TORONTO — As members of the One Clean Economy Task Force, Clean Energy Canada, the Canada Cleantech Alliance, the Battery Metals Association of Canada, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, Electric Mobility Canada, and Electricity Human Resources Canada made the following statement:
Tuesday’s federal budget took a number of important steps to position Canada as a clean energy superpower and to help Canada—led by its clean industries—remain competitive both in the face of today’s tariff and trade shocks and in the long term, ensuring we are at the forefront of the global energy transition and ready to reap the economic benefits.
On Monday, the One Canadian Clean Economy Task Force released Our North Star Action Plan, outlining 30 key actions that governments could take to streamline, connect, and invest in Canada. To that end, we were pleased to see several budget items aligned with these priorities, including:
- The continuation of key investment tax credits and a clear signal that others, like the Clean Electricity Tax Credit, would be finalized in the short term;
- The maintenance of and commitment to strengthen Canada’s industrial pricing regime;
- Initial efforts to expand Canada’s toolkit for making investments in the clean economy;
- A commitment to reduce emissions in building construction; and
- Direct support for critical minerals and other key clean economy inputs.
However, the work to unlock the potential of Canada’s clean economy doesn’t stop here.
While the budget contained some commitments to support Indigenous equity participation and consultation—such as the announcement of additional funds for Northern projects and an expanded scope for the Indigenous Loan Guarantee program—more is needed to ensure Indigenous nations are equipped for partnership in Canada’s economic future. This includes creating additional opportunities for Indigenous support, ownership, and economic participation.
We look forward to working with the government to help ensure that new investments and procurements can unlock demand for Canada’s clean products, that the clean economy continues to be emphasized in nation-building efforts, and that the clean electricity grid that will underpin future clean investments is made even more of a focus at all levels of government.
Because if Canada is to build a stronger nation, a clean economy must be at the centre of it.
Selected Task Force Member quotes:
“The Climate Competitiveness Strategy outlined in tuesday’s budget is an important step for keeping Canada a top-tier place to invest in renewable energy and energy storage. Building clean competitiveness means ensuring Canadian companies have access to the low-cost and low-carbon power they need to make investments.” —Vittoria Bellissimo, President and CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA)
“Tax measures and other support for critical minerals and clean technologies, as well as regulatory certainty for clean energy projects, are vital steps for attracting investment and building out Canada’s EV supply chain. We look forward to working with the federal government on how a vibrant EV industry—a critical and growing sector for Canada’s economy, set to support over 600,000 jobs by 2035—fits into Canada’s new industrial strategy.” —Daniel Breton, President and CEO, Electric Mobility Canada
“Tuesday’s budget offered a series of updated investments in worker training—especially youth and apprentices at this pivotal time. As the details of these new funds emerge, we must specifically focus on clean economic sectors that are ready for the growth of one Canadian economy. Existing labour shortages in key occupations are already hurdles to speeding up clean energy projects across the country. Addressing these sectors and their workers should continue to be a priority.” —Mark Chapeskie, Vice President of Programs, Electricity Human Resources Canada
“The federal government’s budget sends a clear signal that critical minerals are at the centre of positioning Canada as a clean energy superpower. There are a variety of measures that will enhance the competitiveness of and accelerate investments in critical minerals. We look forward to working with the government to build the supporting infrastructure and facilitate the workforce development required to ensure Canadian critical minerals can be connected to both Canadian supply chains and our efforts to diversify our trading partnerships.” —Sean Devries, Battery Metals Association of Canada
“The budget made important progress on providing greater investment certainty and offering new tools to support more direct investment into the clean economy—from updating Canada’s suite of clean economy investment tax credits to progress on sustainable finance, attracting venture capital and R&D spending. We welcome these new and reinforced tools to scale up Canadian clean tech and support homegrown innovation. We look forward to working with the government to ensure these tools can crowd in the scale of private capital Canada needs to build a thriving clean economy.” —Lynn Côté, Executive Director, Canada Cleantech Alliance
“This budget importantly recognizes the importance of low-carbon industries and the clean economy to drive Canada’s economic future. The climate competitiveness strategy rightly focuses on offering regulatory certainty, crowding in private capital, and incentivizing clean technologies, alongside a key promise to develop new metrics to track success. Getting implementation right will be critical, and we look forward to working with the Government of Canada to help ensure we continue to streamline, connect and invest in Canada in a way that will set us up to build the future economy we need to succeed.” —Rachel Doran, Executive Director, Clean Energy Canada
RESOURCES
Report | One Canadian Clean Economy Task Force: Our North Star Action Plan
The One Canadian Clean Economy Task Force members
- Vittoria Bellissimo, President and CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association
- Daniel Breton, President and CEO, Electric Mobility Canada
- Mark Chapeskie, Vice President of Programs, Electricity Human Resources Canada
- Lynn Côté, Executive Director, Canada Cleantech Alliance
- Sean DeVries, Executive Director, Battery Metals Association of Canada
- Corey Diamond, Executive Director, Efficiency Canada
- Rachel Doran, Executive Director, Clean Energy Canada
- Peter McArthur, Board Chair, Canada Cleantech Alliance
- Mahima Sharma, Vice President, Innovation, Environment, and Climate Policy, Forest Products Association of Canada
Observer
- Suzanne von der Porten, Vice President of Clean Energy Strategy, First Nations Major Projects Coalition
Special Advisor
- Ryan Manucha, Research Fellow, C.D. Howe Institute, and leading expert on interprovincial trade
About the One Canadian Clean Economy Task Force
The One Canadian Clean Economy Task Force brings together leaders from industries that make up Canada’s clean economy. We represent the critical minerals, battery, clean transportation, clean buildings, energy efficiency, forest products, clean electricity, and clean technology sectors.
We came together to help chart a path for unlocking the full potential of Canada’s clean economy. The task force puts forward actionable solutions to support the construction of clean nation-building projects and enabling infrastructure, along with efforts to bolster trade opportunities and investments in these high-growth sectors.
