The second round of referrals to Canada’s new Major Projects Office includes several large-scale developments that feature Indigenous ownership, partnership, or support — a notable shift after the first list included none. Among the new referrals are Ontario’s Crawford nickel mine, the Ksi Lisims LNG project on British Columbia’s northwest coast, the North Coast Transmission Line, a hydroelectric project in Iqaluit, Quebec’s Nouveau Monde graphite mine, and New Brunswick’s Sisson tungsten mine.
Speaking in Terrace, B.C., Prime Minister Mark Carney said the selected projects represent $56 billion in planned investment. The major projects legislation passed earlier this year enables cabinet to accelerate approval of projects deemed to be in the national interest, even allowing certain laws to be bypassed. The Major Projects Office, supported by a newly created Indigenous advisory council, is responsible for reviewing these proposals and ensuring the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is part of the process.
The federal government created the council after strong pushback from Indigenous communities, who warned that the new law could erode their rights and allow industrial development without proper consultation. This is the first set of project referrals since the council was formed.
The Ksi Lisims LNG development — involving a floating export terminal and pipeline — is planned on Nisga’a Nation territory and has the Nation’s support. Carney says the project has the potential to become one of the cleanest LNG operations in the world, with emissions far lower than global averages, while contributing an estimated $4 billion annually to Canada’s GDP. Its American partners, Rockies LNG and Western LNG, say it could export up to 12 million tonnes of LNG per year to Asian markets. Still, two B.C. First Nations have already launched legal challenges opposing the project, and hereditary Chief Na’Moks, a key figure in the previous Coastal GasLink protests, voiced his objections outside Carney’s announcement.
Carney emphasized that referral to the Major Projects Office does not mean approval. Instead, it signals that Ottawa is working to create the conditions for projects to move forward — but the ultimate decisions involve multiple parties, including Indigenous governments. He also highlighted significant federal financing being offered to encourage Indigenous equity ownership.
Other projects on the list show varying levels of collaboration. The Crawford Nickel Sulphide Project in Ontario is backed by agreements with Matachewan, Mattagami, and Flying Post First Nations, offering training, jobs, and contracting opportunities — including for a future railway line. In Nunavut, the Inuit-owned Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation welcomed the referral of its Iqaluit hydroelectric project, saying it demonstrates that Inuit communities are vital partners in Canada’s economic future. The mine projects in Quebec and New Brunswick also have benefit or revenue-sharing agreements with surrounding First Nations.
No project has yet been granted the coveted “national interest” designation, which could exempt developments from certain federal environmental laws such as the Fisheries Act, Species at Risk Act, or Impact Assessment Act. The Major Projects Office will return each referral with recommendations, after which the federal cabinet will decide whether to provide the designation.
Carney has spent months meeting with Indigenous leaders after receiving criticism for inadequate consultation during the drafting of the legislation. While reactions to those meetings remain mixed, tensions that once threatened nationwide protests have eased somewhat. Indigenous leaders, including Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed, continue to call for strong and meaningful consultation before any project moves forward.
The second referral list is being seen as a test of whether the federal government can balance economic expansion with its obligations to Indigenous rights — a balance that will determine whether any of these major projects ultimately proceed.