Federal Government Introduces Bill on Trade Barriers and Project Approvals

The Government of Canada introduced new legislation, One Canadian Economy: An Act to enact the Free Trade and Labour Mobility in Canada Act and the Building Canada Act, on June 6, 2025. According to the federal government, the bill is intended to remove federal internal trade barriers and speed up approvals for major national infrastructure projects following U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.

The federal government says these measures are meant to address internal barriers related to the movement of goods, services, and workers, and to streamline the process for approving certain large projects. These proposed changes, if passed, would affect procedures for businesses and workers moving between provinces or territories and the approval of key infrastructure projects.

According to the government announcement, the bill would set out a process for designating large projects as being in the national interest. Projects that may be eligible include highways, railways, ports, airports, oil pipelines, facilities related to critical minerals, mines, nuclear sites, and electricity transmission systems. The designation of such projects would be made by government order, following consultation with provinces, territories, and Indigenous rights holders.

If a project is designated as being in the national interest, federal regulatory reviews would be consolidated into a single approval process, with conditions determined by a designated minister. The government states that project proponents would still need to provide required information to federal agencies and participate in consultations with Indigenous groups. The new process is described as intended to reduce decision timelines from five years to two years.

A federal Major Projects Office would act as the point of contact for proponents of these projects, coordinating permits, assessments, and Indigenous consultations. The office would include an Indigenous Advisory Council with members representing First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities. According to the government, the legislation proposes to uphold obligations under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, including the duty to consult on major projects.

The government also states that the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program is being expanded from $5 billion to $10 billion, with the aim of enabling more First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities to become owners of major projects.

On internal trade and labour mobility, the government says the law would allow goods and services meeting provincial or territorial requirements to be recognized as meeting comparable federal requirements. Similarly, worker licenses and certifications would be recognized if they have federal or comparable provincial credentials, making it easier for workers to work across jurisdictions.

The legislation builds on a mutual recognition project started in the trucking sector and, according to the government, is aligned with recent efforts among provinces and territories to accelerate recognition of rules and regulations. The government also intends to remove additional federal exceptions from the Canadian Free Trade Agreement by July 2025. Since that agreement’s implementation in 2017, government reports state that almost 70 percent of federal exceptions have been removed.