Improving Canada’s Investment Environment to Get Energy Projects Built: Findings from a new Positive Energy Interim report card.

In early 2025 Positive Energy published a research study entitled Net Zero by 2050: Can We Build Enough Fast Enough?, which focused on public and investor confidence in public decision systems and the degree to which the functioning of those systems enhanced or inhibited the chances of meeting Canada’s energy, economic and climate goals.

With the radical changes that have affected the energy landscape over the last five years, and despite the emergence of new potentially very large opportunities for energy and energy related exports, Canada’s energy challenges remain and have grown as our goals have become more diverse, complex and intertwined.

That report highlighted key factors which underpin public and investor confidence, as well as seven areas, or “packages”, where reforms to both policy and regulation should be undertaken in federal and provincial areas of responsibility. The Interim Report Card assess progresses in each of these areas.

This interim report card is based on a series of follow-up interviews with many of the leaders who took part in the initial study noted above, along with Positive Energy’s ongoing research and engagement within and beyond Canada. It is also informed by our public opinion survey research tracking Canadians’ attitudes on energy, environmental and economic issues over the last five years.

Authored by Positive Energy Executive-in-Residence Michael Cleland and Positive Energy Chair Professor Monica Gattinger, this report provides actionable recommendations is for government decision-makers at a time when the geopolitical energy landscape has brought Canada’s own energy policy debate to the forefront.

Progress changing ‘tone at the top’ but much remains to be done:

The 'tone at the top' from federal and provincial political leaders has shifted toward a pro-investment stance, but the underlying policy and regulatory frameworks have yet to catch up. Urgent system-wide reforms are needed to strengthen both public and investor confidence in energy project decision-making.

Policy:

The report stresses the need for an overarching narrative from Ottawa that would bring clarity and alignment around specific policies or regulatory measures, including in terms of federal climate policy.

Investor confidence isn’t just about doing things quickly – it’s about having clear and predictable policy.

Planning:

Much remains to be done to ensure labour force and supply chain planning are aligned with project development ambitions.

The report notes mixed results in terms of integrated planning across the natural gas and electricity sectors, a process that is pivotal in the context of electrification.

Capacity building and Indigenous participation in projects:

To match the potential scale and speed of development over the next few years, government decision-making capacity will need to grow substantially and become much more efficient. The report emphasizes the importance of levelling up by increasingly using the major projects approach as a learning platform to identify how the entire system can function, at the scale and speed implied by government objectives.

Regarding capacity building within policy and regulatory systems, some important progress has been achieved developing mechanisms to facilitate Indigenous participation in projects (e.g., loan guarantee programs). . There is still much work to be done to build capacity and clarify regulatory roles when it comes to Indigenous regulation (e.g., Indigenous-led impact assessment).

Approval processes, intergovernmental collaboration and fast-tracking mechanisms:

The report highlights political leaders’ growing roles in project approvals, raising concerns about how such a trend could impact investor confidence.

It notes that important progress has been made fostering collaborative intergovernmental relations — notably regarding impact assessments. There has also been progress on regulatory innovation and the improvement of intragovernmental coordinating mechanisms, such as the Major Projects Office, to help advance projects while minimizing regulatory burden.

• Michael Cleland, Positive Energy Executive-in-Residence
• Monica Gattinger, Positive Energy Chair