Statement from Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources Streicker on work to connect the Yukon and British Columbia’s electricity grids

Press Release

Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources John Streicker has issued the following statement:

“Our government is committed to ensuring the territory does its part to address climate change by reducing our carbon emissions. For this to happen, we need to substantially increase our supply of clean energy. One of the options we’re considering is connecting our electricity grid to British Columbia’s with a 750-kilometre transmission line.

“This grid connection would support our ambitious greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals by facilitating the electrification of our largest sources of emissions: transportation and heating.

“It could also support the mining of critical minerals in the Yukon, which is an important way our territory can support the global transition away from fossil fuels.

“This project would cross the traditional territories of multiple First Nations in the Yukon and BC, so it’s critical that affected First Nations are partners. The Yukon government is looking closely at models of First Nation ownership of transmission lines across Canada. We will be engaging with First Nations governments as our work progresses.

“The grid connection would be a significant investment in northern infrastructure, connecting us to our neighbours and supporting Canada to meet its goals to reduce emissions and develop critical minerals.

“This project, if it proves feasible, will be large and complex. The Government of Yukon’s next steps include engaging affected First Nations and starting to examine the project’s feasibility from engineering, environmental, socio-cultural and economic perspectives.

“Whether we proceed with the grid connection or not, we plan to continue to develop local renewable energy projects. Such projects will be crucial to providing clean energy while a grid connection is advanced, as well as providing redundancy if the transmission line is impacted by unforeseen events, such as forest fires.

“The grid connection could even allow us to sell surplus energy to BC. No matter the outcome of the project, our government will remain focused on ensuring that electricity in the territory remains reliable, affordable and sustainable. We will keep the public updated as this work continues.”

Media contact

Laura Seeley
Cabinet Communications
867-332-7627
laura.seeley@yukon.ca

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