Lawyer Profile
Valerie Helbronner
Toronto, Ontario
Overview
By applying creative solutions and managing strong relationships among numerous project participants, Valerie supports clients in progressing some of the country’s most complex multi-party infrastructure and energy projects.
With over 25 years of project-related experience, Valerie has been at the forefront of the development and financing of numerous precedent-setting projects across Canada. She acts for the spectrum of clients involved in project development and financing, including Indigenous groups, project proponents, lenders, investors, contractors, and governmental authorities.
As co-head of Torys’ Indigenous practice, Valerie’s project practice includes advising on complex infrastructure developments impacting Indigenous interest and parties, where she brings a robust perspective on different parties’ interests and priorities. She is trusted counsel to Indigenous and non-Indigenous project participants, her recent work notably includes advising: Wataynikaneyap Project as lead project counsel for over ten years on all aspects of the development, financing, construction and operation of the Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project in northwestern Ontario; Alto (formerly VIA HFR) on all matters relating to the permitting and engagement with over 40 Indigenous communities for the proposed high-speed rail network spanning almost 1,000 km between Québec City and Toronto; and the Government of Canada in its re-initiated consultation process with 129 Indigenous groups on the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project alongside The Honorable Frank Iacobucci, the largest consultation effort to date in Canadian history.
Valerie’s practice extends to energy project development and financing, including having been involved in some of the earliest and most innovative renewable projects in Ontario and across Canada. She is a recognized leader in the Canadian energy sector and has held various industry appointments in the power sector, including serving as a board member of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, past Chair of the Ontario Waterpower Association, and past member of the Independent Electricity System Operator Stakeholder Advisory Committee.
Valerie Helbronner attracts plaudits for her skilled handling of energy project financing matters … noted by clients for her ‘provision of sound technical and business advice.’’
Torys acted as counsel to Government of Canada in the re-initiated consultation process with 129 potentially affected Indigenous groups on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project
Torys is acting as counsel to Wataynikaneyap Power, a partnership between 24 First Nation Communities and Fortis Inc., in ongoing advice to the partnership on all commercial and regulatory matters related to the development, construction, financing and operation of the C$1.9 billion Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project, a 1,744 km transmission system in northwestern Ontario, one of the largest First Nations-led infrastructure projects in Canada's history and a project that won numerous awards, including IJGlobal's 2019 North America Transmission Deal of the Year, Project Finance Review’s 2019 Transmission Deal of the Year, IFLR1000 Canada’s inaugural 2020 Banking and Finance Deal of the Year and was inducted Electricity Canada’s Centre of Excellence in 2024
Alto (formerly VIA HFR) in the impact assessment and regulatory review processes, as well as the consultation and engagement with over 40 Indigenous communities, for the proposed Alto High-Speed Rail project, a network of dedicated and electrified railway lines spanning more than 1,000 km through Ontario and Québec, a project which won the 2025 Best Transportation Project from P3 Awards
Practice Areas
Bar Information
Called to the bar: 1996 (ON)