With the nationalization of Montreal Light, Heat and Power in 1944, the government of Adélard Godbout prepared the ground for the first energy revolution in Quebec, which would materialize in 1962, with the “Maître chez nous” campaign of the Lesage government and of its Minister of Natural Resources, René Lévesque. By extending the nationalization of electricity production throughout the territory, Quebec will be advantageously positioned on the environmental plan for the years to come.
If Quebec is in a good position on the starting line of the transition thanks to its energy production essentially composed of renewable energies, we are still heavily fueled by hydrocarbons, whether in the building sector, transport or even for industrial processes. The HEC Montréal Energy Sector Management Chair estimates that in 2019, nearly 54% of the energy consumed in Quebec came from hydrocarbons.1
All this is set to change with the objectives of carbon neutrality and the transfer of fossil energy consumption to renewable energies. This increased consumption of renewable resources will pose a major renewable energy supply challenge.
The government is aware of this, but the ideas are going in all directions and deserve a reframing. After the Prime Minister announced the intention to build dams in the middle of the election campaign, the Minister of Energy then embarked on sobriety without having defined the parameters, as soon as he took office. Exploring the different avenues is a good thing, but this approach must be collective.
At the crossroads
As the Prime Minister mentioned in his speech at the opening of this legislature, “in the next mandate, we need to have a real social debate on how we are going to find these 100 terawatt hours”. We agree with him, but perhaps we are not starting from the same premises. A national conversation is necessary since, in fact, two opposing visions regarding the future of energy in Quebec.
On the one hand, the government sees in the growth potential of electricity production in Québec a motor for economic and industrial development. In other words, adjust energy production according to growth as we have always done. On the other hand, several actors, including environmental and social movements, believe that it is necessary to adapt to the imperatives of the transition without repeating the errors of the current economic model, based on the overexploitation of resources, both energy and mineral, forest and water.
In short, it is the availability of energy resources and their deployment that should mark out the model and outline the potential for development, and not the reverse.
How much energy can we recover by reducing the number of cars on our roads that will not need to be electrified or by choosing less energy-intensive greenhouse production?
Quebec society must reflect collectively on how it wishes to use its precious green energy: to produce what, for what purpose, for whose benefit? It is no longer just a question of thinking in terms of the development of new energy capacities, but of thinking about current and future consumption.
A generic BAPE to clarify the energy vision
During the first days of legislative activity in Québec, the Minister of Energy tabled a bill concerning Hydro-Québec’s electricity rates and distribution obligations. This bill will be debated and studied during the next parliamentary session and it will be important that the organizations and experts working on the energy transition project can be heard in the context of any specific consultations at the National Assembly.
In addition, during the unveiling of the Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister announced the creation of a cabinet committee on the energy transition, which he will chair. However, by discussing behind closed doors and in the absence of broader consultation with civil society, our decision-makers are depriving themselves of the information necessary to make decisions that will benefit the common interest.
Current government initiatives to define Québec’s new energy vision are therefore not enough. Quebecers must have their say.
The government should therefore announce the holding of a generic BAPE, which makes it possible to explore in depth an issue that could have significant repercussions for Québec society, to allow everyone to express themselves on our energy future.
We have seen very recently that things are stirring when it comes to resource management and energy development in Quebec. If this issue arouses so much passion and creates so much friction in the upper echelons of power, it is a sign that a national conversation is necessary. The second energy revolution is underway in Quebec, it is up to us to choose what we will do with it.