Good morning. Thank you, Chair.
As you know, energy is foundational to Canada's economy, competitiveness and national resilience. Canadians rely on secure and affordable energy every day to heat their homes, power businesses, move goods, support industry and connect communities across our country.
Canada starts from a position of considerable strength. We have abundant resources, a diverse energy mix, strong institutions, significant infrastructure and deeply integrated trade relationships.
However, energy security is never a given. Current geopolitical instability reminds us just how interconnected global energy markets are. Events taking place thousands of miles away can have repercussions on our energy systems, and thus on our economy and daily lives.
Changing trade dynamics, extreme weather, aging infrastructure, cyber-threats, supply chain pressures and rising demand affect not only global markets but also Canada's domestic ability to produce, move, store and deliver energy reliably and affordably. That is why energy security must be understood as more than supply alone. It is about the resilience of the full energy system: production, transportation, storage, refining, distribution, emergency preparedness, infrastructure protection and the ability to respond quickly when disruptions occur.
In the Canadian context, the concept of energy independence also requires nuance. As a major energy producer and exporter, energy independence should not mean self-isolation. It is better understood as the capacity to make sovereign choices to produce, move, secure and trade energy in ways that best support Canadian interests.
With this in mind, we recently published a national strategy for an electricity-based Canadian economy.
The national electricity strategy is anchored on the idea that electricity is foundational to competitiveness and that growing the electricity sector in an affordable manner is key to both economic prosperity and reducing emissions. Canada already has one of the cleanest grids in the world, with about 80% of electricity powered by non-emitting sources. Building the infrastructure to double Canada's electricity systems will require generational investments in transmission, generation, distribution, storage and grid modernization.
The electrification of the economy is essential to reducing emissions while supporting long-term competitiveness.
The strategy acknowledges where electricity is provincial or territorial jurisdiction and calls for even closer collaboration with provinces and territories, utilities, indigenous partners, industry investors and other partners.
Work has already begun, notably with Bill S‑4, which aims to modernize the Energy Efficiency Act and pave the way for modern demand management programs.
We will expand support for energy-saving retrofits for up to one million households through financing, grants and complementary measures. We have also committed to exploring expanded support for interprovincial transmission through investment tax credits and the development of a new comprehensive transmission interconnect investment strategy for interties.
However, national energy security is obviously not limited to electricity. It encompasses all energy sources, systems, infrastructure and capabilities on which Canadians and the Canadian economy depend. Canada has a major asset: the abundance and diversity of its energy resources, ranging from oil and natural gas to hydroelectricity, nuclear power and renewable energy.
Canada is also a fuels leader, holding about 10% of the world's proven oil reserves and 3% of its proven natural gas reserves, while accounting for roughly 9% of global exports and 7% of gas exports. However, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has contributed to a significant and sustained disruption in global oil and gas markets.
Although Canada is less exposed to direct crude oil shortages thanks to integrated and diversified supply chains, it is not immune to the effects of the global context, which Canadians are already feeling through rising and volatile energy prices.
Canada supports global stability as a dependable supplier of responsibly produced energy, with LNG Canada exporting approximately 14 million tonnes per year and the Trans Mountain pipeline with the capacity to send up to 890,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Alongside future LNG, LPG and oil exports from projects under construction, we are reinforcing our alliances while supporting economic growth and prosperity at home.
Energy security requires hand in hand co-operation between the federal government and provincial and territorial partners.
It is not a matter of dictating solutions to them, but of understanding their reality and challenges and strengthening joint planning, coordination and a collective response to emergencies.
In closing, Canada approaches this study from a position of strength, but it is also a time of growing pressure on energy systems. Electricity, energy security and energy independence are closely connected. The common objective is a reliable, affordable and resilient energy system for Canadians now and in the future.
Thank you.