Oil and gas producers applaud Ottawa’s latest major projects list

OTTAWA — The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers is praising Ottawa’s latest list of major projects after another liquefied natural gas project made the cut, but environment groups are warning it is taking Canada in the wrong direction.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney released the second list of projects his government is submitting to the Major Projects Office for consideration as projects of national interest.

The national interest designation would give a project special treatment, allowing it to speed through approvals and possibly sidestep certain environmental laws, such as the Fisheries Act and the Species at Risk Act.

The new list includes the Ksi Lisims liquefied natural gas project, the North Coast Transmission Line in British Columbia, a hydroelectric project in Nunavut and nickel, graphite and tungsten mines in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick.

Ksi Lisims is the second LNG project the government has submitted to the MPO for national interest consideration.

On Friday, CAPP president Lisa Baiton said in a media statement the new list moves Canada toward becoming a “global energy superpower,” something Carney has said repeatedly is his goal.

“With Ksi Lisims LNG and the related Prince Rupert Gas Transmission project joining LNG Canada Phase 2 on the major projects list, paired with Cedar and Woodfibre LNG which are already under construction, Canada is on a path to become one of the top 5 LNG exporters in the world,” she said.

But Baiton also said the government still needs to move on regulatory reforms the industry wants.

Earlier this year, more than 90 oil and gas executives called on the government to repeal several laws Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has called “damaging.”

The industry has called on Ottawa to end the tanker ban off the B.C. coast and the emissions cap on oil and gas producers, and to turn over industrial carbon pricing policy to the provinces.

Most provinces have their own industrial carbon pricing systems, but they must meet a basic federal standard to avoid having the federal system imposed on them.

The government’s climate competitiveness strategy, released in the federal budget on Nov. 4, committed to strengthening industrial carbon pricing but offered no details.

The budget said the emissions cap on oil and gas producers likely wouldn’t be needed if other policies are implemented, such as stronger limits on methane leaks and investments in carbon capture and storage.

The vagueness of those commitments has many environment groups worried.

“Recent commitments to expand Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) production will increase domestic emissions with no guarantees that LNG exports will reduce emissions abroad,” said Dale Beugin, vice president of the Canadian Climate Institute.

“The exact size and scope of these impacts will be determined by the stringency of climate policies that have yet to be finalized, which further underlines the urgent need for policy implementation.”

The new project list was released as countries met in Brazil for the annual United Nations climate conference. Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault — who was a climate activist before entering politics and developed many of the country’s current climate policies as Dabrusin’s predecessor in the environment portfolio — are attending the first week of the event.

Both must return to Ottawa in time for the federal government’s critical budget vote on Monday.

“This week, world leaders in Belém are talking about how the world can shift away from fossil fuel dependence, towards cleaner, more affordable renewable energy and a safer future. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Carney is going full steam ahead with climate-killing LNG,” said Caroline Brouillette, the executive director of Climate Action Network.

“Is this really the signal that Canada wants to send to the world? Canada is showing up to world climate negotiations with empty hands and domestic backsliding, and it’s really sad to watch.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 14, 2025.