Could Trump tariffs drive a trans-Canada HVDC backbone?

This article was originally published by Canada's National Observer, on 26th March 2025. The article has been republished here with minor modifications, with the kind permission of the original authors.

Canada’s deepening trade war with the U.S. has energized thinking about a national electricity supergrid to bolster energy security with a clean power alternative to new oil and gas pipelines that would be much faster to build at a time when climate action is faltering.

Governments and industry have debated the economic and environmental virtues – and technological viability – of a trans-Canada electricity grid for decades. But the idea stalled because exporting energy to power-hungry U.S. customers has historically been more lucrative than selling to domestic markets, with US$3.2 billion worth of electricity flowing south in 2023.  

Now, as U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatens to annex Canada, there are growing calls to accelerate planning for a nationwide grid that capitalizes on the country’s clean energy and hydropower resources.

“The idea of a Canadian east-west grid has been out there for a long time, but I think now is definitely a good time to think about it afresh for the energy transition,” said Roger Rosenqvist, a senior executive at Hitachi Energy, the world’s largest power technology company, which has been involved in major grid projects around the globe.

Building a national electricity grid would reinforce Canada’s energy independence and economy by freeing the country from its decades-long over-reliance on U.S. power markets. It would also underpin climate action strategies to build scores of renewable-energy projects to meet an expected surge in demand for cleaner energy in each province and territory.

“It would provide energy security, pull the provinces together literally and politically, and create an optimized future-proofed power transmission system from coast to coast,” said Rosenqvist.

Today, most Canadian homes, industry and businesses get their power from 13 separate provincial and territorial electricity networks.

But these grids — designed to supply local markets rather than operate in a nationwide energy system — could be wired together with a coast-to-coast high voltage direct current (HVDC) line in under five years.

That’s less than half the time it would take to build a similar oil and gas transport infrastructure. Plus, it could be done at a price far below the recently completed $34 billion Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion.

This story is continued for free on Canada National Observer's website: here

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