J1. Green Tech Industry & Utilities

TORONTO — Evan Pivnick, associate director of public affairs at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to the release of Powering Canada Strong: A National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy: 

“Today’s strategy sends an important signal that electrification and growing our electricity system is the nation-building effort we need to enhance our country’s economic competitiveness and energy security in a rapidly changing world. But while the strategy highlights the strength of Canada’s existing and relatively clean and affordable electricity system, it overstates the role of natural gas and understates the long-term energy security and affordability benefits of clean energy.

“We are pleased to see Canada’s focus on doubling Canada’s electricity grids.  Electrification offers a transformative opportunity to improve the lives of Canadians: it underlies affordability, energy security, and competitiveness. As consultations proceed, it’s critical that Canada does not lock in its exposure to fossil fuels as the rest of the world takes fuller advantage of the affordability and energy security benefits of clean power.  

“Clean electricity accounts for the majority of new demand growth globally not because it’s clean, but because in most markets around the world, solar or wind represent the cheapest available source of new electricity generation. Renewables are set to meet about 95% of global electricity demand growth between 2025 and 2027. Backed by the rapidly falling price of batteries, these resources are able to meet an ever-increasing share of the growing demand for electricity. The government’s focus should be on maximizing the cheapest resources available.

“The strategy contains some strong signals regarding forthcoming initiatives for everyday Canadians. We welcome the commitment to introduce measures to retrofit and electrify one million Canadian homes. Clean Energy Canada analysis consistently finds that Canadian households across the country can save hundreds of dollars per month by switching to clean energy options, including  heat pumps. These measures must apply broadly across households and heating types to help more Canadians access cost savings and cooling in a warming world. Young families must also not be forgotten in policy design, which should be careful not to exclude them, for example by setting overly strict income or housing type requirements.

“We also welcome the government’s commitment to provide further financial support to help double Canada’s electricity grid by 2050 at the lowest cost to ratepayers. The inclusion of demand-side measures (also known as distributed energy resources) such as heat pumps and two-way EV chargers is critical. As our research shows, these technologies play an essential role in meeting growing power demand and lowering the costs of grid build-out by allowing the electricity we have to be managed smarter, especially during peak periods.

“Transmission is rightfully prioritized in the strategy, and we welcome the referral of a new Transmission InterConnect Investment Strategy to the Major Projects Office, alongside the extension of the Clean Electricity ITC to major high-voltage intra-provincial transmission ties, complementing existing support for provincial interties. The strategy also gets the details right about the role the federal government must play in supporting new interties between provinces.

“Doubling the size of Canada’s electricity system is also an economic opportunity in its own right. Underpinning this goal are the wires, components, and technologies that a modern electricity system requires. Supply chains that Canada’s manufacturing sector could feed into. It is vital that the government move quickly on its planned analysis of Canada’s electricity component supply chain and on its commitments of further support for domestic manufacturers.

“But the details will be important. The strategy includes a worrying focus on natural gas, including proposing major changes to the Clean Electricity Regulations. Natural gas has a specific short term role, but only after we’ve maximized clean power solutions. “Renewables offer greater security and lower cost and, when paired with batteries and transmission lines, can address many of our energy system needs. Natural gas prices are subject to continental and global price fluctuations.

“This strategy will work in tandem with the further details promised tomorrow on the government’s plan to strengthen carbon pricing and incentivize industry to electrify. We look forward to Budget 2026 announcements supporting this strategy.

“As Prime Minister Carney recently stated, ‘Canada has a clean energy advantage.’ Let’s make sure the implementation of this strategy adequately capitalizes on it.”

The post Federal electricity strategy recognizes electrification is the name of the game—but misses the bullseye  appeared first on Clean Energy Canada.

TORONTO — Countries across Asia and Europe are accelerating their shift to clean energy—a transition hastened by the war in Iran. But with the Ottawa–Alberta memorandum of understanding on climate and energy policy more than a month overdue, Canada is risking locking in policy signals that leave it out of step with this rapidly restructuring global energy economy, warn Clean Energy Canada’s Rachel Doran and other climate and clean energy experts.

In a joint letter sent today, the leaders of the Pembina Institute, Clean Energy Canada, Climate Action Network, Environmental Defence, Equiterre, and International Institute for Sustainable Development urge Prime Minister Mark Carney to finalize key elements of the agreement, warning that failure to do so risks a “consequential miscalculation” that would place too great a focus on the oil and gas industry at the expense of clean growth sectors.

“While countries across Asia and Europe engage in short-term energy rationing and longer-term restructuring of their economies away from oil and gas dependence and towards domestically produced clean electricity, here in Canada, we are stuck in an unhelpful feedback loop of discourse about the need for more oil and gas infrastructure and the loosening of environmental regulations on multi-billion dollar oil and gas companies,” reads the letter.

“Nowhere is this more evident than in the delay to the promised resolution of the Alberta-federal MOU on energy and climate policies.”

The letter urges specific outcomes on four key aspects of the MOU: industrial carbon pricing, clean electricity development, and methane rules for oil and gas producers. It refers to these, and the MOU more broadly, as the prime minister’s “most consequential opportunity” to turn “words into action” on building a strong, future-proofed Canadian economy.

• Several countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Australia, South Korea, Germany, and Malaysia, have reported spiking sales or signs of elevated consumer interest in EVs since the war began. The surge has been particularly marked in Asia, where consumers are most exposed to the current oil supply shock.
• 1.75 million electric vehicles were sold globally in March 2026, a 66% increase on the previous month.
• Energy rationing is underway across the world, with the International Energy Agency tracking more than 40 countries where governments are urging citizens to take steps to conserve energy, such as limiting use of air conditioning in tropical climates or minimizing daily commutes.
• There are signs of countries rethinking previously approved oil and gas projects in light of the crisis. For example, plans for the construction of Vietnam’s largest-ever LNG import project are on pause, with investors citing the Iran war’s impact on global LNG supplies as a reason to consider switching to a renewable energy project instead.

The post New joint letter: We can’t ‘build Canada strong’ without robust Alberta MOU outcomes, warn Canadian clean energy experts appeared first on Clean Energy Canada.