Government of Canada releases Powering Canada Forward

Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, recently released Powering Canada Forward, the Government of Canada's vision for transforming Canada's electricity sector. Broadly speaking, the report aims to decarbonize Canadian grids by 2035, keep the country’s electricity systems reliable and ensure household energy costs are affordable. This project rivals any nation-building project in Canada's history.

“Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, clean electricity is a critical step in driving down emissions and seizing the massive economic opportunities that will be enabled through the shift to a low-carbon future,” Wilkinson said. “This vision document, Powering Canada Forward, illustrates how, working together, we can build out a clean grid at a pace and scale needed to fight climate change, create good sustainable jobs and secure our economic prosperity for generations to come."

The vision, unveiled at Invinity Energy Systems’ Pender Street manufacturing facility, also featured a discussion among those in attendance. Vancouver’s tech community had several seats at the (round)table. Noteworthy attendees were Moment Energy, Mangrove Lithium, BC Hydro, BCIT, Atlas Power Technologies, Powertech Labs, the Clean Energy Association of BC, and the B.C. Centre of Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE).

"CICE shares the federal government's vision for Canada's electricity sector,” said the organization’s executive director Ged McLean. “We recognize that mitigating investment risks, fostering collaboration, and accelerating the commercial scaling of clean energy storage and grid integration solutions are vital to achieving a net-zero economy. CICE is committed to leading non-dilutive investments in disruptive areas of innovation where the lack of traditional revenue metrics is a barrier to scale. This approach provides a faster and easier way for clean energy innovators to scale their impact, and become global players in sectors ranging from mining and manufacturing to energy storage and recycling."

The unveiling showcases that the federal government is bullish on clean energy nationwide, and particularly in B.C. Its choice to unveil the vision in Vancouver, and ensure local innovators participated in the event, represents the province’s hefty presence in the national conversation that will inform the development of Canada's first Clean Electricity Strategy, to be released in 2024.