Today’s announcement of a first-of-its-kind interprovincial-territorial electricity partnership is an important step towards the reliable, affordable, and resilient electricity system that will power Canada’s future.
Canada’s low-cost, low-emission electricity grid provides a tremendous strategic advantage, one that should be leveraged for economic growth, affordability, and energy security. Seizing this once-in-a-generation opportunity will require doubling or even tripling the size of our grid, and as our Electrifying Canada initiative has advocated, regional collaboration will be vital to carrying out this nation-building project efficiently and effectively.
The advantages of regional electricity collaboration have long been recognized, but economic, physical, and political challenges have made progress elusive. The National Energy Corridor agreement shows that provinces and territories are truly ready to collaborate—a sentiment we’ve heard echoed in more than two dozen provincial engagement sessions held by Electrifying Canada in all provinces—and that is a milestone worth celebrating.
Electricity is a provincial responsibility, but the upcoming federal electricity strategy provides an excellent opportunity to build on the spirit of collaboration reflected in this announcement. The strategy can support this work by providing incentives for provinces to continue this joint planning process, and ensuring the strategy helps to prioritize transmission corridors with clear economic and reliability benefits.
Canada’s energy security, economic competitiveness, and future productivity will all benefit from increased regional electricity collaboration. The Transition Accelerator commends this important progress towards setting electrons free.