Canada is poised to become a low-carbon energy powerhouse. One industry association found $200 billion in investment opportunities across a range of technologies, while Clean Prosperity showed that the 2025 federal-Alberta memorandum of understanding could unlock $90 billion in low-carbon investment.

Canadian institutional investors have the potential to help accelerate Canada’s industrial decarbonization. What will it take for them to increase the speed and scale of their low-carbon investments?

To better understand the challenges and opportunities facing institutional investors in Canada’s decarbonization trajectory, Clean Prosperity interviewed investor representatives, as well as experts from major banks, academics, and investment advisers.

Key takeaways

The foundation for institutional investor climate commitment is there: Canadian institutional investors are increasingly making public commitments to climate-friendly capital deployment, backed by tangible examples of successful sustainable investments.

There’s support for carbon pricing — and especially carbon contracts for difference: Carbon pricing can make decarbonization more investable. But institutional investors need stable, predictable climate policy. Carbon contracts for difference can help mitigate policy uncertainty.

Institutional investors need a pipeline of low-carbon infrastructure deals: With their global reach and diverse investment opportunities, institutional investors require a consistent flow of suitable projects to justify allocating time, capacity, and capital to Canadian decarbonization projects.

Read the report

_{Photo credits: Sarah Reid and elijah.lovkoff}