This Earth Day, Canadians are preparing to head to the ballot box on April 28. As we do, a clean, connected, community-led electricity system is ready to be a central solution to the challenges we face.
This Earth Day, Canadians are preparing to head to the ballot box on April 28. As the U.S. administration’s tariffs and annexation threats shake Canada’s economy and political landscape, this moment calls for bold action that creates good jobs, lowers costs for Canadians and makes our energy systems and economy more secure.
The theme of Earth Day 2025 is “Our Power, Our Planet.” This theme highlights the established UN goal to triple renewable energy generation by 2030 and encourages accelerated action to avoid the devastating climate impacts that we are currently on track to experience.
A clean, connected, community-led electricity system is ready to be a central solution to the challenges we face. This is a time where we need scalable, shovel-ready solutions that will also connect Canada to the economy of the 21st century. Renewables and a strengthened east–west grid are key opportunities to create jobs and prosperity, and to position our economy for the future.
This moment is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Canada to commit to big changes that unlock future opportunities. It’s also an opportunity to commit to taking good care of one another. Making our economy more resilient to the policy lurches of an erratic, unreliable neighbour to the south should prioritize an approach that takes care of the most vulnerable, leaves no one behind, and opens new vistas of opportunity.
Making our economy more resilient to the policy lurches of an erratic, unreliable neighbour to the south should prioritize an approach that takes care of the most vulnerable, leaves no one behind, and opens new vistas of opportunity.
First, we need to ensure our electricity system is clean. That means electricity from renewable energy sources that don’t create pollution. A key strategy to wean the economy off polluting fossil fuels is the goal of 100% net-zero emissions electricity. Canada’s new clean electricity regulations are an important step toward this goal, but remain too weak to reach important milestones, and include numerous extensions and exemptions for fossil fuels on the grid.
A massive build-out of renewable energy projects and grid upgrades will create hundreds of thousands of good jobs and be ready in the near-term, unlike fossil fuel megaprojects. Affordability is also paramount right now. Wind and solar are the cheapest forms of electricity in history, and numerous studies show that households save money with clean, efficient electricity as we move away from volatile, expensive fossil fuels.
A secure, reliable grid is also a connected one. Study after study in Canada shows how electricity can become more affordable and reliable with new inter-provincial transmission connections and more collaboration between provinces. Such grid upgrades will become even more important as the electricity sector is set to double or even triple as we electrify the economy. The federal government has a clear role in convening, supporting and funding these crucial projects.
Finally, a transformation at this scale can only succeed if communities benefit. The transformation of Canada’s energy system will succeed if communities and First Nations benefit from the jobs and other economic opportunities these projects will deliver. This requires prioritizing Indigenous, community, public and co-op ownership of new renewables projects, and respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples on whose territory the projects are built. As we look to build out renewables, it’s also important to assess impacts and ensure that large infrastructure projects don’t contribute to the degradation of natural ecosystems.
Meanwhile, the oil and gas industries continue to push for more pipelines to be built with Canada’s credit card. But the world is moving on: renewable energy and electrification is rapidly accelerating across the world. Investing in the fossil fuel industry now will lock us into volatile markets while continuing to damage our environment.
Meanwhile, the oil and gas industries continue to push for more pipelines to be built with Canada’s credit card. But the world is moving on: renewable energy and electrification is rapidly accelerating across the world. Investing in the fossil fuel industry now will lock us into volatile markets while continuing to damage our environment.
If our political leaders are looking for nation-building projects, now is the time for secure clean energy, at this moment and for decades to come. This Earth Day, take a moment to check out what the federal parties told us about their plans for expanding renewable energy. Let’s get behind a clean electricity grid.
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Always grounded in sound evidence, the David Suzuki Foundation empowers people to take action in their communities on the environmental challenges we collectively face.
