Transmission
Indigenous Power Coalition is focusing its initial efforts on Nation-led interprovincial electricity transmission opportunities across western Canada.
Why interprovincial transmission
Canada’s ambitions to double its electricity capacity will require building hundreds of thousands of new electricity transmission lines across the country. Every new one of these lines will cross through Indigenous territory. Indigenous leadership is key to advancing progress on these projects:
Strengthening implementation of free, prior, and informed consentas required by Canadian law. In 2021, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act became law in Canada, enshrining the legal imperative for free, prior, and informed consent for infrastructure projects that impact Indigenous territories. Indigenous leadership creates a stronger foundation for building authentic consent and shared decision-making, and it ultimately makes projects more likely to get built.
Improving grid infrastructure to support economic development for Indigenous Nations. Indigenous leadership could enhance Nations’ ability to develop economic opportunities in their territories, adopt new technologies, or participate in larger-scale renewable generation.
Supporting interprovincial cooperation around electricity planning. Indigenous leadership may be key to unlocking stalemates that have long plagued interprovincial transmission. Nations can work across provincial borders in ways provincial governments often struggle to, advancing collaborative electricity planning across regions. With political and geographic relationships that long predate Confederation, Indigenous Nations are well positioned to convene partners, work with regulators and governments, and align behind projects that benefit communities across landscapes for generations.
“Transmission lines are more than technical connectors; they are strategic tools that allow Nations to shape regional energy futures. When Nations lead they influence key decisions — ensuring that transmission development aligns with community values and long-term stewardship responsibilities.”
Our engagement
Indigenous Power Coalition is engaging experts across the electricity sector with Indigenous Nations in both Alberta and British Columbia to explore Indigenous-led opportunities for interprovincial transmission.
By the numbers: Growing Canada’s electricity grid
Doubling Canada’s electricity and enabling the east-west flow between Canadian jurisdictions would mean building 40,000+ kilometres of transmission lines, which is 4.5 times the length of the Canada-US border, with an estimated cost of $44 billion carried out by 215,320 workers. (Project of the Century: A Blueprint for Growing Canada’s Clean Electricity Supply –and Fast)
$27.75 billion capital costs in transmission could lead to $5.2 billion potential in Indigenous equity participation in transmission (Indigenous Equity in the Natural Resource Project Portfolio, commissioned by First Nations Major Projects Coalition)