{"id":102362,"date":"2025-11-03T17:42:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T00:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=102362"},"modified":"2025-11-03T17:42:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T00:42:00","slug":"heather-exner-pirot-on-what-to-watch-out-for-in-the-federal-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=102362","title":{"rendered":"Heather Exner-Pirot on what to watch out for in the federal budget"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The minority Liberal government\u2019s fall budget faces a decisive vote on Tuesday, with the outcome set to shape the fate of Canada\u2019s fast-track agenda for ports, mines, energy and power lines. With the NDP open to abstentions and the Conservatives non-committal, the numbers remain fluid, but the policy stakes for major projects are clear<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heather Exner-Pirot, Director of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, says investors are watching whether Ottawa can align its budget with a credible build-out plan. In an interview with Resource Works, she summed up the mood bluntly: \u201cEveryone\u2019s just waiting for the budget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On whether any barriers to building had actually been removed yet, Exner-Pirot was clear: \u201cThere are 520 major projects in the major projects inventory, and what have they done to make those easier to develop? Nothing yet, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the centre of the build file are the Building Canada Act and the new Major Projects Office, which the government says will accelerate approvals for projects deemed in the national interest<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exner-Pirot told The Canadian Press the decision to headquarter the office in Calgary sends a \u201chuge signal<\/a>,\u201d adding, \u201cThis is obviously a very public acknowledgment, a formal acknowledgment, that most major projects in this country come from the [fossil] energy sector.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has also warned<\/a> that process fixes will not deliver growth if other policies pull in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat good is a pipeline if the emissions cap means you can\u2019t fill it? What good is a railway if the Impact Assessment Act means you can\u2019t mine products to ship on it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Budget choices on electricity, oil and gas, and transport labour loom large. Exner-Pirot has argued that the Clean Electricity Regulations are constraining reliable generation just as data-centre demand surges, and that the EV sales mandate is outpacing consumer uptake. In a Financial Post op-ed, she wrote<\/a> that four regulatory fixes could boost growth \u201cwithout any new spending or legislation,\u201d concluding, \u201cAll they require is political will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The budget\u2019s governance signals will matter as much as line items. On critical minerals, Ottawa has allowed United States government stakes in Canadian projects even as it restricts other forms of state ownership. Exner-Pirot told The Globe and Mail that such arrangements blur lines, saying<\/a>, \u201cYou can\u2019t regulate a project that you have an economic interest in.\u201d She has said that credibility with allies and capital markets depends on predictable, even-handed rules rather than ad hoc exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politically, the government is pitching<\/a> a split focus on capital investment and operational restraint. Public-sector unions are bracing for program cuts, while industry groups want clarity on timelines, permitting and Indigenous partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exner-Pirot says the test is whether Ottawa makes concrete changes that move projects from press releases to shovels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t hard to figure out. It\u2019s oil, it\u2019s gold, it\u2019s natural gas, it\u2019s potash, it\u2019s uranium. You can make a case for copper, for nickel, and for iron ore, but how much do we export? What deposits do we have?\u201d Exner-Pirot told Resource Works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On hydrocarbons specifically, she noted lingering uncertainty, saying it has taken \u201ctoo long to not know what the government thinks about oil pipelines,\u201d and called the investment climate \u201cthe million-dollar question.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indigenous leaders and environmental groups remain critical of the fast-track model, warning it risks sidelining free, prior and informed consent. Business groups have welcomed a single-window approach but caution that a two-track system could simply shift risk to projects left outside the \u201cnational interest<\/a>\u201d lane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the budget passes<\/a>, attention will turn to whether Ottawa follows through with specific approvals, electricity deals, and port and rail investments. If it fails, an election would inject fresh uncertainty into boardrooms weighing Canadian projects against rival jurisdictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resource Works News<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As MPs weigh cuts and capital, investors want rules that let them actually build.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":102363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[703,694],"tags":[18,11,36],"class_list":["post-102362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-people","tag-economy","tag-mining","tag-oil"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHeather Exner-Pirot on what to watch out for in the federal budget -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/resourcework2.devstudio.work\/?p=102362\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heather Exner-Pirot on what to watch 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