Yukon’s energy challenges align with national priorities

Yukon’s electricity system is under real strain, and the situation is becoming harder to ignore.

This winter, the territory hit record electricity demand during prolonged periods of extreme cold. At one point, the grid was operating at more than 90 per cent of capacity. When our LNG facility briefly went offline last December, Yukon narrowly avoided preparations for rolling blackouts in the capital city of Whitehorse.

This is the reality of operating an isolated northern grid during a Yukon winter.

Unlike southern Canada, Yukon is not connected to the North American electricity grid. We cannot import large amounts of power from neighbouring jurisdictions when demand spikes. We must generate dependable winter electricity ourselves, often in temperatures approaching -50 C and in near-constant darkness.

At the same time, some of the infrastructure we rely on most is aging and increasingly expensive to maintain. The Wareham dam spillway at the Mayo hydro facility has deteriorated beyond the point of repair. Several independent engineering reviews concluded replacement is urgently required to reduce the risk of failure. In addition to losing access to clean renewable energy, failure could also put an entire community at risk of flooding. The work required to extend the life of this hydro facility alone is expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars over the coming years.

These are not optional upgrades. They are critical public safety and energy reliability projects.

Electricity demand is also growing rapidly. Yukon’s population increased by 27 per cent over the last decade. More homes are being built. More people are switching to electric heating. Critical mineral projects are advancing. Forecasts now show winter peak residential demand increasing by more than 30 per cent within five years, and that estimate does not even include industry or large new mines.

The pressure is already showing up on power bills. Yukon ratepayers are facing a 34-per-cent rate increase tied to urgent system investments and regulatory requirements. Life is quickly becoming less affordable as families face difficult questions about how to pay their bills.

The solution is clear. Yukon needs dependable winter generation, transmission upgrades, major hydro modernization work, and new long-term energy infrastructure. Projects such as the proposed 150-megawatt thermal generation plan and upgrades to our existing hydro facilities are essential if the territory is going to remain reliable, affordable, and economically competitive.

But the scale of investment required dwarfs what a territory of roughly 48,000 people can afford alone. That is why the federal government's new Powering Canada Strong strategy is such an important opportunity for Yukon. The strategy specifically highlights the challenges facing the Yukon and recognizes that addressing them is essential to Canada's future.

Its recognition that energy is fundamental to growing communities, strengthening the economy, and improving affordability is particularly important in the North where small populations must maintain infrastructure that serves national objectives extending far beyond territorial boundaries. The strategy's commitment to doubling Canada's electricity system presents a significant opportunity to build the infrastructure Yukon needs while helping achieve broader national goals.

This is where the conversation must shift from being seen as a territorial issue to being recognized as a national priority. The challenges facing Yukon are not unique to Yukon alone. They are part of a broader Canadian conversation about energy security, affordability, economic growth, and Arctic sovereignty.

Canada needs critical minerals. Yukon has them. Canada needs Arctic sovereignty, economic growth, and secure northern infrastructure. Yukon can help deliver all three. But none of it happens without power.

If Canada is serious about developing the North, then Canada must also be serious about helping build the energy infrastructure that makes northern development possible. The federal government's new approach to electricity infrastructure provides a framework to do exactly that. For Yukon, it represents an opportunity to strengthen energy security, support nation-building projects, unlock critical mineral development, and keep electricity affordable for the families and businesses that call the North home.

Ted Laking is Yukon's minister of energy, mines, and resources, and the minister responsible for the Yukon Development Corporation and the Yukon Energy Corporation.

The Hill Times