Ottawa – In the 21st century, building out clean, reliable, and affordable electricity is the best way to bring a growing economy the low-cost power it needs to compete. Today, 85% of Canada’s electricity is generated from clean sources like hydropower, wind, solar, and nuclear—and it’s a big part of the reason why companies around the world are choosing to invest in Canadian workers and business.
Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, released Powering Canada’s Future, which lays out our roadmap to build more affordable, reliable, and clean power to help meet growing demand. As part of this plan, the Ministers also released the finalized Clean Electricity Regulations, which will cement Canada’s position as a global clean electricity powerhouse. Powering Canada’s Future will unlock new economic opportunities for workers and investors, drive lower energy bills for Canadian families, and fight climate change.
The strategy unveiled today recognizes an economy that demands more and more clean electricity. Canada’s steady supply of clean and affordable electricity has already attracted investments from Volkswagen, Honda, General Motors, Stellantis, Michelin, and many others that are choosing to build in Canada. These opportunities are already supporting good-paying and long-term manufacturing jobs for generations of Canadian workers, often in unionized positions. Today, the Government of Canada is sending a strong market signal to investors and the electricity industry that now is the time to build more clean Canadian power for communities and industries and in the process continue to generate good jobs for Canadian workers. Canada is also accelerating work already underway, sparked by historic billions in support that the federal government is bringing to the table, including through the clean electricity investment tax credit.
The criteria for the clean electricity investment tax credit have been finalized in the Fall Economic Statement. The certainty and support these tax credits now provide to governments, utilities, and independent businesses nationwide will help supercharge the construction of new clean electricity projects. They are part of the more than $60 billion in federal support scheduled over the next decade that will get more projects built, faster.
Across Canada, electrification is driving savings for families on their total energy bills. In many parts of Canada, renewables are the lowest-cost sources of electricity to the grid and thousands of Canadian households are cutting their energy costs every year as they switch to hybrid and electric cars, install heat pumps, and adopt other cost-cutting electrified technologies. Making the switch to clean alternatives is easier than ever, thanks to federal purchase incentives and rebate programs that are helping to put hundreds of dollars more in the pockets of Canadian families every month.
Alongside the historic investments announced in recent years, the Clean Electricity Regulations finalized today provide guardrails that will ensure that new investments in power generation will support the clean grid that will be the foundation of Canada’s efforts to build a net-zero economy by 2050. They were shaped by rounds of extensive input over nearly three years from provincial and territorial governments, electricity providers, Indigenous peoples, labour unions, experts, and everyday Canadians. This extensive engagement allowed us to make changes that respond to evidence-based concerns, leading to final regulations that better balance affordability, reliability, and emission reductions.
As Canada’s demand for electricity grows, so must supply. The opportunity to power our communities with clean, affordable, and reliable power is a win-win-win—for our energy workers, for affordability, and for the environment. Canada’s climate plan is driving greenhouse gas pollution down for the first time, even as our economy continues to grow—and that’s thanks in large part to the leadership of the electricity sector. Together, with provinces and territories, Indigenous peoples, municipalities, utilities, and electricity suppliers, we will seize the opportunity ahead to build a strong economy and healthy environment for our children and grandchildren.
“Powering Canada’s Future is our plan to accelerate clean power development through a historic suite of investments, permitting actions, and the finalized Clean Electricity Regulations. This is a plan that cuts energy bills for Canadians while reliably meeting rising power demand, creating more good union jobs and saving the equivalent of 55 million cars’ worth of tailpipe emissions from polluting our air.”- Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
“In every province and territory, our clean electricity competitive advantage presents a huge opportunity and helps Canadians save more on their energy bills. As we build more electricity to meet growing demand, we will ensure we do so in a way that puts reliability and affordability at the centre and leaves a cleaner, more prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.”- Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources