RC121 NovDec 2025 - Magazine - Page 31
THE SIX-PILLAR
APPROACH
A tried-and-true formula for
major project development
by Doug Ewing and Zach Parston
ITH THE PASSING OF BILL C-5, the One Canadian Economy Act, project owners, 昀椀nanciers, and community leaders have reason to be enthusiastic.
Large infrastructure projects are desperately needed to shore up our economy, provide
energy security, and protect Canada’s national
sovereignty. Everyone agrees it’s time to build. Projects in
energy, digital communications, resources, and transportation will build resilience and boost global competitiveness, enable trade, spur innovation, provide jobs, and
deliver better utilities and services to Canadians from
coast to coast to coast.
Behind that excitement, however, lies reason for concern. Massive projects are inherently risky and complex,
wherever they take place. Danish economic geographer
Bent Flyvbjerg’s in昀氀uential research—for his book How
Big Things Get Done—across 20 countries and 昀椀ve continents showed that nine out of 10 projects experience signi昀椀cant cost overruns. When projects get o昀昀 the ground,
only half reach completion, KPMG Global research
shows. Ballooning budgets and incessant delays lead to
project revamps that deliver less than the upgrades and
innovations that were 昀椀rst promised, dashing hopes and
eroding trust.
CONSULTING ENGINEERS OF ALBERTA
W
RENEWCANADA.NET
Doug Ewing is a Partner
and the Major Projects
Leader for KPMG in Canada.
Zach Parston is a
Partner and National
Infrastructure and
Capital Projects Leader.
In our haste to deliver the things we need to protect—our
economy, our security, our resources and biodiversity, our
coasts, and trade—we should learn from past failure.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025 – RENEW CANADA 31
