The Carney Liberals say Canada is entering a new era of nation-building and that major projects are being approved at "speeds we've never seen." But nearly a year after the Major Projects Office was established, Albertans are entitled to ask a simple question: where are Alberta's projects?

During an interview this week, CTV's Vassy Kapelos challenged Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Steven MacKinnon on precisely that point. She noted that many of the projects Ottawa is touting were already in the works before the Major Projects Office existed and asked what evidence there is that anything is actually moving faster.

CTV's @VassyKapelos calls out the value of the Major Project Office, citing numerous projects that have no final investment decision or were already well underway which the MPO took credit for. She also asks what evidence there is that projects are being built "at speeds we have… pic.twitter.com/9kwvmeZkNn

— RMC86 (@RMC19861987) June 24, 2026

The skepticism is understandable.

The federal government's first slate of fast-tracked projects included LNG Canada Phase 2 in British Columbia, the Darlington New Nuclear Project in Ontario, the Contrecœur Container Terminal expansion in Quebec, and mining projects in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

Not one of the initial five projects was located in Alberta.

Subsequent additions to Ottawa's list have also largely favoured other provinces, including the Ksi Lisims LNG project and North Coast Transmission Line in British Columbia, the Crawford Nickel Project in Ontario, the Matawinie graphite project in Quebec, the Sisson Tungsten Mine in New Brunswick and the Iqaluit hydro project in Nunavut.

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Meanwhile, Alberta, Canada's largest energy producer and biggest contributor to the country's export economy, is still waiting for a signature project to be championed by Ottawa.

For many Albertans, that is more than an economic issue. It's a political one.

The province has spent years hearing promises about making Canada an "energy superpower" while pipelines are cancelled, export projects face endless regulatory hurdles, and investment dollars flow elsewhere. Every announcement of new nation-building projects in other provinces while Alberta's priorities languish reinforces the feeling that Confederation works for everyone except Alberta.

That frustration is one of the primary drivers of the independence movement.

You cannot lecture Albertans about national unity while their projects sit on the shelf and billions of dollars in opportunity remain trapped by federal indecision.

If Ottawa wants to tamp down separatist sentiment, slogans about building at "light speed" won't be enough.

Albertans are still waiting to see the projects. And every time Ottawa announces another fast-tracked project somewhere else in Canada, it becomes a little easier to understand why so many Albertans are asking whether this country still has room for their ambitions at all.