Dear John,

My name is Elmira Aliakbari and I am the Director of Natural Resource Studies here at the Fraser Institute.

As we approach the end of another year, I want to share with you some of the critical research we’ve been doing to inform Canadians about the significant challenges our country faces.

The Trudeau government has set a target to make all electricity generation carbon-free within the next 10 years.

However, as our recent study reveals, this goal is not only very costly… but also entirely unrealistic.

Currently, 81% of Canada’s electricity comes from carbon-free sources like hydro, nuclear, wind, and solar.

Replacing the remaining 19% of fossil-fuel-generated electricity would require building:

• 23 large hydroelectric dams (equivalent to BC’s Site C), or
• More than 4 nuclear power plants similar in size to Ontario’s Darlington station, or
• Around 11,000 large wind turbines, which would require substantial investments in back-up power systems (since wind is intermittent) and clearing 7,302 square kilometers of land — larger than the size of Prince Edward Island.

To put this into context, BC’s one single Site C dam took over 50 years from planning to near completion with a cost of $16 billion.

It is not at all realistic that this scale of energy infrastructure can be planned, approved, financed, and built in just 10 years.

The federal government has also mandated that 60% of new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada must be zero-emission by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035.

Our research indicates that this rapid shift to EVs will put enormous pressure on our already strained electricity grid.

In 2023, EVs accounted for just 10.8% of new vehicle sales in Canada. To meet the 2035 target, EV sales would need to increase nearly tenfold, which would drive up electricity demand.

Recent events, like power shortages in Alberta and import needs in BC and Manitoba, show that we are already facing electricity challenges today.

The future addition of EVs and the transition to intermittent renewable sources, such as wind and solar, will further exacerbate these challenges.

John, this is the type of research we do, and it is more important than ever. We need your support to continue our work: challenging policies that lack practicality and transparency.

Unlike so many other organizations, we do not accept government funding to conduct our research. We rely entirely on supporters like you.

If you’re able to, I’d like to ask that you make a donation today.

Every dollar you donate will help us inform more Canadians about the effects of government policy.

Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Elmira Aliakbari
Director, Natural Resource Studies 
The Fraser Institute