QuickQuotes: MPs react to Carney’s new Building Canada Strong Act

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government tabled a bill Monday to fast-track approvals for major projects and update the Canada Labour Code.

Here’s what politicians and others are saying about the new legislation:

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“A stronger Canada means more projects getting built, more good Canadian jobs, stronger supply chains and more opportunities to trade with the world. With the Building Canada Strong Act, we are making that happen. Let’s get Canada building.”

— Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc

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“This legislation will give our country the tools we need to build more, better and more efficiently. We know the challenge before us. We cannot control decisions made by other countries, but we can control how we are prepared here at home. To do that, we need the right infrastructure.”

— Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon

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“A stronger Canada for all requires major projects and infrastructure investments, a strong Labour Code that fosters and protects healthy workplaces and employer-union relationships is the foundation of Build Canada Strong. Our goals are simple: it’s to strengthen the framework, support the responsibility to negotiate in good faith that the parties themselves have, and to protect workers’ rights, including their constitutional right to strike.”

— Jobs and Families Minister Patty Hajdu

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“The business community has repeatedly backed proposals for additional dispute-resolution tools, including special mediation, alongside a continued ability for government to act when bargaining has failed and the wider economy is at risk. Those proposals reflect concerns raised across our network about the relationship between labour stability, business confidence, and economic opportunity.”

— Pascal Chan, vice president of strategic policy and supply chains for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce

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“I fear that it is one more token placed on the table in order to attract huge foreign businesses in Canada, telling them that there will be no more environmental regulations, much less work regulations, and that things will be easy. We even promise to you that within one year the table is clear. Go ahead.”

— Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet

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“New Democrats know that to truly build Canada strong, we need a healthy and respected working class. It’s workers who build this country and keep it moving. Why are Liberals intervening for wealthy investors instead of standing with workers who want fair and safe workplaces?”

— NDP MP Don Davies

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“I don’t like the degree to which government is already interfering in collective bargaining. So I don’t think that demolishing our legal regime around collective bargaining to disadvantage the trade union movement is in the interests of Canada’s economy.”

— Green Party Leader Elizabeth May

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2026.

— With files from Nick Murray

The Canadian Press