The Canadian Northern Corridor Research Program includes multiple studies, across several areas of expertise, to address the many facets of the corridor concept including financial, legal, geographical, socio-economic, environmental, regulatory, governance and policy dimensions. The purpose is to provide the information and analysis necessary to establish the feasibility of the Canadian Northern Corridor.
The School of Public Policy Publications
Infrastructure Policy Trends • December 2021
Critical minerals mining can help drive clean technology development, accelerate Canada's clean energy transition and industrial transformation.
Polar Geography
Ahead-of-print • October 2021
Canada’s northern regions have unique geospatial characteristics which are based on differences in biodiversity, climate, ecosystems and socio-economic conditions. Together, these distinct conditions challenge the prevailing “one-size fits all” northern infrastructure development approach which is often based on southern conceptions of the North. This paper, published in Polar Geography, examines the need to capture Canada’s northern complexity in order to support a comprehensive but differentiated northern policy approach. The research also emphasizes the importance of including Indigenous Knowledge into any type of future northern infrastructure development strategy. A School of Public Policy Publications paper based on this research is forthcoming in early 2022.
The School of Public Policy Publications
Volume 14 • Issue 33 • November 2021
The lengthy regulatory and review processes to assess major infrastructure development projects and lack of long-term planning are often viewed as sources of conflict between the economic objectives and environmental conservation and culture and heritage preservation. Cancelled and stalled infrastructure projects can offer valuable insight into this and can lead to better decision-making processes around infrastructure development in Canada. For this purpose, this piece provides a retrospective look at the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline.
The School of Public Policy Publications
Volume 14 • Issue 20 • August 2021
This paper offers a distinct perspective by linking security and sovereignty to core issues of infrastructure development, climate and environmental change and Indigenous rights. By raising both potential benefits and security risks or vulnerabilities associated with the Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC) Concept, it reveals the need for careful, ongoing assessment by relevant rights- and stakeholders, including defence and security practitioners. The paper closes with potential research avenues that might be pursued to gain further knowledge and understanding of the security implications of the CNC Concept, and to explore possible ways to anticipate and mitigate undesirable side effects.
Key Messages (English)
Summary (English)
Messages clés (Français)
Résumé (Français)
The School of Public Policy Publications
Volume 14 • Issue 7 • February 2021
Depending on the geographical area they serve and the modes of transport and types of connections they promote, infrastructure corridors can create trade-offs and synergies between different kinds of economic, social, and environmental outcomes. Yet the implied effects can vary across different regions, population segments and industries. A complete review of a proposed infrastructure corridor package involves a rigorous analysis of all of these potential effects. This paper focuses on quantifying potential gains from reductions in trade costs on Alberta’s economy and identify the importance of improved access to lower cost transportation options like rail for select commodities.
The School of Public Policy Publications
Volume 14 • Issue 6 • February 2021
Transportation infrastructure supporting corridors is complex, capital intensive and subject to an array of constraints in construction, maintenance and upgrade. These constraints include physical and environmental restrictions, level of transport demand, financial capabilities, construction and maintenance capabilities and costs, and regulatory oversight. Due to its geographical attributes, Canada has unique constraints on the development and operation of its transport infrastructure.
The School of Public Policy Publications
Volume 13 • Issue 28 • December 2020
This paper is a follow-up to the School of Public Policy's initial publication on the corridor concept published by Sulzenko and Fellows (2016). In it, we give a summary of the broad scope of the Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC) concept and The School of Public Policy's CNC research program.
The School of Public Policy Publications
Volume 13 • Issue 27 • November 2020
In this paper, the governance process is divided into four main stages: i) Developing the initial policy framework; ii) Deciding on a corridor route; iii) Reviewing and implementing project proposals; and iv) Managing ongoing operations and oversight. For each stage, different governance options are outlined and then critically examined.
Key Messages (English)
Summary (English)
The School of Public Policy Publications
Volume 13 • Issue 26 • November 2020
Canada’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., the Paris agreement), the responses of the global economy to climate change, and the existence (or lack thereof) of a social licence for the development of infrastructure that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions all need to be considered in the visioning of the corridor. Will a Canadian Northern Corridor be relevant in an economy that is moving away from fossil fuel dependency and towards renewable energy? If so, will building, operating and maintaining the infrastructure within a corridor be feasible under changing climatic conditions, such as those outlined in this report?
The School of Public Policy Publications
Volume 13 • Issue 25 • October 2020
The Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC) is a proposed multimodal, multijurisdictional corridor. It is a highly complex, long-term infrastructure project. Such projects often fail to get implemented, but the limited evidence suggests that they can get built when a single entity (a national government or a supranational organization) assembles the rights of way and provides corridor access to various infrastructure providers. This entity, which we refer to as the “assembler,” has to (1) assemble the required rights of way from all those currently holding the property rights; and (2) decide on the allocation of, at least, usage property rights to different kinds of infrastructure providers (and ultimately users of that infrastructure).
