Growing Canada’s clean electricity advantage means investing in our energy security.
By Vittoria Bellissimo, President and CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association
In 2025, global capital flows to the energy sector are set to rise to USD 3.3 trillion, a two percent rise in real terms compared to 2024.
Of that amount, around USD 2.2 trillion is going to renewables, energy storage, electrical grids, electrification and other clean energy technologies. [Source: IEA’s World Energy Investment]
Canada can also expect, and will require, significantly increased investment in wind energy, solar energy and energy storage, as electricity demand grows from coast to coast to coast.
Demand in the Age of Electricity
As the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated in its 2024 World Energy Outlook, we have now entered the Age of Electricity. In Canada, and all around the world, we can expect electricity demand to grow quickly as we digitize and electrify our economies.
Ontario, for example, is expecting to see 75% growth in electricity demand by 2050.
For the new federal government to achieve its goal of building the strongest economy in the G7, we must build out every part of the electricity system—generation, storage, transmission, distribution, smart energy management—and do so in advance, before we fall short of the electricity we need. Canada’s clean electricity advantage will be our energy security.
How will we get there? Largely by building new clean energy projects, like wind, solar and energy storage. These technologies are not only clean, but low-cost, reliable, flexible and scalable solutions for Canada’s urgent and long-term needs.
Canada is open for business
Another key driver of the big build will be Canada’s Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits (ITCs), which will help increase the pace of the clean investment we need in Canada.
We’ve already started building. More than 18 GW of upcoming procurements are currently either underway, being procured or being planned. This represents about $34B in investment. CanREA is tracking Canada’s electricity procurements in this procurement calendar.
Indigenous equity is propelling growth
In Canada, Indigenous equity partners can and do directly contribute to the success of renewable energy and energy storage projects.
Take, for example, the Oneida Energy Storage Project, a 250 MW / 1,000 MWh battery energy storage project in Haldimand County, Ontario, which achieved commercial operation on May 7, 2025. This project’s majority owner is CanREA Industry Leader member Northland Power Inc., who shares ownership with an Indigenous equity partner, CanREA Megawatt member Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation.
Or consider the recent 2024 B.C. Call for Power, which resulted in ten new renewable-energy projects, each with First Nations asset ownership between 49 and 51 percent.
These are but two examples of many, with more to come.
We have a long way to go on Canada’s national journey of Reconciliation, but in the clean electricity sector, we are getting started on economic reconciliation.
The federal government’s recent announcement expanding the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program from $5B to $10B is another step in the right direction.
Join CanREA at Clean Power Finance Canada
Is it all tailwinds with no headwinds? Of course not. We are seeing risks to project development in Canada, including supply chain disruptions, policy and regulatory barriers, misinformation and more.
As an industry, we’re tackling these challenges. We all benefit when we work together on solutions. And a great place to do that is at Canada’s only national conference dedicated to clean energy finance.
Happening on June 25, 2025, in Toronto, the second annual Clean Power Finance Canada—CanREA Summit makes the case for investment in Canadian clean power projects.
Presented by CIBC, Clean Power Finance Canada brings together the finance world (including bankers, lenders, investors, finance professionals, tax experts and insurers) andthe clean energy sector (including project developers, asset owners and managers), to learn from one another about project financing and clean power markets.
This year’s speakers will provide insights into revenue streams and risks for clean energy projects, up-to-date information on policy directions and regulatory hurdles, updates on the new federal ITCs and financing opportunities for Indigenous clean energy projects, and much more.
I hope you’ll join me in Toronto! Bring your questions and ideas for a full day of learning, followed by the CanREA Connects—Ontario, our popular annual Summer Solstice networking reception.
Pro tip: Last year’s Summit sold out, so be sure to register in advance.