Canada must build clean power faster to compete in global race for investment: report

Press Release

New research shows attracting investment for major projects and industrial growth depends on revamping Canada’s electricity systems to build low-cost clean power faster.

VANCOUVER, BC, June 17, 2026 – A new report finds that clean power could be Canada’s competitive edge in the global race to attract investment in major projects, but only if the country transforms how it plans and builds its electricity systems.

The report from the Canadian Climate Institute, Power Play: How to supercharge Canada’s clean electricity advantage, finds that the country has vast potential for new low-cost clean electricity, but most provinces are not planning to build enough new supply or transmission to meet rapidly increasing demand from large industrial projects.

Wind, solar, and batteries are now among the fastest and cheapest ways to meet new electricity demand. Yet Canada largely lags its international peers in deploying these technologies at scale, held back by outdated market rules and planning frameworks that weren’t designed for the clean energy transition that is rapidly remaking electricity markets around the world.

Without changes to federal policy, the country’s goal of doubling the size of its electricity grids–a central aim of the new national electricity strategy–is also at risk.

ABOUT THIS RESEARCH

The Institute’s report examines the four largest provincial electricity systems–Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, and B.C.–which together account for more than 75 per cent of Canadian industrial electricity demand, and compares them with leading jurisdictions around the world.

The analysis focuses on how Canada can grow its supply of clean electricity quickly and reliably to deliver low-cost power that unlocks global investment in large industrial projects such as mines, data centres, and manufacturing facilities consuming that power. Researchers examined how each jurisdiction approaches energy planning, grid flexibility, transmission, procurement, industrial rate design, and climate policy certainty, with an eye to increasing Canada’s competitiveness in the race for global investments.

The report finds that current rules and incentives driving provincial electricity planning were designed for yesterday’s electricity technologies and are too cautious to build clean power at the pace and scale needed to meet rising industrial demand. Canada also lacks the federal frameworks and funding needed to support interregional transmission lines that can increase grid flexibility and avoid wasting power from solar and wind facilities already in operation.

In addition, the research shows that Indigenous governments are critical partners in Canada’s electricity expansion–as rights-holders, major asset owners, and project proponents–and already hold equity in a substantial share of Canada’s electricity projects.

RECOMMENDATIONS

While electricity planning largely falls within provincial jurisdiction, the report’s recommendations focus on federal action, given the national economic implications in the race to attract investment, the need for interprovincial co-ordination, and the recent call for input on Canada’s national electricity strategy.

The report recommends the federal government:

• Support interprovincial electricity planning and co-ordination through a new shared framework in the near term and, later, new intergovernmental institution(s);
• Selectively fund and finance grid build-out for industrial projects by building on tools like the Canada Infrastructure Bank;
• Move forward with amended Clean Electricity Regulations to anchor long-term policy certainty for clean electricity investors, with a limited role for existing gas-fired power to meet peak demand alongside other forms of flexibility such as batteries and interties; and
• Prioritize grid flexibility by funding programs that incentivize industrial demand management and on-site investments in battery storage through the Clean Technology Investment Tax Credits.

The Canadian Climate Institute will publish two additional companion reports later this year that focus on recommendations for provincial governments and utilities.

QUOTES

“Canada has a critical opportunity to power a new era of economic growth with cheap and reliable clean electricity–but only if governments act now. The countries winning the race for investment are rapidly expanding their grids with clean, flexible power. This report shows how Canada can compete by leveraging its clean electricity advantage to secure nation-building growth in an era of global instability and trade disruption.”

— Rick Smith, President, Canadian Climate Institute

“Access to reliable, affordable clean power has been a Canadian economic advantage, but it requires action to maintain. Our analysis found that the rules and incentives governing Canada’s electricity systems are geared for yesterday’s power technologies and demand forecasts, and are holding back investments in the country’s grids and industrial sectors. The good news is that the solutions are within reach, and the federal government has the policy levers needed to help provinces put them to work.”

— Kate Harland, Research Director, Clean Growth, Canadian Climate Institute

“This new report from the Canadian Climate Institute underscores the importance of providing long-term policy certainty to attract investment in Canada’s electricity system. Wind, solar, and energy storage are affordable, modular, scalable, fast-to-deploy technologies that can create jobs and help meet growing electricity demand, but to realize this potential, the sector needs predictable and stable policy environments across jurisdictions.”

— Vittoria Bellissimo, President and CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

“The role of Indigenous Peoples in energy planning cannot be ignored. Connecting more clean power to the grid will require Indigenous partnerships across the country. Already, Indigenous Peoples are the biggest owners of electricity assets outside of Crown corporations and utilities in Canada, and building more clean power will require equity and co-ownership opportunities that recognizes the unique role Indigenous Peoples play in regional electricity planning.”

— Kwatuuma Cole Sayers, Executive Director, Indigenous Power Coalition, and Member, Canadian Climate Institute Mitigation Expert Panel

KEY FACTS

• Since 2009, solar costs have fallen 84 per cent and onshore wind costs have dropped 56 per cent, while battery storage costs fell 27 per cent in the last year alone.
• Failing to build enough clean power can carry a steep price tag. A recent report from Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors found Canada could miss out on $110 to $220 billion in potential capital investment due to insufficient clean electricity supply.
• Indigenous peoples hold equity in nearly 550 projects and roughly $260 billion in electricity infrastructure. According to the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, Indigenous ownership could further unlock $12 billion in generation and $5 billion in transmission equity.

RESOURCES

• Report | Power Play: How to supercharge Canada’s clean electricity advantage
• Technical Report| Power Play: Technical Report
• Blog | How Canada can build electricity transmission to unlock nation-building projects
• Media statement | Canada’s new electricity strategy points in the right direction, but sidesteps critical issues
• Blog | Canada’s AI and electricity strategies can–and should–be mutually reinforcing

About the Canadian Climate Institute
The Canadian Climate Institute is Canada’s leading climate change policy research organization. The Institute produces rigorous analysis, economic modelling, and in-depth research focused on incentivizing clean economic growth and low-carbon competitiveness, reducing emissions and accelerating Canada’s net zero energy transition, and making our economy and infrastructure more resilient to a warming climate. climateinstitute.ca

CONTACTS: Claudine Brulé (Eastern Time), Lead, Communications and External Affairs, Canadian Climate Institute, (226) 212-9883; Krystal Northey (Mountain Time), Lead, Public Affairs, Canadian Climate Institute, (226) 212-9883

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