Canada’s economic future hinges on a robust clean electricity strategy. A new federal approach to power infrastructure will drive industry, investment, and jobs by emphasizing clean energy over fossil fuel exports.
Global Shift Demands Clean Power
The world transitions rapidly from fossil fuels to clean electricity. Electrification in industry and transportation, surging data technologies, and investor priorities fuel this change. Last year, clean energy investments doubled those in fossil fuels. Future industries require abundant, low-carbon, and reliable electricity.
Canada possesses key strengths to capture this opportunity. The electricity sector already generates about 85 percent non-emitting power, backed by vast uranium reserves and rich deposits of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements. Strong economic stability and access to markets covering 66 percent of global GDP enhance these advantages.
Investment Boom and Provincial Pressures
These factors attract significant capital. Since 2021, announcements total $60 billion to $70 billion in clean economy sectors, promising at least 26,000 direct jobs and tens of thousands more in supply chains.
However, challenges emerge. Grid limitations, interprovincial hurdles, delayed infrastructure, and global rivalry threaten this momentum. Over 12,000 companies—40 percent of global market cap—commit to emissions reductions, with three-quarters targeting Scope 2 goals that boost clean electricity demand.
Hyperscale data centers, cloud providers, aluminum smelters, and low-carbon steel makers gain pricing edges in decarbonizing markets. Automakers, rail firms, and builders secure low-carbon supplies. EU battery rules and OEM climate goals embed renewable thresholds in material contracts. In mining, grid-connected clean power ranks among top investment factors.
Global clean power demand could triple by 2050. Provinces face intense pressure: Ontario projects 75 percent demand growth by mid-century; Quebec logs over 250 industrial requests totaling 43 gigawatts—exceeding current capacity. Similar strains hit Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, and Atlantic regions.
Risks and Urgent Recommendations
Nation-building projects lack secured generation and transmission. Finance, tech, industry, mining, and energy leaders stress that reliable, affordable clean electricity boosts asset values and market access.
Grid bottlenecks, permitting delays, and interconnection issues jeopardize $220 billion in investments and over 80,000 jobs in electric vehicles, batteries, green steel, data centers, and critical minerals. Indirect jobs amplify the stakes, with mining projects generating 2.3 indirect roles per direct one.
Prime Minister Mark Carney noted in his Davos address the global economic shift and Canada’s opportunities. Seizing them requires more than trade deals—it demands infrastructure to support expansion.
A federal-provincial-territorial clean electricity table must coordinate efforts. This body should fast-track clean generation, storage, transmission, grid upgrades, and interprovincial links to match industrial and electrification demands.
