RJ Johnston provides a “crash course” on the major infrastructure projects and politics in Canada

The creation of a Major Projects Office to streamline the federal government’s regulatory processes for infrastructure projects is creating a renewed optimism for advancing projects that support economic prosperity in Canada, RJ Johnston told an audience this week at the School of Public Policy’s Forum series.  

“Major infrastructure projects are front page news again,” said Johnston, Director of Energy and Natural Resources Policy at the SPP. “A lot of these ideas from a policy perspective have been around for a while and it raises the obvious question of why now? … What’s different this time is that the stakes are much higher now.” 

Johnston cited both internal motivators for Canada, including a national productivity crisis, and external challenges, including tariff wars initiated by the Trump administration in the United States, for the current push to develop major natural resource projects.  

Johnston’s speech to an audience of SPP students and the business community was titled Canada’s New Major Projects – A Crash Course. He addressed the challenges and opportunities for emerging major projects from electricity infrastructure and critical minerals to oil and natural gas pipelines to connect to global supply chains. 

Johnston is a recognized leader in global energy and natural resources policy, geopolitics and corporate strategy. Prior to joining the SPP this year, he was Senior Director of Research at the Center on Global Energy Policy at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and founding director of the Eurasia Group’s Energy, Climate and Resources practice.  

You can view the slide deck from his presentation here: SPP Forum- Major Projects RJ Johnston- 19 November 2025