Electricity companies in Canada have been asking the government, following the Prime Minister’s comments earlier this year, to accelerate investment and the mechanisms that will enable us to make Canada’s grid green by 2035 and bring the country to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Fall Economic Statement begins that process of acceleration. In particular, we applaud:
- The launch of the Canada Growth Fund, which will reduce risk and support investment and deployment in clean technologies, like CCUS and hydrogen, necessary to build a non-emitting electricity grid.
- Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) for a broad range of electricity technologies like small modular reactors, battery storage, wind, solar, and water power.
- The $250 million investment in training to help build a labour force that will meet the needs of a net zero future
- Helping accelerate approvals for major projects by expanding the capacity of regulatory bodies like the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), the Canada Energy Regulator, and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. This is vitally important given the large infrastructure projects facing us in the coming years.
This statement signals a recognition that we must move faster to meet Canada’s climate objectives. We are hopeful that this trend will continue in the 2023 budget.
Addressing climate change and building electricity capacity for Canada to achieve net zero is a massive undertaking. We need to take bolder steps, and faster, if we want to achieve these things by the deadlines the government has set.