Canada’s government is looking inward to secure long-term energy, launching on Aug. 17 an estimated $7.2 billion federal investment in a slate of clean electricity generation and transmission projects in Newfound and Labrador while boosting Alberta’s oil production.
Valued at nearly $50 billion and described by Prime Minister Mark Carney as the largest clean energy investment in North American history, the program builds on a 2024 agreement between utilities Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and Hydro Québec to increase the region’s hydroelectric generation capacity.
Projects include expanding the 55-year-old Churchill Falls Generating Station, which produces more than 5.4 GW of electricity using a 90-dyke reservoir system to power 11 underground turbines. The upgrade plan would progressively install more efficient units, increasing capacity by 2.5 GW. Work is also progressing on the long-planned 2.7GW Gull Island hydroelectric facility on the Churchill River, about 225km away, which is scheduled to come online in the mid-2030s. Stantec and WSP Global have carried out geotechnical and environmental studies for the projects, which are likely to be built by the companies’ in-house units.
Combined with the construction of about 660 km of new high-voltage lines and power infrastructure, plus 2 GW of onshore wind capacity in Labrador, the expansion could provide 14 GW of renewable energy to support regional growth, according to a government statement. Some new power could also be delivered to businesses in the US Northeast via existing transmission. The US imported about 59 terawatt-hours of electricity a year from Canada between 2010 and 2024.
The projects advance Canada’s recently announced national strategy to double energy supply by 2050 to meet growing demand and accelerate electrification to attract investment in high-growth, energy-intensive sectors such as data centres, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing. It would also spur economy-wide emissions cuts, Carney said. “Canada is expanding its unique advantage in clean, reliable and affordable power,” he said. “When we master energy, we master our destiny.”
But rising trade tensions between the US and Canada may affect plans for an integrated US supply chain for lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and energy storage systems, market experts said. an Aug. 27 webinar co-hosted by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Energy Storage Canada, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Canada announced tariffs of 15% to 50% targeting about $20 billion in US imports, effective September 8. These follow the Trump administration imposing 50% tariffs on a range of Canadian imports on August 22 in response to failed trade talks.
Looking for quick answers on construction and engineering topics?
Try Ask ENR, our new intelligent AI search tool.
Ask ENR →
“We are at a low point of trust between us,” said Robert Tremblay, the Canadian group’s director of western policy, fearing rising material prices and hindering cross-border business. “This will be … a barrier to building an American supply chain.”
According to the market researcher, trade hostilities have led Canada to deepen its ties with China in various clean energy technologies. TThe Asian country accounted for nearly 64% of US imports of lithium-ion batteries in the first half of 2026, S&P Global Market Intelligence says.
1.4 billion dollars
Investment in the US electric grid through 2030, based on capital spending plans of 51 investor-owned utilities, with data centers cited as a key driver
Source: Nonprofit PowerLines analysis
But oil remains part of Canada’s long-term energy mix. A consortium led by Aecon Group announced on July 2 a $1.2 billion EPC contract to build the first phase of the Greenlight Electricity Centre, a $3.2 billion combined cycle power project in Alberta that will be one of its largest new sources of dispatchable generation. To increase oil sands production in the region, Carney in June announced support for a 1 million barrel per day pipeline to deliver production to the Pacific coast. Alberta officials already announced plans to partner with Trans Mountain Corp. and Pembina Pipeline to move it forward, with possible construction in the fall of 2027, pending approvals from federal and indigenous groups.
Trans Mountain, which says its existing 1,492 km oil pipeline has been operating at a capacity of 890,000 bpd through most of 2026, has proposed a $2.9 billion project to add about 360,000 bpd through new and expanded pump stations and a 30 km addition.
In exchange for federal support for the West Coast pipeline, Alberta and producers would advance a 650 km carbon capture and storage network that, under construction, aims to capture up to 16 million metric tons of emissions from at least 20 tar sands sites for storage in deep underground formations. The cost of the project has nearly doubled from the $11.5 billion originally estimated, but producers could get 50 percent federal tax credits to build it. They plan to make a final investment decision in early 2028.
