Building a Canadian legacy of long-term major project success

The Canadian federal government established the Major Projects Office (MPO) to help build a stronger, more internally resilient economy by strengthening domestic infrastructure and supply chains. This will leave Canada less exposed to external shocks, supply disruptions, and geopolitical influence. 

To accomplish this, the MPO is advancing what it considers “nation-building” projects—those that shape Canadian economic growth, resilience, and opportunity long after construction ends. What government leaders choose to build—and how the chosen projects are governed and executed—determines the legacy that future generations will inherit. The window for Canada to shape that future is now. 

A legacy of enduring public value 

The MPO’s theory of change—that streamlining regulations and coordinating capital directly unlocks private investment and drives generational economic growth—is sound. But global experience shows that fast-tracking projects isn’t enough to create a legacy of enduring success. Large-scale infrastructure investments increasingly operate under intense public scrutiny. These projects must not only advance quickly but also deliver lasting public value through trusted institutions, durable industries, sustained employment, and other benefits that keep accruing over time. 

The key to achieving such lasting impact is to mechanize that theory of change into clear, concrete measures of long-term success and actively use them while projects are still unfolding. Those measures must be defined, measured, and reinforced through disciplined governance. Establishing such metrics upfront will enable the MPO to select projects aligned with its mandate, directing resources, attention, and intervention where they matter most. Most importantly, doing so shifts the focus from explaining positive and negative outcomes after the fact to shaping them in real time. 

Lessons from global success stories 

MPO leaders can look across the globe for inspiration from successful nation-building projects. Our review of large-scale energy transitions, transformative transport investments, industrial development programs, and other initiatives shows that enduring impact depends on more than engineering excellence or expedited approvals. These efforts succeed when strategic clarity, accountable execution, inclusive partnerships, and institutional learning are treated as core delivery functions, not as secondary considerations. 

When structured effectively, these projects have catalyzed new industries, created durable and future-oriented employment, unlocked value chains, and supported sustained, inclusive economic growth. Critically, these outcomes aren’t the result of one-off decisions. Leaders help achieve them by creating governance systems that reinforce expectations throughout the project lifecycle.  

Taken together, these patterns can be distilled into several key drivers of enduring success. 

4 drivers of lasting major project value 

A clear, transparent project selection strategy. Establishing an explicit, publicly defensible project selection strategy anchors legitimacy and accountability from the outset. For the MPO, this means aligning investment decisions with stated national priorities while being transparent about why certain projects advance and others don’t. Clear prioritization supports credibility, builds discipline into expectations, and helps stakeholders understand the strategic rationale behind each commitment. 

Long-term success metrics that are defined upfront and measured relentlessly. Enduring success measures must be articulated before projects are accelerated, not determined after completion. This is accomplished by aligning projects with government priorities, then defining and tracking guiding outcomes that reflect lasting national value. For the MPO, this can include long-term GDP contribution from enabled industries, sustained job creation, and durability of newly established value chains. Project proposals should set out credible forecasts for these indicators and update them as conditions evolve—ensuring that the status of long-term outcome measures remains visible alongside cost and schedule metrics. 

Broad, lasting stakeholder commitment. Projects that endure are those that carry stakeholders with them by reflecting their priorities across project design and execution. Shared ownership of outcomes results from early, continuous engagement with federal, provincial, Indigenous, community, and commercial sector partners. For the MPO, it’s essential to ensure that roles are defined clearly to reduce misalignment and sustain political and social credibility when projects face challenges. Co-management arrangements, joint governance structures, and benefit-sharing mechanisms are different ways to achieve this. 

A culture of continuous learning. Achieving long-term success depends on treating major projects as part of a portfolio, not as isolated undertakings. Capturing lessons through structured after-action reviews, shared knowledge repositories, and internal mobility builds institutional memory that compounds over time. For the MPO, standard governance, risk management, and engagement playbooks should be continuously refined as experience grows. This helps reduce ramp-up time, avoid repeated mistakes, and strengthen execution with every new project. 

The MPO’s role in building a legacy 

These drivers reinforce each other, with success begetting success. Clear prioritization enables truly quantitative measurement. Transparent metrics strengthen stakeholder trust. Trusted partnerships allow learning to be identified and shared. Building a knowledge base enables teams to make better choices. Leaders on each new project can learn from experiences gained through past work. 

By incorporating lessons from successful projects across the world and embedding these four drivers into governance from the outset, MPO leaders can help major projects move more quickly while creating a legacy of resilient infrastructure, durable industries, sustained employment, and public confidence for generations to come. 

This is the final article in a four-part series exploring challenges facing the MPO. The first introduced cautionary lessons from major project failures; the second described ways to break the major projects failure loop; and the third outlined how the MPO can prioritize and secure accountability.