{"id":604330,"date":"2026-04-24T21:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T21:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/604330\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T21:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T21:04:11","slug":"slew-of-new-major-natural-resource-projects-will-be-under-way-by-next-year-hodgson-predicts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/604330\/","title":{"rendered":"Slew of new major natural resource projects will be under way by next year, Hodgson predicts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson in Ottawa, on March 26.Spencer Colby\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson predicted on Friday that up to 10 new major natural resource projects will be under way by this time next year, as the Liberal government doubles down on its strategy to boost Canada\u2019s economy during the trade war. <\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s Major Projects Office was launched last year with the objective to identify certain natural resource projects for regulatory fast tracking, as well as facilitating hundreds of millions in dollars in funding.<\/p>\n

So far, 15 projects in mining, electricity, energy and transport have been referred to the office, representing tens of billions in potential investment. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to keep moving projects from approval to final investment decision, construction, and, ultimately, production,\u201d Mr. Hodgson said in a speech in Toronto on Friday at The Empire Club of Canada. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn Spring 2027, you will see projects not just having been added to the Major Projects Office, but at least five to ten new projects having reached FID or broken ground.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Mark Carney-led Liberal government is hoping that moving resource projects along faster will offset some of the pain being generated by U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s trade war.<\/p>\n

Enbridge launches $4-billion expansion of B.C. pipeline system for natural gas<\/a><\/p>\n

Since early last year, Canada\u2019s aluminum, steel, autos and forestry sectors have been dealing with punishing tariffs. The 50-per-cent levy on steel imports into the U.S. has essentially closed off the American market entirely for Canadian manufacturers. <\/p>\n

Echoing a well-received speech made by Mr. Carney in Davos earlier this year, Mr. Hodgson on Friday said that Canada can no longer rely on the U.S. economically, that Canadians can\u2019t be complacent, and that self-sufficiency is the way forward. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor too long, Canadians felt overly secure in the hand we had been dealt: abundant resources, a world order generous to middle powers like Canada, and a social safety net that provided a decent quality of life for most Canadians,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is now clear that the world has changed. Economic integration with our neighbour \u2013 once a strength \u2013 has been weaponized against us. It is time to stop relying on Neighbourhood Watch, and install our own security systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there is still work to be done to cut red tape in expediting natural resource projects, Mr. Hodgson said that significant progress had been made. That includes Ottawa working more efficiently with the provinces to streamline environmental assessments. \u201cOne Project, One Review\u201d agreements are now in place with many of the provinces, including Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I took office, the thought of building big things like we used to again felt nearly impossible. We were mired in slow bureaucracy; duplicative, overcomplicated permitting and regulatory processes; and apathy about the need to build,\u201d he said. \u201cWe still have a lot to do. But a year into our mandate, it no longer feels impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a marker of progress made, Mr. Hodgson in his speech referenced Enbridge Inc.\u2019s decision on Friday to forge ahead with a $4-billion expansion of a natural gas pipeline system<\/a> in British Columbia. <\/p>\n

The Sunrise expansion project will increase capacity by 17 per cent at Enbridge\u2019s T-South system, focusing on southern B.C. but also bolstering the U.S. Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n

What are Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s four newly announced Northern major projects?<\/a><\/p>\n

As the federal government talks up its efforts to turbo-boost the resource industry, Canada faces the spectre of impending negotiations with the U.S. to try to end the trade war by renewing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. <\/p>\n

Mr. Hodgson said key to those negotiations will be leveraging Canada\u2019s strength in energy and natural resources. <\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, it is about knowing which cards are your best, and playing them effectively. Energy, electricity, forest products, minerals: these are our best cards,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Mr. Hodgson also called for a coherent strategy for nuclear energy and electricity, and predicted that one will be announced and implemented within a year. The current electricity system is disjointed, comprised of 13 \u201cisland grids\u201d that often seems designed to facilitate the trade of electricity between Canada and the U.S., rather than between provinces. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is way easier for Ontario to trade electricity with New York or with Michigan than it is to trade with Quebec or Manitoba,\u201d he said in a moderated discussion after his speech. \u201cIn the new world that we\u2019re in, that doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson in Ottawa, on March 26.Spencer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":604331,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[2428,2416,2429,4,2408,2430,28,103,2407,2422,2423,2418,2409,2406,101,526,192,2421,2414,2441,2410,2411,2420,2417,149,983,2431,2413,2436,2437,2439,2434,2438,2432,2435,2412,2425,2426,111,2424,2433,2415,74,2427,2419,194,965,2440],"class_list":{"0":"post-604330","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-business","15":"tag-canada","16":"tag-canada-news","17":"tag-canada-sports","18":"tag-canada-sports-news","19":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","20":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","21":"tag-canadian-news","22":"tag-economy","23":"tag-education","24":"tag-environment","25":"tag-federal-government","26":"tag-foreign-news","27":"tag-globe-and-mail","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","29":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","30":"tag-government","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-national-news","36":"tag-new-brunswick","37":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","38":"tag-northwest-territories","39":"tag-nova-scotia","40":"tag-nunavut","41":"tag-ontario","42":"tag-pei","43":"tag-photos","44":"tag-political-news","45":"tag-political-opinion","46":"tag-politics","47":"tag-politics-news","48":"tag-quebec","49":"tag-sports-news","50":"tag-technology","51":"tag-travel","52":"tag-trudeau","53":"tag-us-news","54":"tag-world-news","55":"tag-yukon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}