Caroline Wawzonek: Government of the Northwest Territories’ New Approach to Energy and Climate Change

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Mr. Speaker, today I want to speak about the Government of the Northwest Territories’ new integrated approach to energy and climate change, and how the Department of Infrastructure’s work on energy will help build a stronger, more affordable, and more resilient future for the territory.

Energy powers our communities, heats our homes, fuels our transportation, and propels businesses and the economy. But today, the Northwest Territories faces some of the highest energy costs in Canada, aging energy infrastructure, and increasing impacts from climate change. Our approach to energy must evolve.

Last Fall, Mr. Speaker, our government committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This commitment is driving the development of a new integrated strategy for energy and climate change. As our teams complete this work over the coming months, there are three themes I want to introduce today.

This strategy will be designed to improve energy affordability and security, ensure community safety and resilience, and unlock new economic opportunities through the clean energy transition.

It will be people-centered and built around enabling conditions that allow communities, economies, and governments to thrive in the face of climate change pressures.

Lastly, as a joint strategy it will bring together expertise from across departments in a coordinated, whole-of-government approach.

First, strengthening our energy security by modernizing our energy infrastructure.
Our power infrastructure is aging and increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Overhauling our power generation assets, upgrading our electricity grid, and continuing to invest in local clean energy solutions across the territory are key steps we are taking to ensure our energy system can serve Northerners for generations. This will include the refurbishment of key hydro assets in the North Slave as well as the development of an approach to modernize our grid and support the integration of renewable energy in remote communities. Our goal is simple: ensure all communities have reliable and secure energy for decades to come.

Second, supporting energy affordability. Mr. Speaker, Northerners currently pay the highest electricity rates in the country, paying between 25 to 34 cents per kilowatt hour, after subsidies. In some remote communities, the unsubsidized cost is as high as 74 cents per kilowatt hour; this is two to three times the Canadian average of 12 cents.

We need to give residents in hydro-served communities more affordable, lower-emission options like switching to electric vehicles and, where surplus power is available, electric heating. These shifts increase power sales, reduce emissions, and ease pressure on electricity rates.

Programs and services supporting residents, communities, and businesses to reduce energy consumption and adopt clean energy technologies, such as the Arctic Energy Alliance and the Greenhouse Gas Grant Program, will continue to be key moving forward and soon we will be announcing the full availability of an Electronic Vehicle Corridor from Yellowknife to the Alberta border.

The government’s recent set of directions to the Public Utilities Board will help support all of these important changes.

Third, unlocking economic opportunities through the energy transition. Clean energy is about more than reducing emissions, it is also about building a stronger, more sustainable economy. This includes creating good jobs, supporting new industries, and long-term growth supported by renewable energy, which in turn will support critical minerals development.

The Taltson Hydro Expansion Project is a leading example of this approach. This is not just an energy project it is a project of partnership. We are advancing Taltson together with Indigenous governments in the Taltson Watershed: the Northwest Territory Métis Nation, the Akaitcho Dene First Nations, and the Salt River First Nation.

This project has the potential to connect 70 percent of our population to clean, renewable hydro power while connecting two major energy grids. It will reduce our reliance on diesel, and it will help support the development of critical minerals opportunities by providing clean energy at the front end of those supply chains.

By investing in transformative projects, we are not just reacting to change we are shaping it. We are unlocking new economic opportunities, strengthening sovereignty over our resources, and ensuring that Northerners benefit directly from the transition to a clean energy future.

The Departments of Infrastructure and Environment and Climate Change will continue to work together to develop this joint strategy, with a final release planned for Spring 2026.

Together, we are building a net-zero energy future that is affordable, reliable, and resilient and led by Northerners for Northerners.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.