Coal in Canada

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Coal reserves in Canada rank 13th largest in the world (following the former Soviet Union, the United States, the People's Republic of China and Australia) at approximately 10 billion tons, 0.6% of the world total.^[1] This represents more energy than all of the oil and gas in the country combined. The coal industry generates CDN$5 billion annually.^[2] Most of Canada's coal mining occurs in the West of the country.^[3] British Columbia operates 9 coal mines,^[4] Alberta nine, Saskatchewan three and New Brunswick one. Nova Scotia operates several small-scale mines, Westray having closed following the 1992 disaster there.^[5]

In 2005, Canada produced 67.3 million tons of coal and its consumption was 60 million tons. Of this 56 million tons were used for electricity generation. The remaining four million tons was used in the steel, concrete and other industries.^[5] The largest consumers of coal in Canada were Alberta and Ontario. In 1997, Alberta accounted for 47% of Canada's coal consumption at 26.2 million tons, and Ontario accounted for 25% at 13.8 million tons. Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick also use coal to generate electricity to varying degrees.^[6]

In 2016, The Government of Canada, with the support of all provinces except Manitoba and Saskatchewan, decided to phase out the use of coal-fired power plants by 2030 in order to meet its Paris climate agreement commitments as declared in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. The decision affected 50 communities dependent on a nearby coal mine or power plant for its economy, and 3,000 to 3,900 workers who worked in the 13 power stations and 9 nearby mines that were still active in 2016 across Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.^[7] In November 2017 the Government of Canada co-founded the Powering Past Coal Alliance. As of June 2024 only 8 operational coal-fired power stations remain in Canada.