Canada to double electricity generation in next 2 decades: Carney

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that Canada plans to double its electricity generation over the next two decades to meet rising demand and strengthen the country’s energy resilience.

“Electricity demand in Canada is expected to double by 2050, so we will double our grid,” Carney said during a news conference in Ottawa.

“Canada will double its electricity generation over the course of the next two decades, because the path to affordability is electrification,” he added.

Carney said electrification would play a central role in Canada’s economic and environmental strategy.

“The path to competitiveness is electrification,” he said, arguing that “electrification underpins everything, our emissions, our environment, our economy, our evolution.”

Referring to unstable trade relations with the US, Carney said ongoing wars and tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East are “pushing up energy prices across the world, including in Canada.”

Facing what he described as “huge energy demand,” Carney stressed “it's essential and crucial that Canada develop its own resiliency and make its own contribution.”

He also said Canada should unlock its “full potential as an energy superpower,” citing recent remarks by International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol, who said “Canada has a golden opportunity to build a more sustainable and reliable energy system.”

“In a rapidly changing world, Canada must become the source of our own affordable, clean, reliable power. Because when we master energy, we master our destiny,” Carney said.

Asked about the possibility of Alberta separating from Canada and holding a referendum on the issue, Carney said: “As someone who was raised in Alberta, proud Albertan, I view that very much the best place for Alberta is in Canada, and certainly a Canada that works, which is what we're pursuing.”

“If it's a referendum on separation in any province, it has to be consistent with the clarity act,” he said, while also calling for respect for individual freedoms, privacy, and Indigenous rights.

Alberta has seen renewed separatist sentiment in recent years, driven largely by frustration over federal energy and environmental policies. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has also introduced legislation that could make it easier to trigger a provincial referendum.