Canada’s electricity grid is a patchwork — aging, fragmented by province, and nowhere near capable of meeting the demands of a decarbonizing economy. Connecting the country’s clean energy resources through a modern east-west grid is one of the most consequential infrastructure decisions Canada can make.
The Policy Details
If you ski, snowboard, trail run, mountain bike, paddle, climb, or spend any time in the wild places that make Canada extraordinary these policy proposals are for you. Protect Our Winters Canada is asking the federal government to take three bold steps that will protect the landscapes we love, strengthen the communities built around outdoor recreation, and give Canada a fighting chance against the climate crisis that threatens all of it.
Here is what we are asking for, why it matters, and what is at stake if we do not act.
1. THE CHALLENGE
Canada’s electricity grid is a patchwork — aging, fragmented by province, and nowhere near capable of meeting the demands of a decarbonizing economy. Connecting the country’s clean energy resources through a modern east-west grid is one of the most consequential infrastructure decisions Canada can make. It is also one of the most direct levers available to reduce the emissions driving the climate crisis that is reshaping our mountains, snowpack, seasons, and landscapes.
2. WHY IT MATTERS FOR OUR COMMUNITY
The outdoor recreation economy is a climate canary. Shorter winters, unreliable snowpack, glaciers retreating, fire seasons expanding, and extreme weather events shutting down trails and rivers — all of it traces back to rising emissions and a fossil-fuel-dependent energy system. Transitioning to a clean grid is not abstract environmental policy. It is existential for our sport, our seasons, and our way of life.
Beyond the climate case, a modern grid built with Canadian steel and aluminum, supported by strong labour standards, and with meaningful Indigenous ownership creates good jobs and economic opportunity in the same rural and northern communities that host so much of Canada’s outdoor recreation economy.
3. WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR
We are calling for a bold, coordinated national grid strategy including:
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$20 billion over five years in federal support for strategic interprovincial and inter-regional transmission links — de-risked through investment tax credits for Canadian steel and aluminum components, and continued Canada Investment Bank support.
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Federal convening and planning leadership, with the option for federal and Indigenous ownership stakes to get projects built.
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$5 billion over five years to support Indigenous-owned renewable energy and grid infrastructure, with continued access to the federal Indigenous loan guarantee program — operationalizing UNDRIP and the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent in practice, not just on paper.
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Strong labour protections including prevailing wage guarantees, skills training, transition supports, and income protection for workers moving out of emissions-intensive industries.