From CCS to sovereign compute: Canada’s roadmap to secure the future of energy
In an exclusive interview with Energy Connects, Hon. Tim Hodgson, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, outlined a bold vision for Canada as a stable and reliable international partner for energy.
Minister Hodgson explained why Canada is diversifying to become a primary energy partner for India and the Global South, how the country plans to meet the massive electricity demands of data centres and electrification through scaling up “nation-building” grid infrastructure and sovereign compute power, and how the fusion of finance, technology, and energy creates the pathway to a lower-carbon future. Minister Hodgson also discussed the significance of the landmark Canada-Alberta agreement, which aligns emissions reduction goals with hydrocarbon production and the development of the world’s largest carbon capture (CCUS) projects, and how Canada’s regulatory reforms make it the premier destination for long-term energy investment.
Canada is increasingly positioning itself as a reliable supplier of responsibly produced energy. Could you explain the strategy behind that positioning?
The Canadian government believes Canada is a clean and conventional energy superpower and should focus on using it to the best of our abilities. The world is looking for what we have. For example, India is looking to increase its LNG share from 6% to 15%. Minister Puri said in his keynote speech at India Energy Week that 6% remains at 6%. Canada is bringing in new LNG with the lowest carbon intensity in the world and it is also in significant supply. We can be a solution for India: it has 340 million households using LPG and is looking for more. Canada is also bringing the first LPG export facilities to the West Coast - it can be a solution and a provider of clean LPG for India. Critical minerals are also a focal point of discussion, and India looks to lead the way in that energy transition. India will need critical minerals. Canada has those critical minerals. India wants to add 100 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2047, and to do that, it will need uranium. Canada is one of the most reliable and best suppliers of uranium in the world. India will be the largest source of oil demand moving forward. We are a growing oil supplier; therefore, we can be a solution for India. There’s a perfect fit between one of the world’s biggest consumers of energy and one of the world’s biggest suppliers of energy, and we’re excited to be here to talk about that.
To delve a little deeper into that point and talk about the global partnerships that you’re strengthening, how do you see that contributing to energy security?
We’ve seen over the last several weeks and months that energy supply chains are increasingly being used for economic coercion. We’ve seen tariffs being used for leverage. Canada is a country that believes in multilateralism free trade. Canada is not a country that will use its energy for coercion or leverage. We will be a reliable supplier to India.
Canada is also advancing major nation-building energy and infrastructure projects at scale. What is your message to Indian and other international investors about the long-term opportunities that you offer?
Regarding off-take agreements, we have everything India is looking for. Regarding investing in our sector, we’ve created a Major Projects Office. So, when investors want to come to Canada, we will provide predictable timelines and regulatory certainty, which is important for ensuring their investments are profitable. We have broad support in our country for exporting our energy. We have a geographic advantage. We are closer to Asia than energy shipped out of the US Gulf Coast. We have some of the cleanest products in the world – the lowest carbon intensity LNG in the world. We have done more to decarbonise our barrels of oil than any other country in the world. We’re offering it at the same price as others and have a highly skilled workforce.
One area where Canada is advancing is cross-sector collaboration. Talking about technology and the conference on energy technology and finance, how do you see that accelerating scalable, real-world impact?
When you’re looking to do things at scale, you need certainty. You need certainty of permitting; you need certainty of timelines. We’re giving that through our Major Projects Office. When you provide that certainty, global capital will flow to the opportunity. When you put technology to work at scale, it changes the economics of renewables. It can create baseload renewables, which changes the game. It helps us all get to net zero, which is what India wants. It’s what Canada wants and what the world needs.
Talking about the energy sector in Canada – particularly AI and data centres — they’re one of the main contributors to moving the industry forward, but they are also huge consumers of energy. How do you see Canada meeting that energy demand?
The Canadian energy grid is among the lowest-carbon grids in the world. More than 80% of our energy is produced carbon-free. We want to take advantage of the growth in AI while keeping that very attractive carbon footprint. We will do that through the use of nuclear. We’re building the first four commercial SMRs in the world today that will provide baseload, zero-carbon energy to help power data centres. We will continue to find ways to produce the lowest carbon intensity natural gas through pre- and post-combustion scrubbing technology and CCUS to sequester carbon. We’re focused on delivering the cleanest AI power possible.
Minister Hodgson, can you tell us the objectives behind signing a landmark agreement with Alberta?
It’s really important for Canada that we all work together. By signing the agreement with Alberta, we have reached an agreement with our most important energy-producing province on how we will price carbon going forward and how we will do things like control methane emissions – we’re one of the leaders in the world in controlling methane emissions. We have an agreement on using CCUS and will be working on the world’s largest CCUS project. It’s called the Pathways project. It will decarbonise our barrels and create technology we hope to export worldwide.
