Canada’s Clean Energy Opportunity: Powering Shared Prosperity

On January 26, the world marks the International Day of Clean Energy, a United Nations observance that reflects a simple truth: clean energy is no longer optional. It is foundational to the new economy. The transition is underway, investment is moving, and the countries that act decisively will secure the jobs, infrastructure, and competitiveness that come with leading in this space.

Canada is well-positioned to lead. We have abundant renewable resources, deep technical expertise, and a strong base of public and private investment. But leadership will depend on whether we can build faster, plan smarter, and do so collaboratively in a way that strengthens communities and supports shared prosperity.

Indigenous Leadership in British Columbia

That is where British Columbia offers an important lesson. Here, First Nations are not waiting on the sidelines of the clean energy transition. They are leading it. Across the province, Nations have helped shape a model of clean energy development grounded in partnership and equity ownership. This leadership is influencing conversations across Canada and beyond, including in places like Australia, where Indigenous communities are advancing similar approaches rooted in rights and economic self-determination.

This leadership matters because the clean energy transition is not only about technology. It is about partnership and trust. Canada’s energy future will be built on Indigenous lands. That reality is not a barrier to progress. It is a reminder that the old approach, where major infrastructure decisions are made before engaging with First Nations, is no longer viable. If Canada wants to build clean energy infrastructure at the scale and pace required to meet rising demand, particularly large-scale renewable generation and transmission, projects must be developed differently from the outset.

Transmission as a Test Case for Partnership

Nowhere is this clearer than in transmission infrastructure. New transmission lines are essential to unlocking renewable generation, strengthening grid reliability, and keeping electricity affordable as demand grows from electrification, industrial expansion, and population growth. Federal and provincial governments have emphasized the importance of stronger east-west electricity connections to improve energy security and economic resilience. Delivering this vision will depend on early, meaningful, and continuous Indigenous engagement and, increasingly, Indigenous ownership, to ensure transmission projects are viable, financeable, and built to last.

British Columbia has taken meaningful steps in that direction through the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which commits the province to aligning laws and decision-making processes with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The work of implementation continues, but the direction is clear:Indigenous governments must be treated as true partners in how projects are developed and how benefits are shared.

Why Indigenous Ownership Strengthens Projects

In the clean energy sector, the strength of Indigenous partnerships is increasingly one of the strongest predictors of project success, particularly for large-scale renewable generation and transmission. When Nations are involved early and hold real equity and decision-making roles, projects are more successful.

They are built with stronger local legitimacy. They create long-term revenue streams that can support housing, education, language and cultural revitalization, and community wellbeing, not only for Indigenous communities but for the surrounding local regions. They also provide greater certainty for local and global proponents and investors because they are rooted in long-term relationships rather than short-term arrangements. Indigenous-led and Indigenous-owned clean energy is one of the most practical and investable ways to build Canada’s electricity system.

Policy Certainty and Regulatory Evolution

For policymakers, the first priority must be long-term certainty. Clean energy projects cannot be built in an environment where procurement cycles are inconsistent or lack a predictable long-term cadence. Governments and utilities need clear, recurring procurement schedules that allow Nations and developers to plan years in advance. At the same time, permitting and regulatory processes must continue evolving in ways that support timely decisions while remaining rights-affirming.

British Columbia and other jurisdictions have already begun this work, and the path forward should be shaped through co-developed approaches that respect Indigenous laws, governance, and decision-making, and that strengthen rather than sidestep meaningful partnership.

Financing Indigenous Equity at Scale

A credible clean electricity strategy also requires governments to treat Indigenous equity as core to electricity policy and infrastructure development. Indigenous ownership strengthens projects and creates lasting benefits, yet many Nations still face barriers to accessing affordable capital. Federal and provincial governments have significant opportunities to expand and strengthen Indigenous equity financing tools, including loan guarantees and co-developed investment mechanisms that reflect Indigenous priorities. These are practical tools that can unlock projects and create long-term prosperity at scale.

For financiers, the transition will depend on whether capital markets keep pace with the models already emerging on the ground. Indigenous ownership is one of the most durable forms of project stability Canada has. Banks, pension funds, and institutional investors should create dedicated financing pathways for Indigenous equity participation in renewable generation and transmission and work directly with First Nations and their economic development corporations to design structures that support them.

Partnership as a Business Imperative

For business leaders, the responsibility is to treat partnership as foundational rather than transactional. Companies that want to lead in this new economy should build Indigenous partnership into their business models from the outset.

They should invest in regional supply chains, support Indigenous-owned contractors and service providers, and engage Nations early in ways that respect governance structures and community timelines. The strongest projects of the future will be those built through trust.

Preparing the Workforce

For post-secondary institutions’ skilled trades programs, the next decade will require a level of readiness Canada has not yet fully planned for. The transition will depend on skilled trades, engineers, project managers, and technicians.

Training programs must be connected to active and planned projects, as well as regional labour needs, with expanded pathways that support Indigenous participation.

Clean Electricity as a National Economic Strategy

If Canada wants to lead, it must treat clean electricity as the key economic strategy it is. That means procurement certainty, grid planning that matches future demand, regulatory systems designed for partnership and delivery, financing that enables Indigenous equity at scale, and workforce development that prepares the people who will build the next generation of infrastructure. Done right, this moment can become a lasting legacy, one that delivers shared prosperity and strength for generations to come.