Bill C-39: Accelerating Canada’s Major Infrastructure Projects
The federal government has introduced Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act, aimed at accelerating major infrastructure and economic development projects across Canada.
The proposed legislation seeks to streamline federal approvals through a “One Project, One Review, One Decision” approach, including a one-year federal review target, reduced regulatory duplication, and expedited approvals for projects and regions designated as being in the national interest.
What Does This Mean for EFC Members?
EFC members play a critical role in Canada’s infrastructure supply chains, providing the electrical equipment, grid technologies, industrial automation systems, digital solutions, wire and cable, lighting, and energy-management technologies needed to build and operate major projects.
If successful, Bill C-39 could accelerate investment and create new market opportunities for EFC members across several key sectors, including:
- Electricity infrastructure: Generation, transmission, distribution, grid modernization and reliability projects.
- Digital infrastructure: Data centres and related electrical infrastructure.
- Industrial development: Mining, critical minerals, manufacturing and industrial facilities.
- Strategic infrastructure: Transportation, LNG and energy projects, ports, trade-enabling infrastructure and defence-related developments.
By shortening project approval timelines and improving investor confidence, the legislation could help advance more projects to construction, increasing demand for the technologies and solutions supplied by EFC members.
Key Considerations
While Bill C-39 presents potential opportunities, its economic impact will depend on several factors:
- Project prioritization: Which projects and regions are designated as being in the national interest, and the regulatory requirements they must meet.
- Federal-provincial coordination: Effective alignment between federal and provincial approval processes will remain essential.
- Implementation and timelines: It remains uncertain whether the proposed framework will deliver meaningful reductions in project approval timelines.
EFC will continue to monitor Bill C-39 as it advances through Parliament, with a focus on its potential to accelerate infrastructure investment and create opportunities for Canada’s electrical and automation industry.
EFC’s Government Relations Priorities
EFC’s advocacy focuses on ensuring Canada has the electrical infrastructure, technologies and supply-chain capacity needed to support major project development.
As Bill C-39 advances, EFC will continue to emphasize the importance of aligning faster project approvals with investments in electricity infrastructure, grid modernization and secure domestic supply chains. Accelerating project approvals alone will not guarantee timely construction if critical electrical equipment, manufacturing capacity and skilled labour are unavailable.
EFC will continue engaging with government to highlight the importance of strengthening Canada’s electrical supply chain, supporting domestic manufacturing investment, and ensuring that infrastructure development translates into opportunities for Canada’s electrical and automation industry.
EFC has been registered as a stakeholder on this topic and may be asked to provide comment or testimony.
For more information: https://www.canada.ca/en/one-canadian-economy/news/2026/09/cabinet-directive.html