TORONTO — “Build Canada Strong” is a central mantra of the federal government’s plans to bolster Canada’s economy in a rapidly changing world, with new housing and infrastructure key to Canada’s nation-building efforts. But all this construction poses a problem: the production of building materials can be a huge source of emissions. 

Thankfully, there are solutions that can reduce this downside, at little or no extra cost—while also supporting Canadian industry, as a new report, Build Canada Clean, from Clean Energy Canada reveals.

The report, which features case studies from across the country—from apartment buildings to roads to wastewater facilities—finds that lower-carbon construction materials can generally be procured at no or marginal cost increases, while simple design changes can further minimize cost and emissions. One case study of an apartment building in Quebec, for example, found that design changes and lower-carbon materials could cut construction emissions by 30% while reducing overall construction costs by 12%.

What’s more, Canadian manufacturers are already producing many of the lower-carbon alternatives required, such as steel produced in electric arc furnaces, concrete that uses industrial byproducts to replace cement, and reclaimed asphalt. Supporting this kind of construction presents a unique opportunity for Canada to build its market at a time when our key trade partners, like the EU, are actively seeking cleaner products.

Governments are key to ensuring we seize this opportunity. They are big builders and by requiring lower-carbon materials and design—an approach known as “Buy Clean”—they can create a strong demand signal. The federal government has already taken some steps to reduce carbon in its building projects, and has also recently introduced a “Buy Canadian” approach. Expanded Buy Clean policies sitting alongside Buy Canadian ones would allow us to support domestic producers while also incentivizing our industries to become more climate-competitive in a global trade environment increasingly prioritizing or requiring cleaner materials.

Beyond “Buy Clean,” some simple regulatory changes can make a big difference, as the report elaborates. There are many different codes and standards for infrastructure construction across the country, some of which needlessly restrict the use of lower-carbon materials or design practices. Where flexibility does exist to use more recycled or other lower-carbon materials, it isn’t always made use of—something that could be addressed with better procurement guidance.

As we build more projects, we have the opportunity to avoid locking in huge amounts of damaging emissions—all while cutting costs for developers and taxpayers alike. So while we “Build Canada Strong,” let’s also “Build Canada Clean.”

KEY FACTS

• The construction sector contributed over 8% of Canada’s total emissions in 2018. And that was at less than a third of the housing starts Canada actually needs. 
• For efficient, electrified buildings, the emissions associated with material production and construction, known as “embodied carbon,” usually accounts for a larger portion of lifecycle carbon emissions than those from operation, like heating and cooling.
• The global low-carbon construction materials market is expected to be worth US$579 billion in 2032, with trade partners, including the EU, increasingly looking for clean materials. 
• Through nine roadway case studies, we show that lifetime emissions reductions of between 17% and 31% could be achieved while reducing the per-metre cost of the roads by up to 16%. 
• A study of an apartment building in Quebec found that making just two changes to the building design and replacing materials with lower-carbon equivalents would reduce embodied emissions by 30% while reducing overall construction costs by 12%.
• Choosing lower-carbon material options for water infrastructure can reduce the emissions of stormwater and wastewater infrastructure with marginal cost impacts.

RESOURCES

Report | Build Canada Clean

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VICTORIA — Evan Pivnick, associate director of public affairs at Clean Energy Canada, released a statement in response to BC Hydro’s release of its new energy efficiency strategy, Power Smart 2.0:

“BC Hydro has a strong history of using energy conservation to reduce electricity use in B.C. as well as prepare for the growing demands for electrification. However, while this new plan makes meaningful investments and continues in this tradition, it falls short of fully harnessing the opportunities that household technologies have to save families—and BC Hydro—money.

“A recent study from Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors found that distributed energy resources (electric technologies that can generate or store energy or control demand) could meet more than 10% of B.C.’s total peak electricity demand by 2040, saving ratepayers money by avoiding more expensive infrastructure build-outs while improving grid reliability. 

“As such, it’s good to see support for consumers to adopt clean solutions, from energy-efficient appliances to battery storage, that help realize this potential. But this is only a first step. B.C needs to follow the lead of other jurisdictions across North America that are going much further in advancing changes to their electricity systems and standing up new programs that can help households save on their energy bills.

“Beyond energy-efficient appliances, new technologies have unlocked much greater opportunities to save, like managed EV charging, smart panels, controllable water heaters, and household batteries that work in harmony with the grid. The new plan lays out a vision for using these technologies, but more should be done to encourage British Columbians to make the switch. The Dunsky study found that greater financial incentives, like rebates, and other ambitious installation programs, were key to realizing the full potential of distributed energy resources for reducing both household bills and costs to the utility. 

“What’s more, heat pumps will be vital to reducing power demand, offering the ability to displace power-hungry baseboard heating and air conditioning. With another hot summer around the corner, the provincial government should introduce regulations that ensure new permanent air conditioning systems are heat pumps. Our analysis shows that a province-wide switch to heat pumps could save a cumulative $675 million in annual energy bills: that translates to average savings of approximately $170 a year for those currently using natural gas with A/C.

“Already, B.C. has some of the lowest electricity rates in North America, making the switch to EVs and household electrification especially enticing for British Columbians. And while today represents a positive step, at a moment when the cost of living is top of mind for most families, there is much more we could be doing to lower electricity bills across the province—while simultaneously building a smarter, more cost-efficient electricity system.” 

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Prime Minister Mark Carney has won deserved praise for standing firm against the Trump administration’s threats and imposition of tariffs. But political credit is only as good as the strategy that follows, and Canada now faces a genuine opportunity to do something more ambitious than weather the storm.

Carney’s approach has sparked a broader conversation among the world’s ‘middle powers’ – countries with significant economies like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the U.K. that share a commitment to rules-based trade but sit outside the U.S.-China superpower axis. These are countries that are actively looking for a different economic path forward, one that doesn’t simply mirror the nationalism coming out of Washington and Beijing.

Keep reading this post, co-authored by Ryan Mulholland and Ollie Sheldrick, in Policy Options.

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TORONTO — Rachel Doran, executive director at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to the Implementation Agreement for the Canada-Alberta MOU:

“The long-awaited agreement between the federal government and Alberta was promised to strengthen Canada’s competitiveness and the effectiveness of key climate policies—but is, in reality, a step backward. This is true not only when it comes to reducing climate-change-causing emissions from big industry, but also on the aspiration laid out yesterday to double Canada’s electricity grid as the economic backbone of our future.

“Indeed, the federal government’s goal of a net-zero grid by 2050 may be fundamentally at odds with the details in this MOU. Alberta, once the Canadian capital of renewable investment, has not made any concrete commitments to unleash its once-booming free market. It has, conversely, secured a commitment that natural gas generation will be expanded and is likewise not dropping its legal challenge against Canada’s Clean Electricity Regulations. Furthermore, the federal government’s suggestion that the regulations will be ‘in abeyance’ until after all court cases have been finalized—a process that may take years—will create significant investment uncertainty. 

“Alberta policy changes have already undermined tens of billions in renewable energy investments in the province. Despite leading the country in wind, solar, and energy storage deployment early this decade, private investment in renewables has fallen by nearly 99% since 2023 due to changes introduced by Premier Smith’s government. 

“On the Clean Electricity Regulations, Alberta has agreed only to negotiate an equivalency agreement if courts uphold the policy’s constitutionality. If Alberta does not negotiate in good faith and the agreement has no teeth to prevent future debate, the result could be a provincial race to the bottom, leaving Canada’s vision of a competitive, unified electricity grid back where it started: fragmented and increasingly failing to realize its potential.

“And while the government’s press release and implementation agreement suggest that Alberta will make changes to its Restructured Energy Market to facilitate more investment in renewables, the MOU makes a far weaker commitment: that changes will only be considered if warranted.

“None of this adds up to meeting the vision laid out by the federal government only yesterday to double Canada’s relatively clean electricity grid as a way to electrify industry and Canadian homes: an essential play both for the future of our economy and household affordability.

“The agreement similarly falls short in delivering on effective industrial carbon pricing, which modelling by the Canadian Climate Institute found to be doing the most heavy lifting toward our climate targets. While changes to Canada’s industrial carbon pricing system were meant to strengthen the actual impact of the policy, if not the optics of it, the dials here are turned too low to result in the better outcome that was promised. 

“The agreement makes an attempt to ensure the real carbon price that companies pay comes closer to the so-called ‘headline price,’ and yes, setting a carbon price floor is a good idea, as is signing contracts for difference to ensure governments stick to their promises for an effective carbon price. But when it comes to the actual numbers needed to empower these changes, the agreement offers too little, too late. 

“An industrial carbon price serves as an incentive for companies to invest in cleaner methods of production. If increasing this price to meaningful levels is pushed down the road, then so will be any related investments. Industrial carbon pricing is tied to over 70 major projects worth more than $57 billion. And this does not just affect Alberta. By striking this deal with one province, the federal government has potentially opened the floodgates for a lowering of ambition across all provincial industrial carbon pricing systems, affecting the incentives for steel mills in Ontario, potash mines in Saskatchewan, and cement plants in B.C.

“Canada is falling out of step with key trading partners in the transition to a global clean energy economy. Whereas the agreement aims for an effective carbon price of $130 by 2040, the European Union carbon price is close to that amount already today. And while the agreement sets tightening rates of 2% or lower, the EU has set rates of over 4% every year. 

“The EU knows where it needs to go, launching a comprehensive set of new measures—including electricity tax cuts and investments in renewables—that cement clean energy as the path to energy security. EV sales are unsurprisingly skyrocketing globally, including here in Canada: March EV sales were up 75% year-over-year. 

“More than 40 countries are currently rationing energy, and it’s no wonder. As International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol put it, ‘the damage is done…. There will be a significant boost to renewables and nuclear power and a further shift towards a more electrified future,’ adding that ‘this will cut into the main markets for oil.’

“In other words, the same forces driving up oil prices today are destroying the fossil fuel demand of tomorrow. This government has suggested that it’s making certain short-term concessions while keeping its eye firmly on building for the future. But the reality is that, once again, Alberta is making promises while the federal government is making commitments. Canadians need policies that strike a better balance.”

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VANCOUVER — Joanna Kyriazis, director of policy and strategy at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to newly released federal vehicle sales data for March:

“We knew March would be an important month for EV sales: it was the first month that fully captured the return of the $5,000 federal EV rebate in February, and it was the month the war in Iran began driving up gas prices. 

“The anecdotal evidence that Canadians were increasingly looking to go electric was strong, but today’s numbers are unmistakable: Canada saw a 75% increase in EV sales in March compared to the same month last year.

“Regionally, this was a phenomenal 136% year-over-year increase in Quebec, a 53% increase in B.C. and the territories, and a 40% increase in Ontario.

“That amounts to 12.2% of new vehicle sales in Canada (compared to 6.5% last March), but provincial numbers tell another story. Roughly a quarter of British Columbians and those in the territories (23.5%) purchased an EV in March, 21.8% of Quebecers did likewise, while Canada’s largest province, Ontario, continues to catch up with EV sales at 8%.

“While price matters, clarity is similarly important. Last year’s EV rebate pause caused many would-be EV buyers to wait on the sidelines, artificially deflating normal EV demand. That is now being rectified.

“To build on this momentum, Canada must ensure that it’s not only providing consumers with rebates but also access to affordable models. The introduction of a limited number of Chinese EVs is already having an impact, with Tesla recently significantly dropping the price of its popular Model 3 after shifting production back to Shanghai. Hopefully, new models from Chinese companies will give Canadians even more budget-friendly options and, critically, keep other automakers on their toes. The forthcoming $35,000 import price quota for a sizable percentage of these vehicles can help realize this important goal.

“Likewise, ensuring Canada’s forthcoming tailpipe standards are designed to achieve roughly 75% EV sales by 2035 is the other, massive piece of this puzzle. Like improving competition, the regulation will compel automakers to meet the market with more affordable EVs.

“Affordable EVs exist, and Canadians are hungry for good options that make financial sense in the short term as well as the long term. Recent Clean Energy Canada analysis found that EVs still save typical drivers about $23,000 to $32,000 over 10 years of ownership. But not everyone can afford to save money a few years down the road. Upfront price matters, and where it works, Canadians are ready to hit the accelerator.

“The proof is in the numbers.”

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TORONTO — Evan Pivnick, associate director of public affairs at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to the release of Powering Canada Strong: A National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy: 

“Today’s strategy sends an important signal that electrification and growing our electricity system is the nation-building effort we need to enhance our country’s economic competitiveness and energy security in a rapidly changing world. But while the strategy highlights the strength of Canada’s existing and relatively clean and affordable electricity system, it overstates the role of natural gas and understates the long-term energy security and affordability benefits of clean energy.

“We are pleased to see Canada’s focus on doubling Canada’s electricity grids.  Electrification offers a transformative opportunity to improve the lives of Canadians: it underlies affordability, energy security, and competitiveness. As consultations proceed, it’s critical that Canada does not lock in its exposure to fossil fuels as the rest of the world takes fuller advantage of the affordability and energy security benefits of clean power.  

“Clean electricity accounts for the majority of new demand growth globally not because it’s clean, but because in most markets around the world, solar or wind represent the cheapest available source of new electricity generation. Renewables are set to meet about 95% of global electricity demand growth between 2025 and 2027. Backed by the rapidly falling price of batteries, these resources are able to meet an ever-increasing share of the growing demand for electricity. The government’s focus should be on maximizing the cheapest resources available.

“The strategy contains some strong signals regarding forthcoming initiatives for everyday Canadians. We welcome the commitment to introduce measures to retrofit and electrify one million Canadian homes. Clean Energy Canada analysis consistently finds that Canadian households across the country can save hundreds of dollars per month by switching to clean energy options, including  heat pumps. These measures must apply broadly across households and heating types to help more Canadians access cost savings and cooling in a warming world. Young families must also not be forgotten in policy design, which should be careful not to exclude them, for example by setting overly strict income or housing type requirements.

“We also welcome the government’s commitment to provide further financial support to help double Canada’s electricity grid by 2050 at the lowest cost to ratepayers. The inclusion of demand-side measures (also known as distributed energy resources) such as heat pumps and two-way EV chargers is critical. As our research shows, these technologies play an essential role in meeting growing power demand and lowering the costs of grid build-out by allowing the electricity we have to be managed smarter, especially during peak periods.

“Transmission is rightfully prioritized in the strategy, and we welcome the referral of a new Transmission InterConnect Investment Strategy to the Major Projects Office, alongside the extension of the Clean Electricity ITC to major high-voltage intra-provincial transmission ties, complementing existing support for provincial interties. The strategy also gets the details right about the role the federal government must play in supporting new interties between provinces.

“Doubling the size of Canada’s electricity system is also an economic opportunity in its own right. 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. 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.

“But the details will be important. The strategy includes a worrying focus on natural gas, including proposing major changes to the Clean Electricity Regulations. Natural gas has a specific short term role, but only after we’ve maximized clean power solutions. “Renewables offer greater security and lower cost and, when paired with batteries and transmission lines, can address many of our energy system needs. Natural gas prices are subject to continental and global price fluctuations.

“This strategy will work in tandem with the further details promised tomorrow on the government’s plan to strengthen carbon pricing and incentivize industry to electrify. We look forward to Budget 2026 announcements supporting this strategy.

“As Prime Minister Carney recently stated, ‘Canada has a clean energy advantage.’ Let’s make sure the implementation of this strategy adequately capitalizes on it.”

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TORONTO — Countries across Asia and Europe are accelerating their shift to clean energy—a transition hastened by the war in Iran. But with the Ottawa–Alberta memorandum of understanding on climate and energy policy more than a month overdue, Canada is risking locking in policy signals that leave it out of step with this rapidly restructuring global energy economy, warn Clean Energy Canada’s Rachel Doran and other climate and clean energy experts.

In a joint letter sent today, the leaders of the Pembina Institute, Clean Energy Canada, Climate Action Network, Environmental Defence, Equiterre, and International Institute for Sustainable Development urge Prime Minister Mark Carney to finalize key elements of the agreement, warning that failure to do so risks a “consequential miscalculation” that would place too great a focus on the oil and gas industry at the expense of clean growth sectors.

“While countries across Asia and Europe engage in short-term energy rationing and longer-term restructuring of their economies away from oil and gas dependence and towards domestically produced clean electricity, here in Canada, we are stuck in an unhelpful feedback loop of discourse about the need for more oil and gas infrastructure and the loosening of environmental regulations on multi-billion dollar oil and gas companies,” reads the letter.

“Nowhere is this more evident than in the delay to the promised resolution of the Alberta-federal MOU on energy and climate policies.”

The letter urges specific outcomes on four key aspects of the MOU: industrial carbon pricing, clean electricity development, and methane rules for oil and gas producers. It refers to these, and the MOU more broadly, as the prime minister’s “most consequential opportunity” to turn “words into action” on building a strong, future-proofed Canadian economy.

KEY FACTS ON THE IRAN WAR AND ENERGY TRANSITION 

• Several countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Australia, South Korea, Germany, and Malaysia, have reported spiking sales or signs of elevated consumer interest in EVs since the war began. The surge has been particularly marked in Asia, where consumers are most exposed to the current oil supply shock.
• 1.75 million electric vehicles were sold globally in March 2026, a 66% increase on the previous month.
• Energy rationing is underway across the world, with the International Energy Agency tracking more than 40 countries where governments are urging citizens to take steps to conserve energy, such as limiting use of air conditioning in tropical climates or minimizing daily commutes.
• There are signs of countries rethinking previously approved oil and gas projects in light of the crisis. For example, plans for the construction of Vietnam’s largest-ever LNG import project are on pause, with investors citing the Iran war’s impact on global LNG supplies as a reason to consider switching to a renewable energy project instead.

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One in five Canadians (21%) say that recent events—specifically, the return of the federal EV rebate and the war in Iran driving up gas prices—have made them more inclined to get an electric vehicle than previously.

That’s according to new Abacus Data polling commissioned by Clean Energy Energy in April, which finds that 52% of Canadians are open to an EV whether or not the rebate and recent gas prices have influenced their feelings.

Openness to getting an EV is particularly high among Canadians aged 18 to 29 (76%), British Columbians (62%), and those with household incomes over $100,000 (65%).

In B.C.—a province known for its high levels of EV adoption—nearly half of those open to buying an EV say recent events have increased their desire to go electric, suggesting 2026 may be a year in which the already-interested are activated to finally make their purchase.

Asked whether they were more inclined to buy an EV or a gas car as their next vehicle (as opposed to whether they were simply open to it), 45% of Canadians say they’re inclined toward an EV, the same as when we asked this question in 2025.

QUOTE

“Whether EV sales shift up or down, it’s easy to think a trend reflects changing levels of interest. In reality, it may have more to do with dollars and cents. When the EV rebate was paused, Canadians waited for it to return. Now that it’s back, they’re buying again. February saw a 47% year-over-year EV sales increase, capturing only 12 days of the rebate being back (it returned on February 16). A more competitive market with a diversity of affordable EV options will have the same effect. Put another way, we don’t need to convince Canadians to go electric so much as we need to make it easier for them. Do that and they’ll convince their neighbours to get an EV too—with a strong argument parked in the driveway.”

—Trevor Melanson, director of insights and communications, Clean Energy Canada

METHODOLOGY

The survey was conducted with 2,000 Canadians from April 16 to 22, 2026. A random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the PureSpectrum platform. These partners are typically double opt-in survey panels, blended to manage out potential skews in the data from a single source. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.19%, 19 times out of 20. The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.

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TORONTO — Rachel Doran, executive director at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to the Spring Economic Update:

“The Spring Economic Update puts a welcome focus on energy and affordability. If we want solutions that will last—industries we can build on and savings that won’t evaporate in a few months’ time—clean energy must remain central to both endeavours. 

“In his speech, the finance minister correctly highlighted Canada’s potential to be a clean energy superpower. But as Canada seeks to double its non-U.S exports, it’s vital that we take the world as it is. Fossil fuel price volatility is driving many of our trading partners to reduce oil and gas reliance and prioritize the electrification of their economies. Canada has everything it needs—from critical mineral resources, to skilled labour, to technology expertise—to be a necessary trading partner in an electrified world. But in order to achieve this vision, Canada must keep its clean economic potential at the forefront of planning. Canada’s recent auto strategy is a perfect example of how to do just that.

“The new Canada Strong Fund, which will ‘invest in key, strategic Canadian projects and companies, and help Canada stay competitive in a rapidly changing world,’ is the first place this clean energy focus should feature. Globally, clean energy investment continues to dominate energy investment, with two thirds of total global capital spent on energy in 2025 going into clean energy technologies and electricity infrastructure. The fund should prioritize projects and high-growth sectors poised to deliver reliable long-term returns—especially when everyday Canadians will be directly investing their savings into it.

“The new Team Canada Strong program is set to recruit, train, and hire 80,000 to 100,000 new Red Seal skilled trades workers by the end of the decade. It will set our workforce up well for a clean economy that will increasingly need these jobs: clean energy job growth ranges from 5% to 10% annually in every province as the world transitions to a net-zero 2050, according to Clean Energy Canada modelling.

“We also appreciate seeing a new $41.9 million in funding to enable innovative construction methods and modular housing, which has the potential to reduce embodied carbon while cutting costs.

“A central focus of the economic statement was the ongoing affordability crisis felt by so many Canadians. And while it reiterates recent measures that offer short-term relief, enabling the adoption of technologies that offer lasting, long-term savings is, in many cases, the real solution to the problem.

“The government’s much-touted Fuel Excise Tax, for instance, will save the average gas car driver roughly $77 by Labour Day. Meanwhile, the recently reintroduced EV rebate arrived with comparatively less fanfare but enables far greater potential savings: an EV driver could save up to $250 a month in fuel costs by going electric.

“Similarly, recent Clean Energy Canada analysis found that household electrification, including the use of heat pumps in many scenarios, can further cut energy bills for Canadians. So far, this government has yet to offer support for Canadians to electrify their homes, and we hope to see the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program launched in more provinces as well as broad-based support for Canadian households in the near future.”

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As a result, many Canadians will see the recently announced temporary suspension of the federal fuel tax on gas, diesel, and jet fuel as welcome relief. But even assuming retailers fully pass the tax savings on to drivers, that relief will be just as described: temporary. 

Keep reading this op-ed, co-authored by Sicellia Tsui, in Canada’s National Observer.

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TORONTO — As Ontario’s electricity demand is projected to grow significantly over the next two decades, non-wires solutions—a term that encompasses energy storage, demand response to alleviate peak loads, energy efficiency, and decentralized power generation—are emerging as a prudent way to defer and avoid costly grid upgrades. 

New analysis commissioned by Clean Energy Canada and conducted by The Brattle Group finds that distributors and system operators can achieve significant cost-savings when distributed energy resources (DERs) are leveraged to mitigate distribution system constraints. If this type of targeted DER deployment and control can be scaled across the province, it could reduce distribution capital expenditures by 5% to 11% over the next 20 years. 

DERs are technologies that can generate and store energy or control load: devices like controllable water heaters, battery storage, managed two-way EV charging, smart thermostats, and solar PV, all of which the Brattle study incorporated into its model. Critically, Brattle found that the cost of deploying more DERs—including offering incentives to consumers—would be less than the total benefit they would provide in terms of avoided generation, transmission, and distribution costs.

To its credit, the Ontario government, as well as the Independent Electricity System Operator and local distribution companies, already centre energy efficiency and demand management in their planning, such as through the province-wide Peak Perks program that rewards customers for allowing the grid operator to manage their smart thermostat during peak events. But this study outlines that there is even more DER potential on top of what is currently recognized—and a need to move faster.

Brattle’s analysis fills a gap with real-world data from the Essex Powerlines system in Southwestern Ontario, illustrating that portfolios of DERs can be orchestrated to manage local distribution system load and cost-effectively defer infrastructure upgrades in many different scenarios, with deferral periods ranging from 3.5 to 8 years. 

Finding ways to account for and compensate these contributions will be essential to unlocking and incentivizing more use-cases for DERs. Achieving these results also depends on acquiring the capability to manage DERs either through distributed energy resource management solutions or aggregator participation. 

Overall, as the province’s electricity demand continues to grow while utilities look for ways to lower costs, deploying DERs as non-wires solutions presents a compelling alternative to the traditional investment model. Not only can this approach create significant savings for the system—and help to keep bills in check for customers—but DERs can also provide benefits like improved home comfort, lower emissions, and better resilience for communities and households.

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As the war in Iran rages on, gas prices are skyrocketing: drivers are now paying roughly $20 to $25 more each time they fill up their tanks. I, on the other hand, am saving $500 a month—and that’s because, for the last three years, I’ve been driving an electric vehicle. In B.C., where I live and where gas prices recently rose above $2 per litre, these savings are becoming harder to resist. Just recently, a friend’s boss ordered a new electric SUV; they said they’re simply over the volatile gas prices, especially since electricity is so much cheaper here. Indeed, for many drivers, today’s egregious gas prices may be the final push that tips them toward an EV. 

There are already signs of this happening. While we won’t know exactly how much EV sales have grown until first-quarter data is released, online searches for EVs have ballooned. According to Rates.ca, insurance quotes for EVs rose 40 per cent in March, compared to the same time last year, while online vehicle retailer Clutch reported a 94 per cent jump in searches for EVs between January and March. Meanwhile, the president of Electric Mobility Canada said some car dealers have seen a 30 to 100 per cent leap in EV sales.

Keep reading this op-ed in Maclean’s.

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