YCR: BUILD IT OR BLOCK IT CHALLENGE

Build it or block it? Young Canadians for Resources promotes Canadian energy and resource development, emphasizing oil & gas, hydro, and mining; encouraging youth to make informed energy choices.

 

Welcome to the Build It or Block It Challenge

As future engineers, the decisions you make about what Canada builds—or doesn’t build—will follow you through your career. Every bridge, reactor, or pipeline represents thousands of choices: design, cost, community, and consequence. Each infrastructure project involves technical trade-offs, community impact, national interest, and global positioning.

In this challenge, your group will evaluate five major Canadian projects (currently under discussion or development) that could reshape Canada’s economy, security, and energy future. Each one could be described as nation-building—large in scale, significant in impact, and deeply tied to how Canada grows, trades, and competes globally.

Your task (10 minutes total):

  1. Read the five project briefs below.
  2. Discuss the benefits and challenges of each, examining key dimensions:
    • National security / geopolitical advantage
    • Jobs & economic impact
    • GDP / fiscal benefits
    • Environmental & climate outcomes
    • Investment / technical feasibility
    • Social licence / partnerships (including Indigenous relations)

 

  1. As a group choose:
    • The one project you would build first if Canada could only proceed with one right now
  2. Be ready to report back with a two-minute pitch stating:
    • Which project your group chose to build (and why)
    • What values drove your decision (economic growth, environment, equity, national security or global influence)

There is no “right answer”—the point is to think critically about trade-offs, engineering implications, and national strategy.

 

Project Briefs

1. Northwest BC Oil Pipeline (pipeline from Alberta to Pacific coast)

Overview:

Canada is considering a major oil-pipeline corridor that would transport Alberta’s crude oil to a West-Coast export terminal, allowing access to Asian energy markets and reducing reliance on U.S. export routes. This project would not only shift Canada’s trade patterns but also strengthen our energy sovereignty, reduce transit vulnerability, and enhance geopolitical positioning. Engineers would be challenged with pipeline design, environmental mitigation, routing, and export terminal logistics.
 

 

2. Darlington New Nuclear Project (Small Modular Reactors – Ontario)

Overview:

At the site of the existing Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario a new cluster of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) is planned. This project leverages existing licensing, infrastructure and manufacturing supply chains to position Canada at the cutting-edge of nuclear innovation. Engineers will work on nuclear design, manufacturing, licensing, operation and export readiness. This aligns clean-energy goals, industrial policy and national technological leadership.

 

 

3. Churchill Falls Renewal Project (Hydro expansion in Newfoundland & Labrador with Quebec)

Overview:

This project involves upgrading and expanding the existing Churchill Falls Generating Station hydro-facility in Labrador, with new agreements with Quebec replacing antiquated contracts, modernizing infrastructure, and creating a cleaner power base for decades. For Canadian engineers, it means civil/heavy-construction work in remote terrain, new transmission links, and inter-provincial energy trade. Its significance lies in clean power, regional economic development and national energy reliability.

 

 

 

4. Red Chris Mine Expansion (Northwest Critical Minerals Corridor, Northwestern BC)

Overview:

The Red Chris Mine expansion in northwestern British Columbia proposes a major development to extend the mine’s lifespan by over a decade and significantly increase Canada’s annual copper production. Led by Newmont Mining and Imperial Metals, the project supports Canada’s role as a reliable supplier of critical minerals essential for global manufacturing and energy technologies. Engineers would address underground mine expansion, processing optimization, infrastructure integration and environmental mitigation systems. The project is part of the proposed Northwest Critical Conservation Corridor, which includes opportunities for critical minerals development, clean power transmission, Indigenous project leadership and the potential creation of a large-scale conservation area. 

5. Arctic Economic and Security Corridor (Slave Geological Province, Northwest Territories)

Overview:

The Arctic Economic and Security Corridor (AESC) is a proposed approximately 400-kilometre all season-road through the Slave Geological Province in the Northwest Territories, connecting to the Grays Bay Road and deep-water port on the Arctic Ocean Led by the Tłı̨chǫ Government and Yellowknives Dene First Nation in partnership with the Government of the Northwest Territories, the project aims to unlock mineral development opportunities, strengthen northern economic growth and enhance Canada’s security presence in the Arctic. Engineers would address remote terrain road design, climate-resilient infrastructure systems, logistics integration with port and airfield facilities, and environmental protection in sensitive northern ecosystems.

 

Discussion Questions

Use these to guide your group conversation: