Canada’s electricity grid is a major economic advantage, but with demand projected to double in the coming decades, are we scaling fast enough to keep it? 

Minister Timothy Hodgson recently pointed to a simple test for Canada’s economy: whether we can deliver a coherent electricity and nuclear energy strategy that underpins growth with affordable, reliable power.  

It’s clear that the forthcoming Federal Electricity Strategy is more than a policy exercise—it is the economic blueprint for how Canada connects, powers, and grows. As the International Energy Agency has noted, the global economy has entered the Age of Electricity. 

Across New Economy Canada’s alliance, we see both sides of the equation: companies investing in clean power, storage, transmission, and their supply chains, and industries—from manufacturing and critical minerals to construction and data centres—that are ready to expand if the electricity is there to support them.  

Canada has the resources, know-how and ambition to power our economic future. Now we just need a plan.  

A national goal: the “double-double-double”  

Canada should set three simple, ambitious targets at the heart of its electricity strategy: double electricity supply, double the role of electricity in meeting our energy needs, and double our energy productivity. 

This “double-double-double” is not just an energy framework—it is a competitiveness strategy. 

Doubling supply ensures Canada can confidently meet rising demand and attract investment. Doubling electrification helps manage costs by reducing exposure to volatile global markets and increasing efficiency. And doubling energy productivity—producing more economic output with less energy—defines what modern, efficient growth looks like. 

Taken together, it is a path to a stronger Canada: more resilient to global shocks, more productive at home, and better positioned to attract investment and compete in a rapidly electrifying global economy.  

It also has direct implications for national priorities. As Canada looks to strengthen defence capacity and industrial resilience, those investments will depend on abundant, affordable, and reliable clean electricity—including expanded transmission, storage, and energy systems that reach northern and remote communities. Energy security, economic security, and national security are converging on the same foundation. 

What it will take to deliver on Canada’s clean energy superpower ambitions 

1. Scale 
Working together, the federal and provincial governments need a clear commitment and plan to doubling electricity supply—rapidly. That means accelerating the build-out of generation and storage,applying innovative technology to modernize grids, and overcoming barriers to interprovincial transmission to connect what is still a fragmented system.  

2. Future-ready system design 
A net-zero electricity system by 2050 is not just a climate objective—it is how Canada maintains cost stability and reliability in a world where clean electricity is increasingly the lower-cost option and low-carbon exports gain preferential market access.  

3. Execution capacity 
Targets alone are not enough. Canada needs to align industrial and fiscal policy, supply chains, workforce development and capital to get major projects built faster. That means long-term regulatory certainty, modernized procurement, and a clear path for nation-building transmission and clean electricity projects. 

The opportunity ahead 

With the Prime Minister convening global investors at the Investment Summit this September, Canada has a narrow window to show that it is serious, not just about targets, but about building. Securing investment in clean electricity must go hand in hand with attracting investments in the industries that depend on that power.  

Investors are looking for clarity on where capital can flow, how quickly projects can move and whether Canada can execute at the scale it’s signaling.  

The Federal Electricity Strategy is an opportunity to answer those questions decisively. 

With a clear goal and a credible execution plan, it can do more than modernize the grid. It can ignite a level of investment and growth we’ve haven’t seen in over 50 years.  

Evaluating whether we’ve done enough will be fairly straightforward and measurable. Are we meaningfully expanding supply? Electrifying the economy? Getting more out of the energy we use? 

If the answers are yes, Canada won’t just be talking about our advantages in a year’s time—we will be actively building a more connected, more competitive economy, ready to lead in a rapidly electrifying world.