Ottawa’s electricity strategy will consider ways government can shoulder some of the cost of doubling the country’s grid by 2050 and ensure equipment and workers are available to make it happen.
The federal government released a discussion paper Thursday laying out the broad strokes of its plan and opening it up to feedback.
“The scale is huge, the timeline is short, and the task of getting the right mix of power is complex,” Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters in Ottawa.
Building Canada’s electricity system is a “shared responsibility,” the government said in the document.
“Striking the right balance can help ensure that the investment proceeds in a way that reduces risk and total cost, spreads costs over time and maximizes economic benefits across the country,” it said.
The government backing could be in the form tax credits, as well as financing through the Canada Infrastructure Bank, Canada Growth Fund and Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program. There is also potential funding through initiatives like the $4.5 billion Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program.
The document also highlights a potential role for institutional investors like pension funds, which have been increasingly gravitating toward infrastructure projects that deliver long-term stability and predictable yields.
“One of the things I like about the strategy is that it does focus on the financing mechanisms and how we attract investment to build this clean grid,” said Kevin Thomas, chief executive of investor advocacy group SHARE.
“Institutional investors, at least, will be very interested in supporting the buildout, not just of the grid itself, but the manufacturing, the tech, the clean energy generation opportunities — all the things this opens up.”
Where the plan suffers, Thomas said, is that it “doesn’t make any hard choices.” For instance, natural gas is seen maintaining a prominent role in power generation, especially in the West.
Clean electricity regulations brought in under former prime minister Justin Trudeau are to be adjusted to provide more flexibility to allow natural gas to play a larger role in building the grid.
Jordan Eizenga, national infrastructure and real estate leader at consulting firm Deloitte Canada, said there is hope large pools of capital, like pension funds, will come to the table.
“They haven’t invested to the same extent that I think some of us would have liked within the country into greenfield infrastructure projects,” he said.
Thursday’s announcement gives those investors a sense of “where the ball is going,” Eizenga added.
“It also does give a signal that this government will take a slightly more balanced approach, at least rhetorically, when it comes to thermal generation, like natural gas, than the prior government,” he said.
“That sometimes gives a little bit of air cover for people to invest into those sectors as well, which do need capital.”
The paper also suggests an analysis be done of Canada’s electricity component supply chain and supporting domestic manufacturing of that equipment.
The grid buildout would be an “economic opportunity in its own right,” said Evan Pivnick, with Clean Energy Canada.
“Underpinning this goal are the wires, components, and technologies that a modern electricity system requires, supply chains that Canada’s manufacturing sector could feed into,” he said.
“It is vital that the government move quickly on its planned analysis of Canada’s electricity component supply chain and on its commitments of further support for domestic manufacturers.”
Carney told the news conference that doubling Canada’s electricity grid will require 130,000 new jobs by 2050. Right now, more than 80 per cent of employers in the sector are facing labour shortages, he said. The discussion paper lists a series of previously announced efforts to train and attract the skilled labour needed for the effort.
Dale Beugin, executive vice-president at the Canadian Climate Institute, said the electricity strategy offers a path forward to fix some persistent issues.
“Prioritizing the construction of nation building grid infrastructure to connect provincial grids and grow electricity capacity is the necessary first step to keep up with existing and future demand,” he said.
“Investing in building skills and bolstering Canada’s ability to produce the hardware, grid components and services this expansion would require could offer economic and local employment benefits.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2026.
