CALGARY — Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson has pushed Canada as a country that can get major energy and infrastructure projects built to attract international investors, stating that more than $126 billion worth of projects have already been funnelled through Ottawa’s Major Projects Office (MPO).During his opening speech at the Global Energy Show in Calgary on Tuesday, Hodgson said the new office was created to replace years of regulatory red tape and uncertainty, offering a streamlined approval process designed to attract investment and development.“It replaces years of permitting and regulatory uncertainty with a single window, with clear timelines, as well as accountability and coordination across government dedicated to getting major nation-building projects built,” Hodgson said.According to the minister, 15 projects and seven transformational strategies have already been referred to the MPO.Hodgson said the office is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s “Build Canada” agenda, and is showing Canada is serious about developing major energy projects after years of criticism over lengthy regulatory reviews and project delays.“We are focused on how we build, not whether we build,” Hodgson said.“It sends a message — Canada is back as a serious energy contender, and Canada is back as a country that intends to build big things again,” he said..Hodgson believes Pathways carbon capture costs can be 'readily absorbed’ by oil sands companies.His comments come as the federal government attempts to attract private-sector investment while positioning Canada as a reliable supplier of energy and critical resources to allies in the European and Asian markets amid growing geopolitical instability due to the Iran conflict and tariffs placed on Canadian products by US President Donald Trump.Addressing possible investors directly, Hodgson said that Canada’s energy policy has become inseparable from economic, trade, and national security policy as countries search for reliable suppliers.“The world is not waiting for Canada, and Canada is not waiting either,” Hodgson said.Hodgson said Ottawa’s role is to create the conditions for investment through faster permitting, regulatory certainty, and stable standards, but emphasized that private-sector capital will ultimately determine whether major projects move forward.The energy minister’s remarks appeared to be one of the clearest investment pitches yet from Ottawa, which has spent much of the past year trying to reassure the energy sector that Canada can once again compete for energy and infrastructure investment.“My message for companies and investors here today is simple: Look at Canada as a place to invest and build,” he said.“Look at our resource base, our workforce, our project pipeline, and our indigenous partnerships at work,” he said, adding that foreign governments and companies should deepen their partnerships with Canada due to the country’s political stability.“The world needs what Canada has, and Canada understands that we need the prosperity that comes from our energy and natural resources being properly developed and created... Opportunities like the one we have in this moment don't come often.”
