Ottawa needs policy certainty to help attract energy investment and strengthen economy, Canadian Utilities CEO says

Globe and Mail

14-05-2025

The new federal government must ensure policy certainty in the energy and power sectors to encourage global investment and build a more resilient economy, the new chief executive of Canadian Utilities Ltd. says.
Bob Myles, who took the reins of the company on May 8, told The Globe and Mail Wednesday that the pro-infrastructure messaging coming from Ottawa is encouraging, particularly after six months of tremendous uncertainty over the future of Canada's industrial carbon tax.
But uncertainty on the global economic front – including tariffs imposed by the United States – is exactly where Mr. Myles sees opportunities for the utilities arm of Calgary-based energy and structures giant ATCO Ltd. ACO-X-T
'Going to our neighbours to the south, it's actually been helpful in a weird way,' because Canada is realizing it must do things on its own and avoid relying on the U.S., he said.
Take the problem of shipping ammonia by rail from Alberta to the West Coast, which is key to developing Canada's burgeoning hydrogen sector.
A year ago, neither British Columbia nor Ottawa wanted to touch the issue, Mr. Myles said, because ammonia is derived from natural gas, so the subject wound up in the touchy fossil-fuels file.
'That wasn't supporting where the former prime minister wanted to go, so it was really difficult to get anything done. Things were happening, but no one would make a final decision,' he said.
But the chaos south of the border has changed all that, and has lit a fire under Canada to work together more effectively, he said.
'You can't even transport materials from Saskatchewan into Alberta right now. So if we can address all of that, Canada can become a lot stronger.'
ATCO CEO Nancy Southern told the company's annual meeting in Calgary Wednesday that she expects current trade tensions, supply chain challenges, inflationary pressures and geopolitical conflict to continue over the coming years, or perhaps even intensify.
'In these times, it seems that the only thing we can be sure of is that nothing stays the same,' she said.
But she takes heart in the fact that new Prime Minister Mark Carney has committed to 'bold and decisive action in order to build a stronger Canada,' including doubling national housing output, establishing the country as a global energy superpower and forging new trade corridors.
'While political will has long been the stumbling block, the benefits of these corridors have never been clearer, and the support has never been greater,' Ms. Southern said.
'These aren't merely aspirations. They are imperatives of the highest order, and now is the time for unity, resolve and unwavering execution, because the future of our nation demands nothing less.'
Ms. Southern added that key to the energy superpower question is Canada's exploitation of its natural gas resources, both as an export and for domestic use – particularly because it's so cheap.
On the energy transition side, Mr. Myles identified opportunities for ATCO and Canadian Utilities in gas storage, hydrogen, ammonia and carbon capture and sequestration.
The companies are already active in all of those spaces, but Mr. Myles said there needs to be certainty from the federal government to boost global market investments in Canada.
He pointed to Japan and South Korea as examples. Both want to invest in Canada, but don't know whether it's a competitive place to invest, or whether they should look to the Gulf Coast or the Middle East instead, he said.
'If we can move quickly as a country, I think we've got a great opportunity.'
In Alberta specifically, Mr. Myles sees room for growth because of increasing resource development and population growth.
But uncertainty remains in the province's utilities space, including with the restructuring of Alberta's power market.
There's also the looming question of the industrial carbon tax. Premier Danielle Smith this week announced an indefinite freeze on Alberta's industrial carbon price, effective immediately at $95 per tonne of emissions.
Mr. Myles said the good news is that the price on carbon didn't disappear altogether.
'If you take that away – something that's been in place since 2007 – what does that tell the investors outside of Alberta? It's saying as soon as you have something in place, it could disappear tomorrow,' he said.
But he doesn't believe the story has ended for the question of the price itself.
'At $95, is it sufficiently high to actually justify some of the projects? It's debatable. It may need to be higher than that to do that,' he said.