Canada: Energy Law

Canada’s mining sector is at an important inflection point. Against a backdrop of growing global demand for critical minerals and increased competition for investment capital, the Canadian federal government has recently introduced a series of tax measures designed to encourage investment and strengthen the competitiveness of Canada’s mining industry. For investors, these measures may meaningfully influence the after-tax economics of projects and financing structures across the mining value chain.

The Canadian government has removed seven types of energy projects from federal impact assessment requirements, shifting review responsibilities to the Canada Energy Regulator and provincial processes. This regulatory change affects pipelines, electrical transmission lines, oil sands facilities, and power plants, fundamentally altering how major energy infrastructure projects will be evaluated and approved across Canada.

Canada, Alberta and the Oil Sands Alliance have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding that integrates emissions reductions, oil sands production growth and export infrastructure development into a unified policy framework. The agreement positions the Pathways Plus carbon capture and storage project as the centrepiece, targeting infrastructure operations by 2032 and broader completion by 2035, while establishing fiscal incentives and regulatory streamlining measures to support major resource development.