The Quebec and federal governments have drafted an agreement to fast-track approvals of proposed major projects in the province.

Quebec is moving to join seven other provinces that have agreements with Ottawa aimed at reducing overlapping federal and provincial reviews of major infrastructure, energy, mining and industrial projects.

The federal and Quebec governments released a draft co-operation agreement that would establish a “one project, one review” approach for developments requiring assessments under both Quebec’s Environment Quality Act and the federal Impact Assessment Act.

The proposed framework is intended to create a single assessment process while allowing each government to retain authority over matters within its jurisdiction. When finalized, the agreement could allow Ottawa to rely on Quebec’s review, replace the federal process with a provincial or jointly designed assessment, or coordinate separate reviews more closely.

The approach would be selected individually for each project rather than automatically removing the federal assessment process.

Public and Indigenous consultation on the Quebec agreement is open until August 10. The two governments have not said when a final agreement could take effect.

A finalized agreement could be beneficial to the Contrecoeur container terminal expansion project now under construction in the Greater Montreal Area. Prime Minister Mark Carney has referred the project, a joint development between the Port of Montreal, DP World in Canada and LaCaisse, to the Canadian Major Projects Office for fast-tracked fast-tracked approvals.

Quebec is coming relatively late to the national initiative. Ottawa has finalized agreements with British Columbia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Alberta and Manitoba.

British Columbia’s current agreement dates back to 2019. New Brunswick and Ontario finalized agreements in December 2025, followed by Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in March 2026 and Alberta and Manitoba in April.

B.C. provides the clearest indication of how the model could work in practice. The federal Impact Assessment Agency recorded four decisions to substitute an assessment to a province between August 2019 and the end of 2025, all involving B.C.

Ksi Lisims LNG, a proposed 12-million-tonne-per-year export terminal on Nisga’a-owned land in northwestern B.C., received federal and provincial environmental approvals in September 2025 following a single assessment led by B.C.

B.C. has also begun integrating environmental assessments with subsequent permitting. For the $1.5-billion Highland Valley Copper mine expansion, the province estimated that conducting the assessment and major permit reviews together could save as much as two years.

Pictured: Contrecoeur container terminal expansion project now under construction in the Greater Montreal Area.

Rendering: Port of Montreal