Arctic roads, nuclear repository first to be designated as national interest projects

OTTAWA — Almost a year after the federal government’s Bill C-5 was rushed through Parliament, Ottawa is finally looking to use its new powers.

At an announcement in Yellowknife on Wednesday, three federal ministers identified two Arctic roads and a nuclear waste repository in Ontario as the first three proposals the federal government intends to designate as projects of national interest under the Building Canada Act — though construction of those projects is still years away.

They include the Grays Bay road and port project, the Mackenzie Valley highway project and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s geological repository. They need to go through a consultation process before the designation is confirmed, which Ottawa hopes to have completed by the fall.

The nuclear waste storage facility — in the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and Ignace area in Ontario — has been referred to the major projects office, federal officials said Wednesday. Grays Bay and the Mackenzie Valley highway were referred to the major projects office in March.

“We all know that the North is central to Canada’s economic future,” Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon told the news conference.

“The Grays Bay road and port project and the Mackenzie Valley highway project are nation-building initiatives. They are about strengthening Arctic sovereignty, creating economic opportunity and supporting the communities that call the North home.”

The Grays Bay road and port project would see a 230-kilometre all-season road built through Northwest Territories and Nunavut, unlocking mining opportunities for critical minerals in the North.

The Mackenzie Valley highway project would see construction of an all-season road from Yellowknife to Inuvik, cutting down travel times and connecting communities currently accessible only by air, winter roads or barges.

At a technical briefing before Wednesday’s announcement, federal officials said construction on Grays Bay isn’t expected to start until 2029, while construction of the final leg of the Mackenzie Valley Highway could start in 2028.

Officials said they’re looking for construction to start on the nuclear waste repository in 2030.

Prime Minister Mark Carney rammed the Building Canada Act through Parliament in just three weeks in June 2025. While some opposition MPs criticized the speed of Bill C-5’s passage, it passed with help from the Conservatives. The Liberals did not have a majority government at that time.

Since then, the Conservatives have criticized Carney for not using the government’s new powers.

MacKinnon told The Canadian Press the government wanted C-5 passed swiftly to get the major projects office up and running.

MacKinnon said that has allowed the government and major projects office CEO Dawn Farrell to inventory major projects and find ways to get them built quickly.

“Ultimately, projects that will end up being listed for the full processes envisaged under Bill C-5 will be those that have already run a very high-level, high-powered gauntlet of close scrutiny to see what’s required to get them over the goal line,” he said, adding there will be others to come.

The only other project Ottawa previously indicated it intended to designate as a project in the national interest is a proposed oil pipeline to the West Coast — part of its energy deal with Alberta.

The federal government committed in a memorandum of understanding in November to designate a pipeline as a project in the national interest. No such project has been submitted for consideration to the major projects office.

That deal set a deadline of July 1 to submit an application.

Federal officials said listing a project as one of national interest allows the federal government to do all of its permitting while the project is still under review — and can even allow Ottawa to skirt some of its own environmental laws to get it built.

While bypassing certain laws, Ottawa would still issue a conditions document under its approvals process.

But in the case of projects in the North, that federal authorization would only come after projects complete the impact assessment process set out in their respective territories.

Under the federal Nunavut Planning and Project Assessment Act, the Nunavut Impact Review Board is responsible for carrying out reviews of projects in that territory.

Once a review is complete, the board issues a recommendation to the federal Northern Affairs minister on whether a particular project should be allowed to proceed. That authority will transfer to the territorial government once the devolution process ends, which is expected to happen in April 2027.

But as Ottawa tries to build investor confidence by designating projects in the national interest, it’s still at the mercy of the territorial review process, which isn’t always a guaranteed win.

Baffinland Iron Mines, which operates Canada’s most northern mine, sought to double its expansion and build a new 110-kilometre railway.

But the proposal couldn’t get a positive recommendation from the Nunavut Impact Review Board after pushback from stakeholders, and was ultimately rejected by Ottawa in 2022. The company has since entered creditor protection.

Asked how Ottawa can pitch investor certainty when the impact assessment process is so uncertain, MacKinnon said Grays Bay and the Mackenzie Valley highway have widespread support.

“By announcing what we’re announcing today, we’re signalling that the federal government intends to deploy the tools offered to it by the Building Canada Act, after we go through the appropriate consultations,” MacKinnon said.

“I know the (territorial governments) are all, I can assure you, looking very much looking forward to doing everything they can, applying all of their resources as well, to getting those projects through the management board processes.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press