Clean Energy Canada | What does net zero mean for Canada’s economy and energy jobs? 
August 29, 2023

From the rapid rise of cheap solar power to the growing number of EVs on the road, the world’s transition from fossil fuels to clean energy can already be seen happening almost everywhere. This global transformation has implications for Canada’s energy economy, with research showing significant declines in Canada’s fossil fuel industry in a net-zero world. But the sunsetting of one industry does not mean Canada will be worse off. The rapid growth of new energy jobs in more sustainable fields, from EV manufacturing to energy efficiency, can result in a net increase in Canadian energy jobs overall. Below is a summary of what net zero means for Canada’s energy sector and economy, according to the most relevant research.

• Modelling from Clean Energy Canada and Navius Research finds that Canada sees 700,000 more total energy jobs in a net-zero 2050 than exist today, with gains in clean energy jobs outpacing the decline in fossil fuel ones.

  • Clean energy jobs increase five-fold from 509,000 in 2025 to 2.7 million in 2050, growing 7% annually, while fossil fuel jobs decline by 1.5 million over the same period (note: both sectors are defined more broadly than the conventional oil and gas sector and include, for example, jobs transporting goods).
  • Regionally, Canada’s fossil-fuel-producing provinces—Alberta and Saskatchewan—experience the highest rate of clean energy job growth, growing 10% and 9% annually.

    • In Alberta, clean energy jobs grow from 41,500 in 2025 to 460,400 by 2050, almost 100,000 more than the 324,300 decline expected for fossil fuel jobs in the province. 
    • Since 2019, renewable energy projects alone have already created more than 6,200 jobs in Alberta, according to the Business Renewables Centre’s online deal tracker.

  • Canada is already home to 13 of the world’s top 100 most promising cleantech companies.

    • B.C. performs particularly well, with seven of those companies calling the province home.

  • Sustainable projects attracted 29% of all foreign direct investment into Canada in 2023, up from 25% in 2022, 10% in 2021, and 5% in 2020.

• Research from Clean Energy Canada and the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing in 2022 found that a domestic EV battery supply chain could add $48 billion to the Canadian economy annually and support 250,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030.

  • The modelling showed that the more ambitious Canada goes on batteries, the more jobs and economic benefits await.
  • Since the research was published, Canada has landed four gigafactories, exceeding even the most optimistic scenario modelled, while investments in Canada’s EV battery supply chain have grown to a whopping $37.4 billion (up four-fold from $7.3 billion in 2021). 
  • By the start of 2024, Canada had risen to the top of BloombergNEF’s global battery supply chain ranking, becoming the world’s most promising EV battery manufacturing destination.
  • Meanwhile, a 2024 TD analysis estimates that developing just six of Canada’s 31 listed critical minerals would contribute more than $500 billion to the country’s GDP over the life of the mines while supporting economic reconciliation with Indigenous communities.