The Carney government’s much-touted Major Projects Office, born out of Bill C-5, is little more than a line item in the budget with one full-time employee, no contracts, and no permanent office space, according to a Privy Council Office response to Order Paper Question Q-312, released November 3, 2025.

As of September 16, 2025, the “office” consisted of one public servant, a senior adviser (EX-02 level), plus a Governor-in-Council–appointed Chief Executive Officer, Dawn Farrell, named to the role in June. That’s it.

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Yet the Carney government has already allocated $19.8 million for fiscal 2025-26 to support the office’s operations, including:

• $5.3 million in salaries,

• $12.2 million in non-salary spending, and

• $2.3 million in benefit, accommodation, and service costs.

The office is supposed to streamline federal approvals for energy and infrastructure projects but as of mid-September, it had no signed contracts, no square footage confirmed, and was still using temporary accommodations while searching for space in Calgary. The Major Projects Office doesn't even have an office.

In other words, Canadian taxpayers are footing a $20-million bill for an “office” with no office and an executive team that could hold a meeting in the back seat of a Prius.

It’s a perfect snapshot of the Carney era: bloated bureaucracy, glossy announcements, and nothing to show for it.