Jurisdictional disputes have flared up between the federal government and the Alberta and Saskatchewan provincial governments amid Ottawa’s push to bring in net-zero emissions electricity regulations by 2035.
The feds say the regulations are needed for Canada to meet its
Paris Agreement target to reduce emissions by 40–45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and to reach
net zero by 2050. The premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan, however, are concerned about phasing out natural gas from their grids, citing energy security concerns, while accusing Ottawa of jurisdictional infringement.
Feds’ Proposal
Announced on Aug. 10, the proposed
Clean Electricity Regulations (CER) aim to achieve net-zero emissions by “electrifying” more parts of the economy that rely on fossil fuels, such as transportation, home and water heating, and industrial activities. The provinces and territories have 75 days to comment on the draft proposal.
“By fully decarbonizing our electricity grids by 2035, we are enabling the rest of the economy to electrify by 2050,” wrote Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in the foreword of the “
Powering Canada Forward” report, published on the same day.
The report said the regulations would allow some flexibility for natural gas power plants to provide “continued access to affordable and reliable power” under certain conditions “during emergencies and to back up variable electricity.”
If the proposed regulations are approved, this means that, with few exceptions, by Jan. 1, 2035, plants that use any amount of fossil fuels to generate electricity will no longer be allowed to emit
more than 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide per gigawatt hour (30 t/GWh) annually unless there are emergency circumstances deemed as “extraordinary, unforeseen, and irresistible” by the environment minister at the time.
Specifically, plants that combust coal or petroleum coke and plants that were commissioned on or after Jan. 1, 2025, must meet that 30 t/GWh standard by Jan. 1, 2035. Plants commissioned before Jan. 1, 2025, must meet that standard either 20 years after their commissioning date or by Jan. 1, 2035, whichever is later.
The draft says the phased-in approach would give existing units time to comply, noting that carbon capture and storage (CCS) experts and vendors “have confirmed” that natural gas plants with CSS should be able to achieve a 95 percent capture rate by 2035 in order to limit their emissions intensity and meet the standard.
Opposition by AB and SK
The federal government says Canada’s electricity grid is “already
one of the cleanest in the world” in that over
84 percent of the country’s electricity is generated from non-emitting sources such as hydroelectricity, solar, wind, and nuclear. But it hasn’t acknowledged that each province has a different power generation mix unique to its particular situation.
Alberta and Saskatchewan depend largely on fossil fuels to generate their electricity. About 90 percent of
Alberta’s electricity is produced from coal and coke (36 percent) and natural gas (54 percent), while only 10 percent is produced from renewables, such as wind, hydro, and biomass. The same goes for
Saskatchewan, where 81 percent of the province’s electricity is produced from natural gas (40 percent) and coal and coke (41 percent). The remaining 19 percent is produced mainly from hydroelectricity (15 percent).
Commenting on Ottawa’s claim that natural gas power plants can be used as backup during periods that there are no wind and sunlight, Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said it won’t be feasible for gas plants to stay in business only to operate during emergency times.
“These are massive commercial operations. They needed to be viable and available when needed most,” she
said at a press conference on Aug. 10.
Alberta Premier Danielle says her province is committed to reaching the 2050 net-zero emissions target, but she maintains the province will not jeopardize its power grid by trying to reach the 2035 federal goal.
At a press conference on Aug. 14, Ms. Smith
said if the CER is implemented, there will be “massive immediate increases to power bills” for families and businesses in the province.
“Ottawa’s strategy seems to be to placate the environmental extremists, while throwing regular Canadians under the bus,” she said.
The drive to increase renewable energy sources on Alberta’s electrical grid also brings reliability concerns as a lack of conventional generation means there’s less rotating inertia to help mitigate potential disturbances in the grid. As
explained by the Alberta Electric System Operator, compensating for this lack of inertia will require the addition of compensating equipment. This will drive up rate-payer costs and cause additional operational complexities.
Ms. Smith’s concerns have been echoed by Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, who said on Aug. 10 that the proposed targets “are simply not achievable” in his province.
“Trudeau’s net-zero electricity regulations are unaffordable, unrealistic and unconstitutional. They will drive electricity rates through the roof and leave Saskatchewan with an unreliable power supply,”
Mr. Moe said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Both premiers have backed each other in standing against
Ottawa’s threat to withhold tax credits and programs from provinces that will not meet the target of a net-zero electricity grid by 2035.
The federal government
insists that its proposed regulations are necessary and achievable.
“They offer provinces and territories flexibility and a technology-neutral approach to decide which technological solutions work best for them, so that Canadians can count on affordable, reliable electricity,” Environment and Climate Change Canada says in a
statement.
“The federal government will continue to engage with provinces, territories, Indigenous organizations, utilities, industry, and experts in the spirit of getting this right.”
Jurisdictional Battle
After Mr. Guilbeault announced the CER on Aug. 10, the
Alberta and
Saskatchewan premiers said the federal regulations are unconstitutional.
Mr. Moe noted that Mr. Guilbeault’s draft proposal didn’t take into consideration that “electricity generation is a constitutionally-protected provincial responsibility.”
In a
recent interview with The Epoch Times, Premier Smith said she would use Alberta’s Sovereignty Act if Ottawa proceeds with emissions caps that “amount to a production cap” or that impact her province.
Mr. Guilbeault told
CBC’s Power and Politics program on Aug. 10 that the federal government is not interfering in provincial electricity issues, but rather imposing pollution limits, which he says is under federal jurisdiction.
“We’re not telling provinces how to develop their electricity production in the coming years. We’re saying that from a pollution perspective, certain standards have to be met,” he said.
He said that the government has “very solid constitutional grounds” to go up against Alberta if it launches a court challenge—which Premier Smith has said she’s prepared to do. He cited the case when provinces took the feds to the Supreme Court of Canada over disagreement with the imposition of carbon tax.
“The federal government won and the Supreme Court was very clear that the federal government, when it comes to climate change and climate pollution, has constitutional rights to intervene, and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Mr. Guilbeault said.
Doug Lett and Marnie Cathcart contributed to this report.
