The Canadian Renewable Energy Policy Landscape Report Series began in January 2025, developed as a term-long project in Planning for Just Energy Transitions, a graduate-level elective course CCJ Steering Committee member Dr Holly Caggiano developed in 2023-4. It had been difficult to locate clear, accessible resources that provided an overview of these landscapes, an area that deserves far greater attention within planning scholarship and practice. While energy policy may be primarily implemented nationally and provincially, energy development is always experienced locally. PLAN548B was planned around this group research assignment as a means to both teach and learn from students.In addition to being a significant research effort, the reports also aim to develop student skills in creating accessible resources for a general audience. They are designed to be skimmable, useful for professionals, academics, and community members, and to point readers toward additional resources for deeper exploration.
From PI Dr Holly Caggiano: I recently was asked to reflect on the most important challenge for planners in the future, and I answered that it would be getting through what scholars Emily Grubert and Sara Hastings-Simon call the “mid-transition”, where we currently find ourselves, as fossil-based energy systems co-exist and compete with alternatives like renewables. The Canadian Renewable Energy Policy Landscape Report Series started with navigating the mid-transition at top of mind. Our collective infrastructural and social world is shaped by fossil-based infrastructure, and technical and regulatory barriers loom large for new planners imagining a healthier, more just world. It is not easy to develop new systems under the constraints of old ones, but responding to climate change will require entirely new planning practices.
This series began in January 2025, developed as a term-long project in Planning for Just Energy Transitions, a graduate-level elective course I developed in 2023-4 when I started my role at UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning. When I moved to Canada from the United States, I was overwhelmed digging through information to learn about renewable energy policy across provinces and territories. I found it difficult to locate clear, accessible resources that provided an overview of these landscapes. I also believe that energy deserves far greater attention within planning scholarship and practice. While energy policy may be primarily implemented nationally and provincially, energy development is always experienced locally. So, I designed PLAN548B around this group research assignment as a means to both teach and learn from my students.
In addition to being a significant research effort, the reports also aim to develop student skills in creating accessible resources for a general audience. They are designed to be skimmable, useful for professionals, academics, and community members, and to point readers toward additional resources for deeper exploration. I was inspired deeply by conversations with Dr. Sara Mills at the University of Michigan, who has led students in publishing more than 30 reports on renewable energy policy in the US through the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy’s Renewable Energy Policy Initiative.
In 2025 Winter Term 2, students completed reports on Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Yukon, and Ontario. In 2026, we tackled Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island. Copy editing, formatting, and planning took plenty of time beyond each term. Although national and provincial policies continue to rapidly evolve, we hope these reports remain a useful introduction to the renewable energy landscapes across the country. I also hope to add additional reports to this series in the future.
This project has been an incredible learning experience and genuine pleasure. I am deeply grateful to the students whose diligence, curiosity, and enthusiasm enabled such high quality work. I would also like to thank Heather Campbell, SCARP’s Director, for her support for the development of an energy course in a planning department; the Centre for Climate Justice for hosting the report series; Isabelle Espanol and Charlotte Taylor for their support with careful copy editing and formatting; and the several experts who generously shared their time and insights with students throughout this project.
Holly Caggiano
Assistant Professor, Climate Justice and Environmental Planning
School of Community and Regional Planning, University of British Columbia