By The Canadian Press

Ottawa, Alberta reach prospective agreement to streamline major project assessments

Mar 6, 2026 | 11:04 AM

EDMONTON — Ottawa and Alberta have reached a prospective deal that they say will see major projects be approved more efficiently.

In a joint announcement Friday, the two governments said the deal will bring a “one project, one review” approach to addressing the broader impacts of such projects, including on the environment.

A draft version of the deal says projects that fall under Alberta’s jurisdiction — namely in the non-renewable resource sector — will be deferred to the provincial regulatory review process.

Alberta’s process will be integrated with Ottawa’s for projects involving federal land and jurisdiction.

“Canada and Alberta are committed to improving efficiency of these assessment and permitting processes, which is critical to increasing regulatory certainty and to attracting investment,” the deal says.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said in a news release that the agreement is a meaningful step forward and “removes the need for federal approvals of projects that are squarely within the province’s jurisdiction.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney, in a statement, characterized it as the next phase in the new partnership between Alberta and Ottawa following last year’s landmark energy deal.

Friday’s agreement says any assessments carried out under the proposed framework will be completed within a maximum of two years, in line with what Carney committed to when he established the major projects office last year.

The deal says that, whenever possible, Ottawa will defer to Alberta’s existing policies and laws, and commits provincial and federal regulatory bodies to work in lockstep to avoid unnecessary permitting delays.

It also says that for projects under Alberta’s jurisdiction, Ottawa will defer to the province to undertake consultations with Indigenous groups and leaders.

Last week, First Nations chiefs across the province unanimously called on members of the legislature to hold a non-confidence vote against Smith’s government in part for how it has handled the budding separatist movement in the province.

Alberta Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi said the agreement was good news but said Smith sympathizing with separatists was getting in the way of development.

“Their disregard for public input, environmental regulations and particularly First Nations’ concerns show that they are more interested in scoring points than creating jobs,” Nenshi said in a statement.

Industry and business leaders welcomed the deal.

Lisa Baiton, the president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said streamlining the regulatory process was critical for securing investments in Alberta and Canada, especially in light of the market volatility caused by the American-Israeli war in Iran.

Deborah Yedlin, the president of Calgary’s Chamber of Commerce, said the deal is a sign Alberta is making headway with Ottawa.

Adam Legge, president of the Alberta Business Council, said the private sector in Alberta has long felt like the province was treated unfairly but that the successive agreements between the two governments “chips away at that view of unfairness.”

The agreement comes as Alberta continues its protracted legal battle against Ottawa’s regulatory scheme for energy projects. It challenged the constitutionality of the 2019 federal Impact Assessment Act in court and in 2023 the Supreme Court of Canada sided with Alberta in ruling that the act had reached beyond Ottawa’s legislative authority.

Ottawa, under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, amended the act as a result, but Alberta launched a second challenge in 2024, arguing the changes didn’t go far enough. A hearing for the challenge began last month in Calgary.

The draft agreement also says that by signing on, neither government is ceding jurisdictions or powers under the law.

Federal Conservative energy critic Shannon Stubbs said Friday that Alberta shouldn’t have had to negotiate an agreement at all, saying, “All provinces should be free from federal interference for major projects in their boundaries and jurisdiction.”

Last year’s agreement between Smith and Carney paved the way for a potential Indigenous co-owned pipeline and the clawback of some environmental policies standing in the way, such as the proposed emissions cap and the full removal of or tweaks to the West Coast tanker ban.

The two governments are quickly approaching an April 1 deadline to agree on an industrial carbon price as well as methane emissions, as committed to last year. There is also a July 1 deadline Alberta has set for itself to submit plans for the pipeline to Ottawa’s major projects office.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2026.

— With files from Lisa Johnson in Edmonton and Lauren Krugel in Calgary.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press