Energy demand is surging across North America and unexploited hydro sites are limited. Like the U.S., we need to switch to gas and nuclear

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A key lesson of the past two centuries is that the single most important driver of prosperity is access to abundant, affordable energy. An electricity revolution aimed at guaranteeing such access is underway in the United States. If key Canadian provinces don’t restructure their supply, this country risks medium-term socio-economic decline and, ultimately, continental irrelevance. Given our deep and uniquely broad energy endowment, that prospect needs to be treated as simply unacceptable.

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Canada’s looming electricity cliff is far closer than those responsible are prepared to acknowledge. The problem is our overwhelming reliance on hydro power. It accounts for roughly 65 per cent of overall supply and more than 90 per cent in key provinces. Manitoba, Quebec and B.C., in particular, face surging demand and structural supply shortages that are already causing speculation about rationing or redistributing access to electricity.

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