Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Francis Bradley, and I am president and chief executive officer of Electricity Canada. As you know, I will share my time with my colleague Ms. Branigan, from Electricity Human Resources Canada.
Electricity Canada is the national voice of electricity in the country. Our members generate, transmit and distribute electrical energy to industrial, commercial and residential customers across Canada.
Electricity is Canada's energy future and a key economic environmental and social enabler that is essential to Canadian prosperity. The sector employs over 100,000 people and contributes over $30 billion to Canada's GDP. It's also among the cleanest in the world, with more than 80% of Canadian electricity already being produced from non-emitting sources.
The electricity sector is at the forefront of the energy transition. As a sector, we'll need to decarbonize and phase out our remaining high-emitting electricity generation. This means that parts of our workforce will need to transition. Ensuring an appropriate level of support to affected workers and communities is essential in ensuring that the transition is a just transition.
Electricity is also a high-growth sector. As Canada works toward its climate goals, electricity will enable other parts of the economy to decarbonize through electrification. This means tremendous changes to Canada's labour market. While this will create more jobs, it's vital that we ensure the development of new skill sets within the workforce to match them. Ensuring that we attract and expand the opportunities for under-represented groups within our sector's workforce is also a priority.
Finally, as our sector decarbonizes, we must ensure that electricity remains affordable. The federal government estimates that we'll need to double or triple the amount of clean electricity Canada produces by 2050. Our sector is also looking at how we're going to meet the government's ambition to build a net-zero electricity grid by 2035.
Today, May 9, 2022, marks only 4,985 days until we need to accomplish that objective. Meeting those goals will require substantial investments in electricity infrastructure and careful planning. We must work together and take the necessary time to ensure that the energy transition does not result in significant negative impacts on affordability for Canadians.
Our sector will be at the heart of a just transition.
We thank you for giving us an opportunity to participate in this important study.
I would now like to yield the floor to Ms. Branigan.