Poilievre wants ‘shovel-ready zones’ with pre-approved construction permits

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made his second election campaign-style announcement in as many days Thursday, just as news broke that Prime Minister Mark Carney is widely expected to begin the race on Sunday.

Poilievre was in Jonquière, Que., to announce that a Conservative government would create what he calls “shovel-ready zones” with pre-approved construction permits for major resource or energy projects.

“We block everything in this country,” Poilievre said. “We get in our own way. It takes 17 years to get a mine approved in Canada.”

Poilievre said his government would identify sites where such projects could be built and would ensure the area is safe and “that it won’t harm the people or the environment.”

He said his government would do the necessary environmental studies in partnership with provinces and municipalities “and we will carry out the necessary, constitutionally required consultations with First Nations upfront so that they can be done before the investors even step up.”

Companies would then be able to buy pre-approved land for a project and complete a checklist explaining how they intend to protect nature and people. The permits would be publicly available online, Poilievre said.

Poilievre said the Conservative proposal is meant to help get mines, liquefied natural gas plants, pipelines, power stations and other major projects built.

“The Liberal government in Ottawa opposed the LNG Canada project in Saguenay, which would have brought Canadian natural gas to the Europeans,” he said.

He pledged that a Conservative government would work with the Quebec government and municipalities to establish a pre-approved zone in the Saguenay region for a natural gas liquefaction plant.

Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada, said his organization calls these “sacrifice zones.”

“This amounts to a fire-sale of Canadian resources to wealthy oil, gas and mining companies,” Stewart said in an email, adding that environmental and safety assessments need to take into account the specifics of a project in order to be effective.

On Wednesday in Sudbury, Ont., Poilievre set a deadline of six months for approval of federal Ring of Fire permits. That proposal has met resistance from some First Nations that warn it might ignore the legal duty to consult.

The Jonquière riding is currently held by Bloc Québécois MP Mario Simard, but the Conservatives are targeting the region.

The Tory candidate in the riding, Fanny Boulanger, introduced Poilievre along with MP Michael Barrett at a “Canada First” rally in Ottawa in February. The rally was widely seen as the party’s attempt to reset its election messaging in light of Justin Trudeau’s resignation and U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Poilievre also spent part of his press conference attacking Carney, calling on him to “publish all of his financial holdings to everyone in Canada so they can judge the conflicts he faces.”

The Conservatives have accused Carney of being in a conflict of interest because he has significant investments as a result of his work in the private sector, particularly as chair of the board of Brookfield Asset Management.

Carney’s spokesperson said he has submitted a conflict-of-interest management plan to the office of the conflict of interest and ethics commissioner, and has given the commissioner the required disclosures. He also has put all of his non-real estate assets into a blind trust, the Prime Minister’s Office said.

According to the commissioner’s own process, Carney had 60 days to submit those disclosures after taking office, and then another 60 days to comply with the office’s recommendations to divest assets, disclose some of them publicly and take action to avoid potential conflicts.

On Tuesday, Carney told reporters he expects the commissioner will recommend that he set up a conflict-of-interest screen for future government decisions that relate to Brookfield.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025.

David Baxter and Sarah Ritchie, The Canadian Press