Canada’s Major Projects Office: Policy, P3s, opportunity

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Canada’s new Major Projects Office, established under Bill C-5, marks a pivotal shift in infrastructure policy. Legal experts explore the move to centralized project delivery, evolving P3 models, and the resulting opportunities and challenges for lawyers

CANADA'S INFRASTRUCTURE deficits have long been a persistent background issue, but the market recently experienced a notable shift. “Infrastructure concerns may have underpinned stories in The Globe and Mail, but now they’re on the front page in their own right,” says Lisa Mitchell, president and CEO of The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP). “In terms of Canada’s sovereignty and as an economic driver, infrastructure is at the forefront of a national narrative right now.” Major Projects Office signals shift in infrastructure policy A major driver is the newly established Major Projects Office (MPO), created under Bill C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, passed earlier this year. The bill includes the Building Canada Act as a key component. Under it, the MPO establishes a new framework for identifying, approving, and fast-tracking projects deemed to be in the national interest. Both a response to and a catalyst for the new high-profile status of infrastructure in Canada’s economic and political agenda, the MPO signals a significant shift in infrastructure policy, says Ella Plotkin, partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP and leader of the firm’s Global Infrastructure & Projects group. “This is sucking the oxygen out of the infrastructure conversation right now in terms of what everybody’s focusing on,” she explains. “We’re moving away from a slower, more fragmented regime to a nimbler, more centralized, faster, coordinated process – or at least that’s the vision we hope this will accomplish.”

As a premier law firm with over 950 lawyers worldwide, Fasken is committed to delivering practical, forward-thinking legal solutions that shape the future our clients want – precisely when it matters most. Fasken’s Global Infrastructure and Projects Team advises proponents, consortia, constructors, lenders, and other private sector participants, as well as public authorities, across multiple jurisdictions in North America. We help clients navigate complex infrastructure projects by anticipating challenges, resolving issues, and completing transactions efficiently and strategically. Our experience spans sectors such as transportation, energy, social infrastructure, and digital infrastructure.

“It’s an exciting time to be doing what we do … with the discussion on nation building, housing, and enabling infrastructure at the community level, all of that points to public-private partnerships”

Lisa Mitchell, The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships

While the MPO has been created and the first five nation-building projects selected, it’s “still early days” in fully understanding how this process will unfold, particularly how it will help structure financing for projects or how it will play out alongside provincial requirements and processes, says Mitchell. “There are still discussions to be had around what comes next and how new processes will work in practice,” she explains, noting it’s important to keep in mind these selected nation-building projects may not always be infrastructure focused, like the two mines selected, but will require enabling infrastructure to help them achieve their goals.

Plotkin identifies a “hurry-up-and-wait” energy in the market as stakeholders wait to see how things play out. She has clients reaching out to ask about accessing the MPO, whether it’s to understand how the process works, to get more information on how the national interest project designation will be addressed, or to help position a project at the front of the line. How public and private finance will blend to make projects work is one of the more pressing uncertainties. “It’s all a bit of a black box right now, and making it work in practice will require some innovation and thinking,” Plotkin says. “The climate is one of optimism coupled with some trepidation.”

With all levels of government involved in the current infrastructure push, there’s a need for private investment partnership models to deliver on that growing project pipeline. The “made in Canada” P3 model has successfully delivered more than 300 projects across Canada for close to 40 years, but there’s ongoing work to adapt it for new types of projects and asset classes – dovetailing with the MPO’s mandate to more effectively deliver major projects. “It’s an exciting time to be doing what we do,” says Mitchell. “We’re an industry that’s been around for over 30 years, and we have a proven record of delivering high-quality infrastructure and services to Canadians. Right now, with the discussion on nation building, housing, and enabling infrastructure at the community level, all of that points to public-private partnerships. There’s a great deal of opportunity for us, but equally there’s a lot to do to mobilize and get ready.” The Council is an advocate for a centralized federal hub for infrastructure procurement and knowledge that can share best practices, drive innovation as well as long-term operations and maintenance resiliency in assets, establish standards, and fully consider what procurement model will deliver the best value for Canadian taxpayers. This is a missing solution to resolving the country’s infrastructure deficit and to ensuring what gets built lasts for decades to come, Mitchell says.

Mitchell points to provincial agencies such as Infrastructure BC, Infrastructure Ontario, and SaskBuilds as successful examples. Since the dissolution of PPP Canada in 2018, however, delivery at the federal level “is fragmented, to put it bluntly” and has resulted in a drop in federally procured P3s. “There are a lot of players building a lot of projects, but we’re missing out on key things like knowledge transfer from one project to another and the ability to develop leading practices to be applied across projects,” she explains. “We’ve seen in Canada and globally that the success of major project delivery and P3 delivery has really been in areas where you look at it not just on a project-by-project basis but more programmatically.” Plotkin says there’s a “a clear role” in defining the new process for the Council as well as legal professionals working in the space. “There are many lessons learned that the MPO and project proponents can draw on when it comes to bringing together the public and private sector to make these projects go, and there is clearly room for more innovation,” she adds. “We hope the MPO will be given the tools and resources it needs to leverage the industry’s experience and the lessons learned in the public-private partnership space.”

“This is a great idea and a great start, but give the MPO the resources it needs. If Mr. Carney was sitting here with us today, we’d tell him the same thing — put your shoulder behind it”

Ella Plotkin, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

The MPO’s framework is focused on encouraging the standardization of processes, documentation, and structures that blend public and private finance sources. Standardization encourages competition, and one of the keys to that effort is streamlining procurement documentation. Recent experiments with new procurement models and the subsequent cost escalation project owners have faced has caused governments to step back from the more progressive approaches. Authorities are reconsidering the traditional design-build-finance (DBF) and design-build-finance-maintain (DBFM) models while also considering breaking mega projects down into smaller more digestible pieces to ensure market competition is maintained.

“Standardized documents and processes helped the market when it came to the traditional DBFM, DBF approach, and we expect there may be a trend coming back to these models for the right projects,” Plotkin says, noting she’s already seeing some project owners and procuring authorities considering them over the progressive models. But she warns the shift doesn’t mean a return to business as usual. Procuring authorities and the private sector in provinces across Canada are actively working to evolve and adapt risk transfer models to ensure what’s on the table works both for the market and the project owners in their jurisdictions. There is no right-size-fits-all approach. The type of asset, the local labour market, the competitive tension needed, and a government’s comfort level and experience with model types are all factors in decision-making. Canada has rich experience with successfully using P3s for a wide variety of asset classes from the Canada Line to the Confederation Bridge, student housing to police stations, dozens of state-of-the-art hospitals to bundles of schools tailor-made for their communities. But transit has proven challenging, as are an increasing number of mega projects, topping out at $1 billion plus, across Canada. These projects are risky – sometimes too risky. “Are we having to take a step back and re-examine how P3s might play in the transit space? Absolutely. Are we dealing with multibillion-dollar projects that might need a different lens in terms of how they’re procured? Yes. Inherently, the large and the complex are different beasts. But to Ella’s point, the umbrella of P3 models is expanding and evolution is occurring.” Plotkin agrees, adding that there are a lot of potential approaches and governments need to be alive to selecting “the right ones at the right place at the right time for the right type of project.”

CCPPP poised to leverage 30 years of industry experience

Encouraging market confidence

Published Oct 13, 2025

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The government’s initial list of projects is a promising start and offers insight into national priorities. But what’s needed now is certainty of process from the MPO as the race to get involved heats up. The whole market is watching, Plotkin notes, and while “there’s a lot of good intention, the devil is in the implementation and execution.” There’s a need to learn from mistakes and celebrate successes, and Mitchell notes she’s heartened that the government – while focused on achieving its objectives – has demonstrated a willingness to listen to opportunities and join forces collaboratively outside of the competitive procurement process.

The devil, as always, is in the details

There’s one non-negotiable: all sides need to put the work in. For the Council, “we can’t just sit back,” Mitchell says. “We need to be at the table as part of the discussion. Given the real-life experience we have, it’s important we have a strong voice.” From her perspective, Plotkin urges the government to allocate funding sooner than later, whether through existing mechanisms or new ones. If the government is to meet its NATO commitment, Plotkin says, it will need to allocate significant resources to finance those infrastructure projects that are crucial to achieving this commitment and enhancing the security and sovereignty goals at stake. What is needed, she says, is for the government to clarify to the market how funding will be made available and whether new mechanisms will be established. “They need to move forward in collaboration with private financing sources as well: the best use of taxpayers’ money right now is to get these projects launched,” she stresses. “This is a great idea and a great start, but give the MPO the resources it needs. If Mr. Carney was sitting here with us today, we’d tell him the same thing – put your shoulder behind it.”

Top 100 Canadian public infrastructure projects (2025)

Over $300B

in total investment value

15 new projects in 2025 valued at $22B, including six hospitals, three energy initiatives, and two water/wastewater projects

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Energy Mining Finance Infrastructure Litigation Technology Health Sciences Insolvency and Restructuring Mergers and Acquisitions

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Toronto Montreal Ottawa Vancouver Calgary and Edmonton Regina & Saskatoon Winnipeg Halifax Atlantic Canada

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SPECIAL EDITIONS

Energy Mining Finance Infrastructure Litigation Technology Health Sciences Insolvency and Restructuring Mergers and Acquisitions

Rankings

Lawyers Firms Lexpert 500 Cross Border Who's Who Methodology

LARGEST FIRMS

Toronto Montreal Ottawa Vancouver Calgary and Edmonton Regina & Saskatoon Winnipeg Halifax Atlantic Canada

News

Legal Insights Features Cross Border In House Lawyer Big Deals Premium Lexpert TV

Awards

Lexpert Rising Stars Canadian Law Awards

DIGITAL EDITIONS

Canada’s infrastructure deficit and investment

$110B–$270B

Estimated infrastructure deficit

Some estimates reach as high as $570B

Projected by the Parliamentary Budget Officer

$159B

Federal infrastructure spending (2025–2030)

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