Ontario is Canada’s automotive manufacturing hub and the only province assembling both cars and trucks, with a diversified, manufacturing and services-based economy and a low-emission power grid following an early coal phase-out.
Exports are led by motor vehicles and parts, precious metals and stones, and mechanical equipment, while the decarbonization challenge sits in transport, buildings, and industry rather than power generation.
Five sectors account for 134.1 Mt, or 85% of provincial emissions. Transportation, buildings, and heavy industry together make up 71% of the total, while the grid remains low-emission following the early coal phase-out.
| Sector | Mt CO₂e | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 49.8 Mt | 32% |
| Buildings | 33.1 Mt | 21% |
| Heavy industry | 29.4 Mt | 19% |
| Agriculture | 13 Mt | 8% |
| Electricity | 8.8 Mt | 6% |
| Other emissions | 23.8 Mt | 15% |
Choose a sector in the dropdown below, or in the ring, to see its emissions breakdown, economic and trade weight, its pathway emphasis.
Ontario's largest source, dominated by light-duty and freight road segments. The province assembles both cars and trucks and hosts five global automakers, so vehicle electrification is both the main abatement lever and an industrial opportunity.
Employment: 422k in Transportation & warehousing.
Exports: Motor vehicles & parts $64.1B.
Residential and commercial buildings are similarly sized emissions sources in the inventory. Retrofit scale-up and electrified heating carry the load, supported by a grid that remains low-emission.
GDP: Construction $57.9B; Employment: 579k in construction.
Building-related goods exports: $2.4B.
Steel, chemicals, and other industry make up Ontario's third-largest source. Industrial electrification and lower-emission process transitions carry the load while maintaining the competitiveness of major manufactured export groups.
GDP: Manufacturing $92.4B; Employment: 830k in manufacturing.
Major manufactured export groups include: Mechanical equipment $24.7B, Pharmaceutical products $7.2B and Inorganic chemicals $3.1B.
Methane and nitrous oxide drive agricultural emissions, which sit largely outside combustion-focused levers. Practice and technology shifts are the pathway emphasis, supported by strengthened mitigation supports and measurement.
Employment: 115k in Primary industries.
Agri-food exports include Cereal and baked products $8.0B and Vegetables $2.9B.
Nuclear and hydro provide most of Ontario's 160,400 GWh, keeping generation intensity low at 54 g CO2e/kWh (2023). The task is maintaining and expanding low-emission supply so that electrification of transport, buildings, and industry stays clean.
GDP: Utilities $15.2B; Employment: 60k in utilities.
Electricity exports: 21.1 TWh in 2025 with Quebec, New York and Michigan the largest destinations
Detail coming soon for Other emissions.
| Actions | Sector weight |
|---|---|
|
TRANSPORTATION
Accelerate road transportation decarbonization
Prioritize light-duty and freight road segments, which dominate Ontario's transportation emissions, aligning with the direction of the federal Electric Vehicle Availability Standard.
|
31.6% of emissions |
|
BUILDINGS
Scale building retrofit and low-carbon heating deployment
Target existing residential and commercial and institutional buildings, which are similarly sized emissions sources in the inventory, through efficiency retrofits and electrified heating.
|
21.0% of emissions |
|
HEAVY INDUSTRY
Target industrial decarbonization in high-emitting subsectors
Combine efficiency, electrification and process transition options across steel, chemicals and other industry, maintaining industrial competitiveness.
|
18.6% of emissions |
|
AGRICULTURE
Strengthen agricultural mitigation supports and measurement
Focus on practices and technologies that reduce methane and nitrous oxide across the sector's 12.97 Mt of emissions.
|
8.2% of emissions |
|
ELECTRICITY
Coordinate electrification demand with electricity system planning
Electricity is the enabler for transport, buildings and industry, with grid intensity reported at 54 g CO₂e/kWh (2023); planning must keep low-emission supply ahead of growing electrification demand.
|
CORE ENABLER |
economic viability score
Economic Viability description
