ESF and Communities

Communities are on the frontlines of energy issues in Canada. These issues range from household affordability to industry competitiveness. They include emerging uses like AI and data centres as well. ESF recognizes the importance of getting such issues right. We bring awareness to community needs and insights by providing platforms to raise up the voices of community leaders and supply further substantiation through research.

Listening to Community Leaders

Documenting the reality of Canadian communities is a priority for ESF. The role of energy in Canadian life isn’t theoretical – it’s local, immediate and essential. Mayors and municipal officials offer a grounded perspective informed by what they see and hear every day: Energy supports communities, creates jobs and positions Canada to lead.

Getting Canada’s Energy Future Right: A consumer lens on energy in Canada

Canada’s energy future cannot be built on emissions targets alone. It must work for energy consumers - the households, businesses, and industries that power our economy. As demand grows and electrification accelerates, affordability, reliability, safety, resilience, and social acceptance all matter. As ESF has shown in “Getting Canada’s Energy Future Right,” the core question is not whether Canada can reduce emissions, but how to do so while protecting competitiveness, managing costs, and maintaining a secure energy system that supports jobs, living standards and thriving communities.

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The Other Energy Security: Addressing Energy Poverty in Canada’s Indigenous Communities

Energy security is often framed as a global issue, but rural Canadian communities face unique needs. For many Indigenous and remote communities it is about whether families can simply even afford to stay warm. Hundreds of communities remain off-grid, paying some of the highest energy costs in the country, even when lower-cost infrastructure is nearby. The issue is not resource scarcity, but access and policy design. ESF sees closing this gap as a practical step toward improving affordability, reliability, and economic opportunity in communities that have been left out of Canada’s energy advantage.

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Canada’s LNG Opportunity: A Value Proposition Worth Celebrating

ESF connects the dots between customers abroad, investors and communities at home who stand to gain when opportunity is unleashed. Global demand for natural gas is rising and countries are actively seeking reliable suppliers. Canada has the resource base, labor, and environmental performance to meet that demand. Canadian LNG offers a clear value proposition truly worth celebrating: lower emissions than coal, significant economic returns at home, and meaningful Indigenous partnership and ownership. Realizing this opportunity requires a predictable regulatory framework and a full appreciation of LNG’s economic, environmental, and strategic benefits for Canada and its allies.

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