Ottawa introduces Bill C-39 to designate strategic trade corridors and create transport project office
Published · Updated
What happened
The Government of Canada announced Bill C-39 on September 22 as legislation to formally designate strategic trade corridors, modernize port governance, support trade digitalization, and create a transportation project office intended to streamline approvals and coordination for transportation projects.
Why it matters
The announcement links external trade uncertainty to domestic transport capacity and regulatory speed. It puts corridor designation, port rules, and project approvals into an active legislative file that could change how exports move through Canadian ports and inland networks.
On September 22, Ottawa said Bill C-39 would establish a framework to designate strategic trade corridors, create a transportation project office, remove bottlenecks, and update port-governance and trade-digitization rules. The bill ties trade-policy pressure and market-access uncertainty to domestic logistics capacity and permitting. If advanced, it would give the federal government new tools to speed corridor-related decisions and coordinate export infrastructure more directly.
Watch for
Transport Canada tabling details for Bill C-39 in the House of Commons Order Paper on 2026-09-23 or 2026-09-24 Office of the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons scheduling first-reading or debate time for Bill C-39 by 2026-09-26 Transport Canada publication of a backgrounder naming candidate strategic trade corridors or project-office authorities by 2026-09-26 Canadian Port Authorities or the Association of Canadian Port Authorities issuing a formal position on Bill C-39 governance changes by 2026-09-26
Sources
- Transport Canada · canada.ca
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