Clean Energy Canada | A Paycheque Reality Check: Clean Energy Jobs Stack Up Against Oil Sands Jobs
October 3, 2014

Globally, a staggering 6.5 million people are employed in renewable energy.

Thanks largely to provincial leadership, Canada’s clean energy sector is gaining steam. As our new shareable graphic (below) reveals, in 2012 more people were directly employed in clean energy than in the oil sands.

To us, this statistic tells a story: If you think the oil sands are important to Canada’s economy, then you should consider the clean energy sector important, too.

Note: Clean energy job categories include clean power production and equipment manufacturing, energy efficiency technologies and services (such as smart grids and building envelope technologies), clean transportation, and bioenergy. Sources: Analytica Advisors’ 2014 Canadian Clean Technology Industry Report, the Pembina Institute’s briefing note The Cross-Canada Impacts of Developing the Oil and Gas Industry of the Energy Sector, and Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada’s report The Decade Ahead: Labour Market Outlook to 2022 for Canada’s Oil and Gas Industry.