Powering Canada's Future: Securing jobs, investments, and savings by building more affordable and reliable clean electricity

OTTAWA, ON, Dec. 17, 2024 /CNW/ - 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.

Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and the Honourable 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.  

Quotes

"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.
– The Honourable 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."
– The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

"The Clean Electricity Regulations will help improve our health and strengthen our economy. This is a plan to modernize and grow Canada's electricity grid. That means good jobs for Canadian workers, a secure and reliable grid, and less air pollution linked to heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer."
– The Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health

"In energy history, we've witnessed the Age of Coal and the Age of Oil—and we're now moving at speed into the Age of Electricity, which will define the global energy system going forward and increasingly be based on clean sources of electricity." 
– Dr. Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency

"As the national hub for First Peoples' participation in a prosperous and sustainable energy future, Indigenous clean energy supports the vital importance of Powering Canada's Future, including the investments and regulations within the strategy that empower Indigenous leadership."
– James Jenkins, Executive Director, Indigenous Clean Energy (ICE)

"With the strong labour conditions such as prevailing wages and apprenticeship requirements attached to the clean electricity investment tax credits, as well as the new Clean Electricity Regulations, the future is bright for skilled trades workers in Canada. The promise of clean, green, high-skill, high-wage, and unionized positions is a huge opportunity for Canadians looking to join the skilled trades. We welcome these announcements."
– Sean Strickland, Executive Director, Canada's Building Trades Unions

"The Power Workers' Union strongly supports the federal government's clean energy investment tax credits and the more than $60 billion in support being provided over the next decade. Canada's path to decarbonization requires a massive build-out of dependable carbon-free electricity generation while executing the transmission and distribution system infrastructure improvements needed to reliably deliver affordable electricity to Canadians. This is a time of opportunity for Canada's electricity sector to meet the demands of tomorrow."
– Jeff Parnell, President, Power Workers' Union

"Powering Canada's Future recognizes the fact that new investments in nuclear energy play an essential role in our ability to satisfy the triple bottom line of sustainability, affordability, and reliability. The Society of United Professionals is particularly pleased by the Government's recognition of the high-quality union jobs throughout CANDU's overwhelmingly domestic supply chain and of commitments that support the industry and its workers to continue to more efficiently build an energy future for Canadians that is clean, reliable, and affordable."
– Rebecca Caron, President, the Society of United Professionals

"Nuclear energy is a cornerstone of Canada's electricity grid, providing reliable, emissions-free power that supports our clean energy future, as showcased in Canada's Clean Electricity Strategy. Tools like Canada's clean electricity investment tax credit, also highlighted in today's strategy, are central to driving necessary investments in clean energy infrastructure while keeping costs manageable for families and businesses."
– Patrick Dalzell, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Market Development, Bruce Power

"The climate emergency can be addressed by knocking carbon out of electricity generation with established renewable energy technology. Renewable energy also engages and benefits host communities, including many First Nations who have become an essential partner of all renewable energy developers in Canada. The Clean Electricity Regulations keep us firmly on course toward de-carbonizing our electricity generation fleet."
– Peter Clibbon, Senior Vice-President of Development, Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc.

"The investments announced in Powering Canada's Future will not just help Indigenous and local communities to access the capital they need to play a larger role in Canada's renewable energy and energy storage sector, they will also help reduce the cost of electricity for Canadian consumers."
– Vittoria Bellissimo, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA)

"The federal government has a crucial role to play in helping provinces meet the rapidly growing demand for clean electricity, whether from households looking to save money through electrification, or industries looking to seize a competitive edge. Powering Canada's Future offers a constructive approach that showcases meaningful investments and flexible regulations that will help build out the required clean power sources while protecting the affordability and reliability of our electricity grids."
– Evan Pivnick, Clean Energy Program Manager, Clean Energy Canada 

"We're celebrating this significant step toward clean electricity in Canada because it means more affordable energy bills, good jobs, and better health outcomes. The Powering Canada's Future plan and the Clean Electricity Regulations are just the start toward growing Canada's renewable energy sector, and we will continue to work toward 100% clean electricity to unlock even more benefits for people living in Canada."
– Stephen Thomas, Clean Energy Manager, David Suzuki Foundation

"Across Canada, many provincial governments have already recognised the huge economic opportunity associated with expanding the amount of reliable, affordable, clean electricity powering their grids. The vast majority of Canadians live in provinces where governments are taking steps to scale-up non-emitting forms of generation, as they seek to attract investment from companies that want access to clean power. The ability to generate abundant clean power is one of Canada's greatest strengths, and the Clean Electricity Regulations will set us up to continue to capitalize on that strength and thrive in the clean economy of 2030 and beyond."
– Scott MacDougall, Electricity Program Director, Pembina Institute

Quick facts

• Powering Canada's Future combines historic investments and balanced, fair regulations to ensure new electricity production in Canada is built with the affordable, reliable, clean, and renewable energy sources Canadians expect.
• The electricity sector and electricity workers have led the charge on cutting pollution over the last 20 years, proving that expanding affordable power and reducing emissions can go hand in hand.
• Across Canada, electricity operators are taking advantage of the more than $60 billion over the next decade in federal support to help build 21st century electricity grids.
• The Government of Canada respects the role of provinces and territories in managing the electricity grid and supports the regional circumstances and unique needs of electricity systems across the country. That is why we are providing ample time to enable electricity providers to make the necessary investments and plan for the Clean Electricity Regulations' implementation over the next decade.
• The International Energy Agency recently declared that the world is moving into the Age of Electricity, and as a nation with enormous generation capacity and an already 85% clean grid, Canada is poised to lead. All G7 countries have committed to building a net-zero grid as a foundational measure for enabling achievement of net-zero economies by 2050.
• Clean electricity means significant health and environmental benefits, avoiding related cost impacts. The Regulations are estimated to result in benefits of $3.4 billion from avoided health impacts.
• Several studies (the Canada Electricity Advisory Council, Clean Energy Canada, and The Transition Accelerator) have found that clean electricity can enable lower and more stable electricity bills since the shift away from fossil fuels protects us from volatile electricity prices caused by global price shocks associated with fossil fuels. For example, Manitoba, Quebec, and British Columbia largely operate cleaner electricity grids that provide stable and affordable power and energy reliability during the coldest winter days.
• As they are largely not connected to the North American electrical grid, the Clean Electricity Regulations do not apply to the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, or Yukon.

Related products

• Backgrounder: The Clean Electricity Regulations 
• Electricity Affordability and the Clean Electricity Regulations
• Maintaining Grid Reliability and the Clean Electricity Regulations

Associated links

• Electricity Strategy: Powering Canada Forward
• Powering Canada Forward: 2023 Vision Paper
• Canadian Sustainable Jobs Plan
• 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan

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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

Contacts: Hermine Landry, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 873-455-3714, [email protected]; Media Relations: Environment and Climate Change Canada, 819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free), [email protected]