Powering Canada's Transition: In Search of an Electrification Strategy - By Shawn McCarthy Senior Counsel, Sussex Strategy Group
C
anada’s commitment to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 hinges on our ability to decarbonize the power grid and then use electricity as the energy source for sectors such as transportation, home heating and industries that now depend on carbon-intensive fossil fuels.
It is a daunting task. To succeed, it will require a national strategy in partnership among the federal, provincial and territorial governments as well as the business sector and Indigenous communities.
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canadian electricity association - THE GRID 2021 | Renewal
The federal government has suggested that a successful electrification strategy would require Canada to double or even triple our production of non-emitting power, while investing heavily in the infrastructure needed to transmit and distribute clean electricity and new charging stations for end-users. All that is in addition to a massive investment in energy efficiency that is needed across the economy. In her April 19 budget, Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland provided a slew of spending and tax measures that will accelerate the electrification effort in a number of areas. Freeland’s budget - the Liberal government’s first in two years capped seven months of heightened commitments and spending on climate action, dating back to the Speech from the Throne last September.
