Canada PM vows to fast-track energy projects, incentivise critical minerals

Canada

OTTAWA, April 10, 2025 – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has unveiled a plan to fast-track major energy and infrastructure developments through a single federal review office and broaden tax incentives for critical minerals, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

At a campaign stop in the oil and gas capital of Calgary, Carney said his government would establish a Major Federal Project Office with a “one project, one review” approach to accelerate project approvals and eliminate overlapping federal and provincial environmental assessments.

“We are going to aggressively develop projects that are in the national interest in order to protect Canada’s energy security, diversify our trade and enhance our long-term competitiveness — all while reducing emissions,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement. “We can lead the energy transition while ensuring affordable energy at home and building the strongest economy in the G-7.”

Carney also pledged to expand a critical minerals exploration tax credit to include minerals used in defence, semiconductors, energy and clean technologies. He said the Canadian exploration expense would be broadened to include technical study costs, and the clean manufacturing tax credit would be revised to support brownfield site development.

The minerals plan was hailed by Mining Association of Canada CEO Pierre Gratton, who was quoted by Bloomberg as saying, “This is huge. It includes an awful lot of stuff that we’ve been advocating for for a while, and not getting.”

“I’m surprised, to be honest, because I didn’t expect it,” he added. “This could really help increase Canadian production of critical minerals in the short- to medium-term.”

The Liberal leader further proposed a trade and energy corridor backed by a CAD 5 billion (USD 3.5 billion) fund to build infrastructure linking production with export markets.

Canada exports around 4 million barrels of crude oil per day to the US and depends on cross-border pipelines to supply eastern provinces. Recent threats from US President Donald Trump have pushed Canada to cut reliance on US energy infrastructure.

Prime Minister Carney will face off against Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre in a national election later this month. Poilievre is proposing a similar plan with a one-year deadline for decisions on projects.