TORONTO — Rachel Doran, executive director at Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement in response to the Spring Economic Update:
“The Spring Economic Update puts a welcome focus on energy and affordability. If we want solutions that will last—industries we can build on and savings that won’t evaporate in a few months’ time—clean energy must remain central to both endeavours.
“In his speech, the finance minister correctly highlighted Canada’s potential to be a clean energy superpower. But as Canada seeks to double its non-U.S exports, it’s vital that we take the world as it is. Fossil fuel price volatility is driving many of our trading partners to reduce oil and gas reliance and prioritize the electrification of their economies. Canada has everything it needs—from critical mineral resources, to skilled labour, to technology expertise—to be a necessary trading partner in an electrified world. But in order to achieve this vision, Canada must keep its clean economic potential at the forefront of planning. Canada’s recent auto strategy is a perfect example of how to do just that.
“The new Canada Strong Fund, which will ‘invest in key, strategic Canadian projects and companies, and help Canada stay competitive in a rapidly changing world,’ is the first place this clean energy focus should feature. Globally, clean energy investment continues to dominate energy investment, with two thirds of total global capital spent on energy in 2025 going into clean energy technologies and electricity infrastructure. The fund should prioritize projects and high-growth sectors poised to deliver reliable long-term returns—especially when everyday Canadians will be directly investing their savings into it.
“The new Team Canada Strong program is set to recruit, train, and hire 80,000 to 100,000 new Red Seal skilled trades workers by the end of the decade. It will set our workforce up well for a clean economy that will increasingly need these jobs: clean energy job growth ranges from 5% to 10% annually in every province as the world transitions to a net-zero 2050, according to Clean Energy Canada modelling.
“We also appreciate seeing a new $41.9 million in funding to enable innovative construction methods and modular housing, which has the potential to reduce embodied carbon while cutting costs.
“A central focus of the economic statement was the ongoing affordability crisis felt by so many Canadians. And while it reiterates recent measures that offer short-term relief, enabling the adoption of technologies that offer lasting, long-term savings is, in many cases, the real solution to the problem.
“The government’s much-touted Fuel Excise Tax, for instance, will save the average gas car driver roughly $77 by Labour Day. Meanwhile, the recently reintroduced EV rebate arrived with comparatively less fanfare but enables far greater potential savings: an EV driver could save up to $250 a month in fuel costs by going electric.
“Similarly, recent Clean Energy Canada analysis found that household electrification, including the use of heat pumps in many scenarios, can further cut energy bills for Canadians. So far, this government has yet to offer support for Canadians to electrify their homes, and we hope to see the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program launched in more provinces as well as broad-based support for Canadian households in the near future.”
