Ontario didn’t inform public about expert advice to shift away from natural gas

In the final days of 2024, Fatima Syed of The Narwhal exposed how the Doug Ford government commissioned an independent report on best pathways to net-zero energy—and then buried the report’s findings. The Globe and Mail picked up the story. The link is below.

Ontario needs to increase the capacity of its electrical grid significantly. The expert report recommends pathways that reduce the use of fossil fuels. They specifically recommended that government plans should include “no new natural gas procurement” and “a partial abandonment” of gas infrastructure.

The Conservative government is moving in the opposite direction. In past years, they have overruled similar advice and supported the expansion of gas delivery across the province. Most recently, Energy Minister Lecce announced that natural gas will play a key role in an “all-of-the-above” race to increase electrical generation in the province.

The expert report received by Mr. Lecce and others copied in our email action recommends significantly expanding renewable energy sources, including a five-fold increase in wind power alone. In the current government plan, renewables are included but not prioritized, to the point of saying they will not push through developments opposed by local councils. This is far from the brave and forward-looking leadership the report recommends.