Canada has one of the lowest electricity CO2 emissions intensities in the world (the third-lowest among the countries analysed), with a close-to-zero emissions intensity in Quebec, largely due to its vast hydropower resources. Over 2010‑2020, all the incremental demand in Canada was met by increased renewables generation, while at the same time halving the share of coal-fired generation thanks to increased renewables, nuclear power and gas-fired generation. This led to the country’s average emissions intensity decreasing by one-third over 2010‑2020.
Canada committed to reach net zero emissions by 2050 (Government of Canada, 2021a), with a short-term goal by 2030 of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40-45% with respect to 2005 levels (Government of Canada, 2021b). These ambitious goals require a further acceleration of decarbonisation and electrification trends for all of the indicators analysed, and reversing trends for several indicators (e.g. the declining electricity share in buildings over the past ten years), as shown in Table 5.2.A. To reach these goals, targets and funding for innovation and the scale-up of clean technologies (including hydrogen) need to be put in place, for industry, buildings and transport, including the development of the necessary infrastructure.