Energy

Nine charges against Imperial Oil were laid Friday over a toxic spill in northern Alberta by the province’s energy regulator.

Increasing the flow of oil and gas to the United States to help avoid Trump's threat of 25 per cent tariffs is a key plank of Canada's diplomatic maneuvering, but it reveals a longstanding problem for the Canadian economy: we're severely vulnerable to an unpredictable neighbour.

Ontario is planning to cement itself as the nuclear powerhouse of North America with what could become Canada’s first 21st-century megaproject. The government announced its preliminary plan on Wednesday for the large-scale nuclear power plant near Port Hope.

The federal Conservative leader's speech to a packed B.C. audience didn't address how he’d tackle incoming U.S. president Donald Trump’s promise to impose a potentially devastating 25-per-cent tariff on Canadian goods.

Pension funds are gambling with Canadians’ retirement savings by placing multi-billion dollar bets on hydrogen's ability to rescue old, polluting gas pipelines from terminal decline, according to a climate finance advocacy organization.

The new Community Transformations Project has pinpointed the Canadian communities and workforces most vulnerable to disruption with the global transition to a net zero economy.

Energy experts and advocates are welcoming the Ford government’s huge new energy efficiency initiative but question its partnership with Enbridge Gas, warning the initiative may contain measures to keep Ontarians on fossil fuels. A key part of the program funds the switch to heat pumps, which can save energy costs. But the program doesn’t specify which kind — and some, known as hybrid heat pumps, rely on gas to boost their power.

According to a global think tank, the business case for the Pathways Alliance's flagship carbon capture project is going up in a cloud of smoke, renewing questions of the wisdom of putting taxpayer dollars on the line for it.

Canada’s largest energy efficiency initiative was announced by Ontario, where a $10.9-billion investment will help families and businesses lower costs by retrofitting their homes. The Ontario government’s new Home Renovation Savings Program will offer rebates of up to 30 per cent for energy efficiency upgrades, including windows, doors, insulation, heat pumps, smart thermostats, rooftop solar panels and battery storage. Money for the retrofits will be rolled out over the next 12 years.

New rules to transition Canada's power grids to be clean by 2035 have been significantly watered down, allowing fossil fuels to stay on the grid for decades to come thanks to freshly introduced loopholes — a trade off for reliability feds say.

The government of Ontario is increasing energy procurement targets by 50 per cent, the province’s largest ever energy procurement expansion. The push is critical to keep up with the soaring demand for electricity.

The federal government is allocating over a billion dollars to help Saskatchewan and New Brunswick clean up their electricity production. A key priority for the money will be Indigenous-led initiatives that help provinces transition away from using fossil fuels.

More than half of Toronto’s electricity needs could be met with solar power generated from rooftops and parking lots, according to a new report by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. The report by the clean energy advocacy group estimates the city could produce up to 12 terawatt-hours (TWh) of clean energy annually if its solar capacity is fully realized.

Ontario insists it still needs gas-fired electricity as part of its future mix, despite incoming federal regulations to get Canada’s electricity grid to net-zero emissions by 2035. But some municipalities are refusing to take on additional gas generation because of concerns about climate change and health.

So far this year the Canada Pension Plan has pumped over $3 billion into fossil fuels, despite pledging to reach net-zero emissions. The risks to the economy and planet are growing, and advocates say the pension fund must transition out of coal, oil and gas before it's too late.