Our planet and communities can’t afford new pipelines. We are facing multiple crises: threats from the US, a raging climate emergency, and a worsening cost-of-living crisis. In response, we call on you to deliver an East-West Grid that provides affordable, reliable, renewable electricity to people from coast to coast to coast. 

An East-West Grid would help decolonize and democratize our energy systems while employing hundreds of thousands of workers. With an East-West grid, we can meet our ballooning electricity needs and prioritize interprovincial and territorial connections over historically prioritized connections to the US. 

We demand a federal investment of $30 billion total, over 5 years, to fund critical transmission linkages between the provinces and territories in a way that aligns with climate science, prioritizes public ownership, and upholds Indigenous rights. 

• Align with climate science: We reject the idea that toxic pipelines or unproven carbon capture technology have a place in our energy future. A People’s Power Grid would provide jobs, increase affordability, and guarantee energy security far more than a toxic pipeline that locks us to a dying industry and exacerbates the climate emergency. Better interprovincial/territorial transmission would enable the expansion of renewable energy at the scale science demands to reduce our carbon emissions! We are calling for a grid powered by renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, and an end to the fossil fuel era.
  
  
• Prioritize public ownership not corporate profiteering: The new transmission infrastructure should prioritize getting reliable, affordable energy to the public, and should be led by democratic control rather than corporate power. Corporate ownership comes with price-gouging and corner-cutting to maximize shareholder profits. We are calling for a publicly-owned grid – through community or Indigenous ownership, municipal ownership, existing public utilities, or a new public entity – that offers good, unionized construction jobs and prioritizes the public interest.

• Uphold Indigenous leadership: Though it doesn’t carry the risks of a mine or a pipeline, the construction of transmission lines, like any infrastructure project, must only proceed with the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent of local Indigenous nations and communities. A People’s Power Grid is a pathway to decolonize and democratize energy systems by creating opportunities to include Indigenous leadership in: utilities regulation, infrastructure ownership, partnerships, and policy development processes. Indigenous communities are leading the way in the renewable energy transition, and we are calling for a grid that centers Indigenous partnerships and co-ownership in all stages of projects.

We urge you to prioritize a People’s Power Grid that fits this criteria in the upcoming federal budget.

Sources: 

Green Budget Coalition Costing Projections

Green Economy Costing Projections