach to succeed. But we know — because we’ve seen it before — that if there’s no trust, no shared responsibility and no plan to speed up decisions, good ideas will stall.
Fundamentally, for major project approvals to work in Canada, the gory details of the process are second to the ability of the federal and provincial governments to cooperate where they share responsibility for resources, the environment and the economy. Success will depend on how well the federal government works with provinces, Indigenous partners and the private sector to actually get things done.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has shown a far more open and responsive approach than his predecessor. There will be difficulties ahead, but recognition that provincial responsibilities are paramount in some areas, federal in others and shared in yet others would be a big step forward.
The provinces aren’t looking for a fight — they’re looking for respect and a seat at the table when projects fall within shared jurisdiction. The feds don’t need to do it all — they just need to do their part and work with those who know their regions best.
That includes working with Indigenous nations: consultation is a duty, not a delay. Indigenous communities need to be meaningfully engaged early and often — especially when they’re partners or proponents. But consultation needs expectations, timelines and deadlines. Dragging on with no clear end helps no one. We need a better framework — one that supports fast, fair and informed engagement.
The proposed “one project, one approval” approach is a great idea for all parties involved. For governments, proponents and communities it’s more efficient — they don’t need to produce different reports with different ways of measuring essentially the same thing or measuring new things that they could have captured while they were at it the first time.
Take Cedar LNG in British Columbia — a majority Indigenous-owned project that successfully navigated both provincial and federal reviews. The project received federal approval in a relatively timely manner (and one day after B.C. announced its approval) because the federal government agreed to substitute B.C.’s assessment for its own. The result: a project that moved faster, with greater certainty and less confusion. That’s what real cooperation looks like.
Among the federal government’s stated priorities — economic growth, reconciliation, climate action — economic growth must lead. It is the engine that drives the revenue, investment and opportunity needed to deliver on the rest. Prosperity doesn’t follow good intentions — it follows action, investment and a strong foundation.
Financing is another critical piece. Major projects require billions in capital — some from government, but much more from the private sector. That capital is global, mobile and impatient. If timelines stretch and decisions drag, investors will walk. Once they’re gone, they’re hard to get back.
The rules matter, but so does the pace. If Canada wants to build infrastructure that strengthens our economy, supports net-zero goals, and improves trade corridors, we need to fix how we make decisions. Otherwise, we’ll watch good projects — and good jobs — go elsewhere.
The Arctic also presents enormous opportunity. Infrastructure is limited, but strategic importance is growing fast. From critical minerals and energy to national security and Indigenous economic development, the potential is real — and so are the challenges. Long timelines, permitting gaps and jurisdictional overlap threaten to stall progress before it starts. If we can’t coordinate effectively in the Arctic — where Indigenous partnership is essential — we’ll miss the boat entirely.
This is why federal-provincial cooperation isn’t optional — it’s essential. Canada’s premiers and the prime minister emphasized this recently in Saskatoon. The path forward starts with clarity: understanding where provinces lead, where the federal government leads, and where responsibilities are shared. That’s Confederation. We don’t need more turf wars, we need more teamwork.
Prime Minister Carney’s call to “Build Big, Build Bold, Build Now” resonates. To make it real, we need to add “Build Together and Build for Growth.” That means trusting provinces to lead where they’re strong. That means giving Indigenous nations a bigger role at the front end. And that means creating real accountability — so timelines are met, decisions are made and capital doesn’t get stranded.
This is a chance to show Canada can still build great things — responsibly, quickly and with everyone at the table. The question is whether governments are ready to put partnership ahead of politics.
Because if we get this right, we won’t just be building pipelines, transmission lines, ports and corridors. We’ll be building trust, economic growth and the kind of country that gets things done.
In the West, we’re ready — because when the West leads, Canada thrives.
Gary Mar is president and CEO of the Canada West Foundation