Canada's Opportunity Playbook

Pathways to Strategic Decarbonization

Canada can win in the global energy transition — but not every emissions-reduction option is compatible with a competitive clean economy. Canada’s Opportunity Playbook looks at 150+ technologies across 14 sectors to see which have the potential to power our future prosperity, and to identify where Canada should act next.

What is Canada's Opportunity Playbook?

The Playbook is Canada’s most comprehensive tool for understanding where we are on the pathway to climate competitiveness, and where to act next. An updated and expanded version of the Transition Accelerator’s 2021 report Pathways to Net Zero, this web tool and accompanying report are based on the most up-to-date research available, reviewed and validated by independent experts and industry stakeholders.

About This Site

This web tool lets you explore the data in Part II of our accompanying report to quickly assess the potential of 150+ technologies, systems, and practices that could contribute to Canada’s clean economy. For more details on the energy systems and strategic perspective behind this tool, along with the implementation impacts of the assessments, please see the full Canada’s Opportunity Playbook report.

Sectoral Summaries

Not every sector will be ready at the same time. Some are primed for immediate action, while others will take longer before realistic options are ready to deploy. See the top-line message for each sector below, and click through for details on its economic and emissions impacts, unique challenges, and more.

Agricultures and Agri-Food

Agriculture and Agri-Food

Emissions are mostly biological not combustion-based, arising from livestock, fertilizer, and soils across nearly 190,000 farms. No single technology delivers net zero, so partial levers must be combined.

Long-Term Play

Energy Carriers

Alternative Fuels

Low-carbon fuels for the sectors where electrification is not well suited: aviation, marine, long-haul freight, and high-temperature heat. Limited feedstock makes prioritizing end uses essential.

Medium-Term Opportunity

Industry

Aluminum

Canadian aluminum is among the lowest-carbon in the world due to hydropower. The remaining emissions come from the smelting process itself, and decarbonization depends on technologies still in development.

Medium-Term Opportunity

Buildings

Buildings

Spans millions of homes and commercial spaces with unique retrofit economics and ownership structures. Retrofitting existing stock and higher standards for new builds are keys to progress, with heat pumps and envelope upgrades as core levers.

Immediate Priority

Industry

Cement

Essential to construction and uniquely difficult to abate. Most emissions come from the chemical process of making clinker rather than from fuel, so clean energy alone cannot bring the sector to zero emissions.

Medium-Term Opportunity

Industry

Chemicals and Plastics

Fossil fuels supply both the process heat and the carbon and hydrogen contained in finished products, so clean energy needs to be paired with new feedstocks, capture, and lower demand.

Long-Term Play

Energy Carriers

Electricity

Canada’s grid is already 83% emission free. The task now is building enough clean generation, transmission, and storage to power vehicles, buildings, and industry as they electrify.

Immediate Priority

Energy Carriers

Hydrogen

A complement to electrification for heavy industry, long-haul transport, and industrial heat. Almost all Canadian hydrogen is high-emission today, and supply will not scale without demand to anchor it.

Medium-Term Opportunity

Transportation

Light-Duty Vehicles

Almost every household owns a vehicle, and almost all of those vehicles run on gasoline. Battery-electric vehicles offer the best solution to decarbonize this sector.

Immediate Priority

Transportation

Mass Transit

Direct emissions are small but the sector’s leverage is substantial. The electrification of buses and trains offers decarbonization and economic opportunities, but it needs to be paired with policies that support public use.

Immediate Priority

Transportation

MHDVs

Freight and service fleets run almost entirely on diesel, and no single technology suits them all. Electric fits return-to-base duty cycles, while hydrogen and renewable diesel currently better match long-haul routes.

Medium-Term Opportunity

Industry

Mining

Supplies the critical minerals on which decarbonization depends. Direct emissions are comparatively modest, and the primary opportunity lies in mobile equipment, where electric alternatives are available today.

Medium-Term Opportunity

Energy Carriers

Oil and Gas

Canada’s largest industry and its largest emitter. Cutting emissions means focusing on methane abatement, carbon capture and upstream electrification.

Long-Term Play

Industry

Steel and Iron

Nearly all emissions come from a single production route: coal-based blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) for iron and steel. Scrap-fed electric arc furnaces are cleaner but cannot meet demand alone, so primary ironmaking must change.

Canada's Opportunity Playbook

Pathways to Strategic Decarbonization

Where to Act

Sectoral Summaries

Long-Term Play

Medium-Term Opportunity

Medium-Term Opportunity

Immediate Priority

Medium-Term Opportunity

Long-Term Play

Immediate Priority

Medium-Term Opportunity

Immediate Priority

Immediate Priority

Medium-Term Opportunity

Medium-Term Opportunity

Long-Term Play

Medium-Term Opportunity

Sector Title

Primary Title

Secondary title

Priority

Signal to Decision-Makers

Deploy

Alignment with Carbon Neutrality

Economic

Economic viability

Economic development

Technical

Maturity

Operational fit

Infrastructure & supply

Social

Social acceptability

Relevance to stakeholders

Related benefits & costs