Building for Tomorrow
Issue #7 | April 2026

By: Ryan Workman

Canada has entered a new era of nation-building. As Ottawa promises to “build, baby, build,” the provinces line up behind new trade corridors and the private sector awaits new business opportunities – the stakes for Canada’s economic future are high.

Rail lines, airports, ports, roads and pipelines are essential contributors to national prosperity. However, not all infrastructure is created equal, and the “how” of project approvals deserves just as much attention as the “what.”

Building for Tomorrow tracks, analyzes, explains and critiques the policies, projects and politics shaping Canada’s trade-enabling infrastructure.

National demand for electricity is increasing rapidly, but improving power transmission between Canadian jurisdictions could help ease the stress on the grid. A more connected grid would allow provinces to leverage each other’s competitive advantages for more efficient and affordable electricity. Which could, in turn, make power use more efficient and cheaper for consumers. 

What are interties? 

An intertie is a high-voltage transmission line that connects separate electricity systems, such as those in different provinces or regional grids. Interties are high voltage because electricity travels more efficiently that way.  

How do interties enable cheaper and more efficient electricity?

Enabling power transmission between jurisdictions facilitates more efficient utilization of electricity (which equates to cheaper electricity) in several ways.  

First, it allows different jurisdictions to leverage each other’s comparative advantages. For example, B.C. and Manitoba have ready access to low-emissions hydropower, while Alberta and Saskatchewan have plentiful low-cost, but intermittent, wind and solar. When the sun is shining and the wind is blowing, interties can allow a province like Alberta to sell its cheap surplus power to B.C., and B.C. can save water in its reservoir for a “rainy day.” However, when power production in Alberta is lower, the province can buy low-carbon electricity, reducing its reliance on other sources. 

Second, connecting grids can help smooth out demand. For example, when not on daylight saving time, Albertans wake up an hour before British Columbians, which leads to different periods of peak energy utilization in the two provinces.  

Third, it provides provinces with increased redundancy. For example, in cases of a heat wave or cold snap in one province, interties can help meet unusually high electricity demands and reduce the need for measures such as rolling blackouts.  

Why isn’t Canada already more interconnected? 

Despite all the advantages presented by interties, Canada’s electrical grid is currently not very connected. Canada has nearly twice as much electricity interconnection capacity with the U.S. than it does between the provinces and territories (27 gigawatts vs. 17 gigawatts) and falls short of comparator jurisdictions like the European Union which is aiming for 15 per cent interconnection capacity by 2030. Why is this? 

For provinces with surplus electricity, north-south interties with the U.S. have historically been more profitable than east-west interties within Canada. In 2021, B.C. exported 11.4 terawatt hours of electricity to the U.S., but only sold 2.4 terawatt hours to Alberta. 

Another factor is protecting local economic development. The construction and ongoing operation of energy infrastructure supports jobs, protects incumbent energy providers and helps ensure tax revenue stays within provinces. 

Co-ordination challenges across different utilities also further complicates the issue. The electricity system in Canada spans multiple utilities and provinces, regulatory frameworks and market structures. Provinces also have jurisdiction over electricity and have often resisted federal oversight or co-ordination. 

Finally, interties are major infrastructure projects that are expensive to build. Interprovincial interties must navigate regulatory hurdles both provincially and federally with the Canada Energy Regulator and can face local opposition. 

New developments in interprovincial electricity infrastructure 

While these barriers have held back the integration of Canada’s diverse power grids, Canadian governments have recently shown a new will to build out the interconnectivity of Canada’s electrical grids. 

Probably the most significant development is the announcement of a 10-province/territory Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to “advance new electricity transmission projects and strategic interties across Canada,” on March 4, 2026. The only jurisdictions that are not signatories are Nunavut, Newfoundland and Quebec, although the latter is expressing interest in contributing to the project. Under this agreement the signatories will: 

  • Identify and advance new interprovincial and territorial transmission infrastructure
  • Expand electricity trade within Canada
  • Advocate for federal support
  • Partner with Indigenous communities in energy development

Interties were part of the November 2025 MOU between Alberta and the federal government, where one of the listed projects is the construction of “large transmission interties with B.C. and Saskatchewan to … supply low carbon power to oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), critical minerals, agricultural, data centres and carbon capture and underground storage (CCUS) industries.” In line with both MOUs, Alberta recently announced plans to build a second electricity intertie with B.C., which would reduce bottlenecks in the current infrastructure and increase redundancy. 

There are also local projects to make grids more interconnected within provinces. On March 19, 2026, Saskatchewan announced a new transmission project to connect its northern and southern electrical grids, which are currently only connected through Manitoba. For B.C., one of the projects referred to the Major Projects Office is the North Coast Transmission Line, which will twin existing transmission lines along the coast. The project is also linked to the Yukon-B.C. Grid Connect Project, a proposed transmission line connecting Yukon’s electrical grid to the wider North American grid through B.C. 

Finally, although the details are still outstanding, the federal government has announced it will be releasing a new electricity (and nuclear) strategy that focuses on “taking down barriers between markets,” and connecting and strengthening Canada’s grids. 

What to watch for next

Lots of announcements have been made, but when will shovels hit the ground? Here are some of the timelines that have been publicly announced. 

  • On March 5, the federal government announced that the new electricity strategy would be released “in the coming months.” 
  • Construction of the North Coast Transmission Line is set to start in summer 2026. 
  • Preliminary planning, design and engagement work has started on the Saskatchewan transmission project, with completion anticipated in 2032. 
  • Twinning of the transmission line between Alberta and B.C. is still in the exploratory phase. 

Each month, Building for Tomorrow explores new developments in trade-enabling infrastructure in Canada, such as the rationale behind national projects, negotiations and agreements between different Canadian jurisdictions and developments in approval processes and policy.

Building for Tomorrow is written by Ryan Workman. If you have any developments you’d like to see featured or topics that you think should be covered, please send them to .

Further reading