Former Trans Mountain CEO to head up Carney’s major projects office in Calgary

Dawn Farrell (Mount Royal University)

OTTAWA — OTTAWA -- Ottawa’s one-stop shop for businesses to pitch plans for large industrial construction projects will be headquartered in Calgary and managed by former Trans Mountain CEO Dawn Farrell, the Prime Minister’s Office said Friday.

The major projects office is part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to get big, national projects fast-tracked through the approval process.

“We are moving at a speed not seen in generations to build ports, railways, energy grids -- the major projects that will unlock Canada’s full economic potential and build Canada strong,” Carney posted on social media Friday.

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The Liberal government rushed Bill C-5 through Parliament in June, creating a framework for a new approvals process for large-scale projects the government deems to be in the national interest and that could help grow the economy -- including ports, energy and road infrastructure.

The bill raised the ire of various Indigenous and environmental groups who worry the new law could pare back the right to be consulted and lead to environmental harms, and the office announcement on Friday did nothing to quell those concerns.

“The opening of the Major Federal Projects Office under the guise of national interest is nothing short of the government deliberately sidestepping its duty to consult and co-operate with First Nations,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs.

“The messaging from the prime minister has felt less like an invitation to partnership and more like an ultimatum: get on board or get out of the way. First Nations aren’t opposed to responsible development -- we’re opposed to having our inherent and constitutional rights ignored.”

Janelle Lapointe, a senior adviser at the David Suzuki Foundation, said the new office will be “investing in the economy of yesterday instead of investing in a future that would prioritize Indigenous rights, a safe climate future and well-being for everyday Canadians.”

But the decision to locate it in Calgary -- home to the headquarters of numerous oil and gas companies which are looking to build new pipelines -- appeared to be a politically strategic one.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who has been heavily critical of Ottawa’s policies on oil and gas, welcomed the location and said she has great respect for Farrell, whom she counts as a close adviser.

“I’m very, very pleased that the prime minister and I have something in common, that he’s going to count her as an adviser as well,” Smith said. “She’s going to be in the right place, in the right city, doing the right job -- and I’m looking forward to working closely with her.”

Heather Exner-Pirot, an energy and natural resources expert at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute think tank, said locating the office in Calgary came as a surprise but sends a “huge signal.”

“This is obviously a very public acknowledgment, formal acknowledgment that most major projects in this country come from the energy sector,” Exner-Pirot told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday.

“I think they (Carney’s office) certainly think about the stallion of the economy, which is oil and gas, and that the low-hanging fruit in diversified trade, attracting investment and increasing our GDP and our productivity is with the oil-and-gas sector. There are a lot of other sectors that need to contribute to that and can contribute to that, but there’s no question the oil-and-gas sector could do that the most easily and the most quickly.”

Canadian Chamber of Commerce CEO Candace Laing said the office opening shows the government is moving on a “significant overhaul” for approving major projects and that Calgary is a good choice since it is close to many of the companies that will be involved in developing major projects.

“However, we will be keeping a close watch on this two-track system, which will give some projects an inside track but leaves all other capital at risk of flowing to other markets,” she said in a statement to media. “Our aim must remain squarely on creating an overall economic environment in which our policy can attract the capital and where progress on building projects is the norm, not the exception.”

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers also welcomed the news as a positive signal to industry, saying there are opportunities to develop liquefied natural gas and other oil industry projects.

CAPP CEO Lisa Baiton said Farrell’s solid energy-sector background makes her an “ideal candidate to oversee significant and complex infrastructure projects with important regulatory and stakeholders relations components, such as Indigenous participation.”

Carney’s political opponents in Ottawa were not applauding the move. The Opposition Conservatives, who have criticized Carney for not yet getting any shovels in the ground despite being in office for months, dismissed the new office as more layers of bureaucracy.

Deputy Conservative Leader Melissa Lantsman posted on social media that the “Major Projects Office Mostly Photo Ops.”

Bloc Quebecois MP Patrick Bonin slammed the Liberals in a statement sent to media in French for “rolling out the red carpet” for the oil industry and then tapping a “pipeline apostle” to head up the office.

The Prime Minister’s Office meanwhile had to send out a correction late Friday to the news release it issued to the Parliamentary Press Gallery, swapping a quote from Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc to soften up the wording.

The original hailed the new office as a “radically new way of doing business and getting big things built: different machinery, people, skills, and processes.” The revised quote described it as a “transformative shift in how we deliver vital infrastructure projects.”

Carney said on his recent trip abroad that he plans to start making announcements about port infrastructure investments within the next two weeks.

The next steps for the office are to set up an Indigenous Advisory Council, with its membership to be confirmed next month.

By Kyle Duggan

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2025.