Bill 5: An Act to accelerate the granting of the authorizations required to carry out priority national-scale projects

This bill primarily affects large-scale project developers and promoters — think mining companies extracting critical minerals in northern Quebec, energy infrastructure firms building transmission lines or renewable power facilities, or major construction and engineering companies working on large public infrastructure. These businesses typically deal with lengthy, multi-agency regulatory approval processes across environmental, land use, and sector-specific laws; this bill could significantly shorten those timelines when a project receives priority designation. While smaller operators and solo contractors won't directly access the designation process, they may benefit indirectly as subcontractors if large priority projects get built faster. Companies in sectors like critical minerals, energy, and large-scale infrastructure across Quebec are the primary audience — and they'll need to meet new transparency and financial guarantee requirements as part of the accelerated process.