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Canada and Alberta Sign Energy Collaboration MOU

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Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Thursday announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (the MOU) intended to lower emissions, support natural resource development, and strengthen economic competitiveness. The MOU sets out a framework for enhanced federal-provincial collaboration in the energy sector with the stated goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 while advancing Alberta’s energy-resource potential. The announcement also prompted debate, including references to the potential development of at least one new bitumen pipeline to the B.C. coast. It also prompted the resignation from Cabinet of Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and former Minister of Environment and Climate Change. This bulletin summarizes the MOU’s key objectives, priority projects, and federal and provincial commitments, including actions related to Alberta’s Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) system. Objectives. The MOU outlines the following objectives: Increase production of Alberta oil and gas to contribute to export and national security goals, while reducing the emissions intensity of Canadian heavy oil production to reach net-zero by 2050. Expand electricity generation capacity in Alberta for consumer and industrial use, including demand from AI data centres, while achieving net-zero GHG emissions in the electricity sector by 2050. Establish electricity and energy policies that advance affordability, grid stability, competitiveness, and long-term investment certainty, and that attract domestic and foreign private-sector capital. Reduce regulatory overlap and simplify permitting processes to achieve a maximum two-year approvals timeline. Provide opportunities for Indigenous rightsholders to participate in consultation processes and economic activities, including through ownership and partnership arrangements. Priority projects. The MOU identifies the following priority projects: Development of one or more privately financed pipelines, in addition to the Trans Mountain expansion, with Indigenous co-ownership and economic participation. At least 1 million barrels per day of lower-emission Alberta bitumen with access to Asian markets is identified as a priority. An application to the…

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Budget 2025: Key Climate, Energy, and Indigenous Highlights

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On November 4, 2025, Canada released a prudent, investment focussed Canada Strong Budget 2025 (“Budget 2025”) that is in line with the global energy transition in all major global economies other than the U.S. In doing so, it has: (i) accepted and embraced the country’s innate nature as a climate-forward, responsible energy, mineral, and nature resource producer with strong Indigenous rightsholders; and (ii) put in place the investment structures and tax incentives to go beyond resource production and lead in the knowledge economy. As with all government announcements, the success of the Budget 2025 strategy will rest on implementation, particularly the speed with which the government, Indigenous rightsholders, and cooperative provincial and territorial governments can manifest the changes outlined in the 2025 Budget. The thrust of the new approach has tell-tale signs of a good investment finance strategy with new infrastructure and resource development funds, tax incentives, and necessary regulatory backstops. It is focussed on economic, infrastructure, and climate outcomes rather than aspirational targets (which Canada has repeatedly missed). Fiscal discipline is reflected in a downsizing (10%) of the public service largely through attrition, AI, and elimination of open positions that can be filled by same. Key climate, energy, and Indigenous elements of Budget 2025 include: Climate Action. Budget 2025 introduces new and proposed funding to support climate action, alongside the formal elimination of federal consumer carbon pricing (see our earlier bulletin here) and other program adjustments and reallocations, including: Direct Delivery Stream for Adaptation and Infrastructure. $6B over ten years, beginning in 2026–27, for a Direct Delivery Stream under Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, to support regionally significant projects related to climate adaptation, retrofits, and community infrastructure. Biofuels Production Incentive. $372M over two years for a Biofeuls Production Incentive to Natural Resources Canada to establish a production incentive for biodiesel and renewable diesel producers (starting in 2026). Elimination of…

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Carney Government Eliminates Consumer Carbon Price

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The Government of Canada on Saturday published an extra edition of Canada Gazette, Part II to eliminate the “consumer-facing” carbon price (i.e., the federal fuel charge), effective April 1, 2025. The change was originally announced by new Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday as his first official act. The new regulations amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (GGPPA) and related regulations. This bulletin briefly summarizes the amendments and highlights key aspects of the associated Regulatory Impact Analysis Statements (RIASs). The amendments most consequentially set the rate of charge applicable after March 31, 2025 set out in Table 5 of Schedule 2 to the GGPPA to “zero” dollars for all 22 types of fuel. The rates previously set out in that table represented a carbon price of $80 per tonne in 2024-25. The Governor in Council (i.e., the Governor General acting on the advice of Cabinet) has the authority to set the fuel charge rates to zero under section 166(4) of the GGPPA. The government has also made related amendments to the Fuel Charge Regulations (particularly around removal of registration requirements after March 31, 2025) and coordinating amendments to the Output-Based Pricing System (OBPS) Regulations.  The RIASs note that: The government estimates that the elimination of the fuel charge will lead to a loss of 12.57 Mt cumulative GHG emissions reductions from 2025 to 2030 (p. 12). The monetized cost of foregone emissions reductions over the 2025-2030 period of the elimination of the fuel charge is estimated to be about $3.83B (in 2024 dollars, discounted at 2% to 2025-26), using social cost of carbon figures for 2025 to 2030 (p. 13). The elimination of the fuel charge increases Canada’s GDP by 0.5% in 2030 (p. 14). The total welfare gains, not accounting for the social cost of carbon, for households would be equivalent to a 0.3% increase in household consumption in…

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Major US and Canadian Banks Exit NZBA

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The six largest US banks, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citi, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley have each announced their departure from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), a group of leading global banks committed to aligning their lending, investment, and capital markets activities with net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. In Canada, TD, BMO, and National Bank announced their withdrawal from the NZBA earlier today. RBC has also indicated that it is open to leaving the alliance. We anticipate significant changes in the NZBA and additional withdrawals over the coming days. Major US asset managers are also leaving other UN-convened climate coalitions, including the recently announced departure of BlackRock from the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative (NZAM), a multi-trillion dollar international group of asset managers committed to supporting the goal of net zero GHG emissions by 2050. Following BlackRock’s departure, a statement issued by NZAM on Monday indicates that it is suspending activities while the initiative undergoes review “to ensure NZAM remains fit for purpose in the new global context.” Both NZBA and NZAM are organizations under the umbrella of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), co-chaired by Michael Bloomberg and Mark Carney.    For further information or to discuss the contents of this bulletin, please contact Lisa DeMarco at lisa@resilientllp.com.

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Canada Publishes Finalized Clean Electricity Regulations

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Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change (the “Minister”) yesterday announced the finalization and publication today of the Clean Electricity Regulations (“CER”) in the Canada Gazette, Part II (see our earlier bulletin on the draft CER here). CER establishes significant annual emission limits (“AEL”) to reduce greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions from fossil fuel-generated electricity generation facilities in all provinces and territories across Canada starting in 2035. Requirements to reduce emissions under CER start in 2035 with a pathway to reaching net-zero in 2050. Environment and Climate Change Canada (“ECCC”) estimates that the CER would reduce approximately 181 megatonnes of cumulative GHG emissions between 2024 and 2050. The CER imposes significant registration, record keeping, and reporting obligations on covered electricity generation facilities.   This bulletin briefly summarizes the key provisions of CER and federal financial support to help decarbonize and expand Canada’s electricity system.   Scope. A “unit” is regulated under the CER if it meets all of the following three criteria: It has an electricity generation capacity of 25 megawatts (“MW”) or greater (or is a new unit located at a facility where the sum of all new electricity generation unit capacity is 25 MW or greater); It generates electricity using fossil fuel; and It is connected, directly or indirectly, to an “electricity system” that is subject to North American Electric Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) standards. A unit that has an electricity generation capacity of less than 25 MW is deemed to meet the first criteria if the unit’s commissioning date is on or after January 1, 2025 and the sum of the electricity generation capacity of all units, other than planned units, that are located at the facility where the unit is located and that also have commissioning dates on or after January 1, 2025 is at least 25 MW.   CER does not apply…

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