To: ‘Nation Building’ observers From: George Vegh and Kate Koplovich Date: June 12, 2026 Re: Proposed Major Project Regulatory Changes a Good Step, but Work Remains It seems the federal government is intent on sidestepping its own major project processes set up just a year ago. Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, received royal assent just last year, to “urgently advance projects throughout Canada… through an accelerated process that enhances regulatory certainty and investor confidence.” A discussion paper released early last […]
To: ‘Nation Building’ observers From: George Vegh and Kate Koplovich Date: June 11, 2026 Re: The Building Canada Act Won’t Actually Build Anything in Canada The number of oil and gas projects in Ottawa’s major project inventory has fallen by 76 percent from its 2017 peak. This demonstrates a sustained erosion of investment confidence in Canada’s energy sector over the better part of a decade. To spur investment in natural resources, mining and electricity, […]
by Charles De Land and Cole Diepold This Commentary compares electricity prices across Canadian provinces between 2018 and 2023, examining overall system costs and the prices paid by residential, commercial, and industrial consumers. Provinces with large hydroelectric systems generally recorded the lowest costs, while Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Ontario had the highest […]
4 juin 2026 – Alors que les réseaux d’électricité du Canada font face à une demande croissante, à l’évolution du bouquet énergétique, au vieillissement des infrastructures et à d’importants besoins d’investissement, les tendances historiques des coûts offrent une perspective précieuse pour évaluer les performances passées et éclairer les choix nécessaires afin de répondre aux pressions […]
June 4, 2026 – As Canada’s electricity systems confront growing demand, changing generation mixes, aging infrastructure, and significant investment requirements, historical cost trends provide a valuable lens for evaluating past performance and informing the choices needed to meet future demand pressures, according to a new report from the C.D. Howe Institute. In “Powering Ahead: Comparing […]
To: Canadian gasoline buyers From: G. Kent Fellows Date: May 26, 2026 Re: How the Price at the Pump Got So High Canadian retail gasoline prices have soared since the start of the Iran war – even though Canada ranks fourth globally in annual crude oil production, behind only the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia. If we have so much oil, why are our gas […]
Published in The Financial Post. Canadian retail gasoline prices have soared since the start of the United States-Israel-Iran war — even though Canada ranks fourth globally in annual crude oil production, behind only the U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia. If we have so much oil, why are our gas prices high? Start with retail markets. In most of […]
From: Dmitriy Frolovskiy To: Major project watchers Date: May 7, 2026 Re: Canada’s Energy Strategy Must Look Beyond Current Market Disruption Canada can’t replace oil or gas volumes lost through the current disruption in the Strait of Hormuz now, or ever. Canadian supply is not large enough, cannot expand fast enough, and is not geographically positioned to fully offset an interruption in […]
Published in The Globe and Mail. Investor support for corporate sustainability initiatives has been derailed. In the face of strong ideology against Environment, Social and Governance, or ESG, investing in the United States, major fund managers such as BlackRock, Inc. and the Vanguard Group, Inc. have backed away from asserting that ESG factors are responsive to […]
Gasoline prices in Canada rose by more than 20 percent between February and March 2026. The year-over-year increase in March reached 5.9 percent, close to three times the 2 percent inflation target, largely due to the Iran conflict. However, the removal of the consumer carbon tax last year and the new temporary suspension of the […]
From: Peter van DijkTo: Canadians Concerned about Recognizing and Valuing Natural AssetsDate: April 14, 2026 Re: Making Natural Capital Decision-Relevant, Lessons from the UK Governments are increasingly confronting the practical reality regarding the value of natural capital: Flooding, water scarcity, heat stress, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation are driving infrastructure costs, insurance pressures, and long-term liabilities. […]
A recent C.D. Howe Institute report recommends introducing a national price floor for carbon emission compliance credits to create a minimum carbon price across provinces and territories. A price floor would improve transparency and enforceability, reduce transaction costs, align incentives across regions, and decouple emissions reductions from competitiveness concerns – enabling more durable, effective emissions […]
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To: ‘Nation Building’ observers From: George Vegh and Kate Koplovich Date: June 12, 2026 Re: Proposed Major Project Regulatory Changes a Good Step, but Work Remains It seems the federal government is intent on sidestepping its own major project processes set up just a year ago. Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, received royal assent just last year, to “urgently advance projects throughout Canada… through an accelerated process that enhances regulatory certainty and investor confidence.” A discussion paper released early last […] 
To: ‘Nation Building’ observers From: George Vegh and Kate Koplovich Date: June 11, 2026 Re: The Building Canada Act Won’t Actually Build Anything in Canada The number of oil and gas projects in Ottawa’s major project inventory has fallen by 76 percent from its 2017 peak. This demonstrates a sustained erosion of investment confidence in Canada’s energy sector over the better part of a decade. To spur investment in natural resources, mining and electricity, […] 
by Charles De Land and Cole Diepold This Commentary compares electricity prices across Canadian provinces between 2018 and 2023, examining overall system costs and the prices paid by residential, commercial, and industrial consumers. Provinces with large hydroelectric systems generally recorded the lowest costs, while Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Ontario had the highest […] 
To: Canadian gasoline buyers From: G. Kent Fellows Date: May 26, 2026 Re: How the Price at the Pump Got So High Canadian retail gasoline prices have soared since the start of the Iran war – even though Canada ranks fourth globally in annual crude oil production, behind only the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia. If we have so much oil, why are our gas […] 
From: Dmitriy Frolovskiy To: Major project watchers Date: May 7, 2026 Re: Canada’s Energy Strategy Must Look Beyond Current Market Disruption Canada can’t replace oil or gas volumes lost through the current disruption in the Strait of Hormuz now, or ever. Canadian supply is not large enough, cannot expand fast enough, and is not geographically positioned to fully offset an interruption in […] 
Published in The Globe and Mail. Investor support for corporate sustainability initiatives has been derailed. In the face of strong ideology against Environment, Social and Governance, or ESG, investing in the United States, major fund managers such as BlackRock, Inc. and the Vanguard Group, Inc. have backed away from asserting that ESG factors are responsive to […] 
Gasoline prices in Canada rose by more than 20 percent between February and March 2026. The year-over-year increase in March reached 5.9 percent, close to three times the 2 percent inflation target, largely due to the Iran conflict. However, the removal of the consumer carbon tax last year and the new temporary suspension of the […] 
From: Peter van DijkTo: Canadians Concerned about Recognizing and Valuing Natural AssetsDate: April 14, 2026 Re: Making Natural Capital Decision-Relevant, Lessons from the UK Governments are increasingly confronting the practical reality regarding the value of natural capital: Flooding, water scarcity, heat stress, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation are driving infrastructure costs, insurance pressures, and long-term liabilities. […] 
A recent C.D. Howe Institute report recommends introducing a national price floor for carbon emission compliance credits to create a minimum carbon price across provinces and territories. A price floor would improve transparency and enforceability, reduce transaction costs, align incentives across regions, and decouple emissions reductions from competitiveness concerns – enabling more durable, effective emissions […]