Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has unveiled a C$1 trillion ($729 billion) new national strategy aimed at doubling Canada’s electric capacity by 2050. The plan aims to lower electricity costs for seven in 10 households by expanding the role of natural gas in the country’s energy mix. It will be fine-tuned during four months of consultation with provinces and stakeholders.

The “Powering Canada Strong” strategy, announced last Thursday, points to “rapidly growing electricity demand” from energy-intensive industries such as “critical minerals, battery manufacturing, and other rapidly emerging drivers such as AI data centres.”

As reported by Global News, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) — an electricity watchdog for Canada, the U.S. and Mexico — has warned that the North American electricity grid, including Canada’s, has “come under tremendous strain from the mushrooming of AI data centres and cryptocurrency mining centres. NERC issued a Level 3 alert last Monday, warning that electricity grids “did not have sufficient processes, procedures, or methods to address risks associated with computational loads.” Examples of these loads include artificial intelligence training, cryptocurrency mining, and traditional data centre uses.

According to Horizon Weekly, the new strategy will focus on expanding electricity generation, modernising transmission infrastructure, connecting fragmented provincial and territorial grids, and increasing domestic manufacturing of energy technologies. Expected to require more than 130,000 skilled workers by 2050, the strategy could, says Ottowa, deliver “up to $15 billion in total energy savings by 2050 and lower overall energy costs for seven in ten Canadian households.”

Ottawa also indicated it intends to adjust clean electricity regulations to allow greater flexibility in using energy sources, including natural gas, to maintain affordability and reliability while reducing emissions.

The strategy builds on several major energy projects already underway across Canada, including the Darlington New Nuclear project in Ontario, the Taltson Hydro Expansion in the Northwest Territories, the Iqaluit Nukkiksautiit Hydro Project in Nunavut, and major transmission and wind developments in British Columbia and Nova Scotia.