Canadian businesses and workers would see a decisive shift of investment and jobs into clean electricity infrastructure if Ottawa adopts a national electrification strategy that prioritizes transmission and low‑carbon power. 9: 00 a. m. ET — an opinion in the globe and mail by Kevin Thomas, alongside a National Newswatch analysis, links that strategy to efforts by Prime Minister Carney to double electricity supply.
Kevin Thomas’ report ties $60–$70 billion in clean investment to electricity strategy
The chief consequence outlined by Kevin Thomas is a reallocation of announced capital: his report, Power at Risk: The Investment Case for a Clean Competitive Canada, cites an estimated $60‑billion to $70‑billion in announced clean‑economy investment since 2021. The report projects at least 26, 000 long‑term direct jobs from that pipeline, and it warns that grid constraints and slow transmission build‑out are putting those investments at risk.
Prime Minister Carney’s push to double supply could reduce exposure to price shocks
Prime Minister Carney is developing an electricity strategy aimed at doubling supply, a move the analysis frames as a path to insulate households and businesses from global fossil‑fuel price spikes. That strategy targets more electricity capacity and greater electrification of industry, transport and buildings, actions the analysis says would lower exposure to geopolitical disruptions that affect oil and gas markets.
Globe And Mail opinion says Canada’s non‑emitting grid is a competitive advantage to defend
The globe and mail opinion highlights that Canada’s grid is already roughly 85‑per‑cent non‑emitting and points to resource advantages — uranium and deposits of lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements — that could attract clean‑technology investment. The piece argues that more than twice as much capital flowed to clean energy as to fossil fuels in the past year, and it cites growing corporate demand for Scope 2 emissions reductions that specifically increase demand for clean power.
Still, both the report and the analysis name concrete barriers that could blunt those opportunities: interprovincial barriers, a slow infrastructure build‑out and intensifying global competition. The report emphasizes the need for a federal–provincial–territorial clean electricity table to coordinate transmission and project approvals across jurisdictions.
Yet, industry signals in the texts indicate buyer‑driven market shifts. More than 12, 000 companies representing roughly 40 per cent of global market capitalization have set emissions targets, with over three‑quarters including Scope 2 goals, which boost demand for reliable, low‑carbon electricity. The analysis also notes that global investors put $2. 3 trillion into the energy transition last year, creating a larger pool of capital chasing projects that can deliver low‑carbon power reliably.
That demand is already reshaping investment criteria: for mining, grid‑connected low‑carbon power ranks among the top five investment considerations alongside ore quality and jurisdictional risk. Automakers and materials buyers are embedding renewable‑energy and emissions thresholds into contracts for aluminum, steel and battery materials, increasing the commercial value of electricity that can be certified as low carbon.
For now, provinces are seeing a surge in requests from energy‑intensive projects that need abundant clean power. The report and analysis both warn that without coordinated transmission expansion and streamlined interprovincial arrangements, Canada risks losing projects to competitors that can deliver large, reliable clean power at scale.
What could accelerate or reverse this shift is the convening of the federal–provincial–territorial clean electricity table proposed in Thomas’ report; its creation would target the grid constraints that the report identifies. More details about the federal strategy remain unconfirmed as of 9: 00 a. m. ET. If the table is convened and Prime Minister Carney finalizes a plan to double supply, then the report suggests investment commitments already announced could be converted into on‑the‑ground projects and tens of thousands of jobs as transmission and capacity are built out.
