Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) welcomes the launch of consultations on a National Electricity Strategy and the federal government’s commitment to build a clean, reliable and affordable electricity system. A decarbonized and expanded electricity network is foundational to Canada’s economic competitiveness, energy security and climate objectives. 

Canada’s electricity demand is expected to double by 2050 as industry, buildings and transportation electrify. This creates both an infrastructure challenge and a generational economic opportunity. We intend to actively collaborate with governments, utilities and system operators to help ensure that this strategy delivers on its full potential.  

Electrification as an economic strategy 

Clean electricity production and transportation electrification, across light, medium and heavy-duty segments, are mutually reinforcing priorities. Together, they form the backbone of a future electrified economy that delivers economic, environmental and public health benefits. 

The scale of the planned buildout is significant. The federal government has signaled its intention to double electricity generation capacity by 2050, requiring major investments across generation, transmission, distribution and storage. At the same time, Canada’s electric mobility sector is expected to expand rapidly, going from 130,00 jobs today to 360,000 (low scenario) to 600,000 jobs (medium scenario) by 2035. (i)

This dual transformation will support job creation across the country, including in electricity production, grid modernization and EV charging infrastructure deployment. These are inherently local jobs tied to physical assets and on-the-ground service delivery. They cannot be offshored and will provide durable economic benefits to communities across Canada. 

Grid capacity and utilization must evolve together 

Vehicle-grid integration (VGI) should be recognized as a core enabling tool. As EV adoption accelerates, vehicles will represent both a major source of electricity demand and a significant flexible resource. VGI can transform EVs into assets that support grid stability, reduce peak demand, and defer costly infrastructure upgrades. (ii)

This is not a hypothetical opportunity. Technologies such as smart charging, vehicle-to-home and vehicle-to-grid are already being piloted across Canada and can deliver measurable benefits today, including reducing system costs and improving resilience during peak demand periods or outages.  

However, realizing this potential will require deliberate policy action. Canada’s current regulatory and standards landscape for VGI remains fragmented, creating barriers to interoperability and large-scale deployment. A national electricity strategy should explicitly address this gap. 

Reliability and resilience as core design principles 

As electrification accelerates, reliability becomes even more critical. Electrified transportation, including commercial vehicle operations, depends on a resilient electricity system. 

EVs can contribute to that resilience. When integrated effectively, they can provide distributed storage, backup power and demand response capabilities. This is particularly relevant for critical infrastructure, commercial fleets and remote or northern communities, where energy system reliability is a key concern. 

The strategy should explicitly consider how to leverage electrified transportation assets as part of a broader resilience framework, rather than treating them solely as new load. 

From ambition to execution 

We support the government’s recognition that achieving these objectives will require collaboration across jurisdictions, Indigenous partners, utilities and industry. The consultation process is an important step. 

Canada has a unique opportunity to align clean electricity expansion with transportation electrification to drive long-term economic growth, emissions reductions and improved quality of life. 

We look forward to contributing to the development of a National Electricity Strategy that: 

• accelerates grid decarbonization and expansion 

• enables large-scale EV adoption across all vehicle segments 

• unlocks the value of vehicle-grid integration 

• and delivers sustained, local economic benefits across the country 

(i) EY for EMC: Electrifying Progress: A Complete Economic Outlook Of The Canadian Ev Industry, April 2025 

(ii) DUNSKY : Unlocking Vehicle-Grid Integration in Canada, September 2025