Alberta
Clean tech innovation cuts emissions, creates jobs

March 12, 2019
Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan is helping major industries reduce emissions and create jobs while cutting costs and becoming more competitive.
Emissions Reduction Alberta is funding more than a dozen new clean technology projects across the province, while Energy Efficiency Alberta is supporting small and medium-sized oil and gas companies to reduce methane emissions through upgrades.
“Innovation is a key part of Alberta’s economic and environmental success, and our industries continue to show tremendous leadership. Clean technology investments lead to made-in-Alberta solutions that support jobs, protect our environment, and point Alberta toward a healthy, prosperous future.”
Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA)
From Fort McMurray to Waterton, 16 innovative clean technology projects will receive funding through ERA’s $100-million Biotechnology, Electricity and Sustainable Transportation (BEST) Challenge – the largest challenge in ERA’s history.
These projects have a combined value of $600 million and the potential to reduce a total of 2.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 – the same as taking 530,700 cars off the road. These projects will also result in 114 new jobs.
“Our BEST Challenge is about accelerating the most promising clean technology solutions across multiple sectors – from new solar opportunities in coal-impacted communities to efficient fleet solutions. These projects will be a showcase for innovative technologies that can be adopted in communities across Alberta. They support economic growth, community health and demonstrate environmental leadership on a national and global scale.”
The Alberta Motor Transport Association (AMTA) is working to develop and demonstrate a 700-kilometre-plus-range zero emission truck. These trucks will reduce greenhouse gas emissions through improved fuel efficiency of the fuel cell hybrid drivetrain. Sequestering carbon at the hydrogen generation facility will result in even greater emissions reductions.
“This is a very exciting project for the AMTA and our member companies. This initiative is primarily about moving freight on Alberta’s highways with zero emissions, but it is also about the future of the Alberta economy. Alberta is in the transportation fuel business, and that business is changing. The AZETEC project demonstrates that Alberta’s commercial transportation industry is leading the transition towards innovative, zero-emission transportation that meets the province’s unique needs.”
Another funding recipient, eCAMION, is working on a project to transition Alberta’s buses from diesel to electric. Its first-of-a-kind charging system could lower installation and operating costs, encouraging broader and faster adoption across the province. eCAMION will partner with the City of Edmonton on a trial of its fast-charge technology. A complete list of BEST Challenge projects is available here.
Energy Efficiency Alberta (EEA)
Government is providing an additional $5 million to support the continued success of EEA’s popular $10-million Methane Emissions Reduction initiative.
The program has already made it easier for 30 small and medium-sized oil and gas companies to address methane waste through energy-efficient equipment upgrades, which also helps facilities hire more staff, reduce annual emissions and boost competitiveness. To date, 2,534 applications are approved, with at least 1,500 more anticipated by March 31, 2019.
“Through methane-reduction education and deployment of existing technologies, companies ultimately have the ability to become more competitive and efficient. This announcement will result in a great collaboration to further our methane-reduction programming for the oil and gas sector.”
The funding boost will also support a $1.5-million grant for the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada to introduce technologies that reduce methane emissions. The grant is expected to reduce up to 200,000 tonnes of emissions – the same as taking 42,460 cars off the road.
“Energy Efficiency Alberta’s Methane Emissions Reduction initiative is a momentous step towards a massive deployment of proven, cost-effective, economic methane-mitigation technologies that will benefit our people, planet and industry. It will enable producers – large and small – to maintain competitiveness, while helping Alberta’s entrepreneurs and small technology providers prosper and create jobs.”
“EEA’s Methane Emissions Reduction Program continues to improve the province’s emissions inventory while growing local jobs and incentivizing capital investment in Alberta-based emission-reduction projects. We look forward to continuing to contribute to the success of this program and working with industry to implement emission-reduction technologies.”
Quick facts
- The biotechnology, electricity and sustainable transportation sectors account for more than 40 per cent of Alberta’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
- ERA takes action on climate change and supports economic growth and diversification by investing carbon pricing paid by industry directly into clean technology solutions that reduce emissions, attract investment and create jobs. To date, ERA has committed more than $572 million in funding to 164 projects with a total value of roughly $4.3 billion.
- The climate change impact of methane is 25 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period. Methane emissions in 2014 from Alberta’s oil and gas sector accounted for 70 per cent of provincial methane emissions, and 25 per cent of all emissions from the upstream oil and gas sector.
- The Methane Emissions Reduction Program was announced in October 2018, and 60 per cent of the first year’s budget has already been committed. The program received three dozen applications in the first six weeks.
Alberta
Cross-Canada NGL corridor will stretch from B.C. to Ontario

Keyera Corp.’s natural gas liquids facilities in Fort Saskatchewan. Photo courtesy Keyera Corp.
From the Canadian Energy Centre
By Will Gibson
Keyera ‘Canadianizes’ natural gas liquids with $5.15 billion acquisition
Sarnia, Ont., which sits on the southern tip of Lake Huron and peers across the St. Clair River to Michigan, is a crucial energy hub for much of the eastern half of Canada and parts of the United States.
With more than 60 industrial facilities including refineries and chemical plants that produce everything from petroleum, resins, synthetic rubber, plastics, lubricants, paint, cosmetics and food additives in the southwestern Ontario city, Mayor Mike Bradley admits the ongoing dialogue about tariffs with Canada’s southern neighbour hits close to home.
So Bradley welcomed the announcement that Calgary-based Keyera Corp. will acquire the majority of Plains American Pipelines LLP’s Canadian natural gas liquids (NGL) business, creating a cross-Canada NGL corridor that includes a storage hub in Sarnia.
“As a border city, we’ve been on the frontline of the tariff wars, so we support anything that helps enhance Canadian sovereignty and jobs,” says the long-time mayor, who was first elected in 1988.
The assets in Sarnia are a key piece of the $5.15 billion transaction, which will connect natural gas liquids from the growing Montney and Duvernay plays in B.C. and Alberta to markets in central Canada and the eastern U.S. seaboard.
NGLs are hydrocarbons found within natural gas streams including ethane, propane and pentanes. They are important energy sources and used to produce a wide range of everyday items, from plastics and clothing to fuels.
Keyera CEO Dean Setoguchi cast the proposed acquisition as an act of repatriation.
“This transaction brings key NGL infrastructure under Canadian ownership, enhancing domestic energy capabilities and reinforcing Canada’s economic resilience by keeping value and decision-making closer to home,” Setoguchi told analysts in a June 17 call.
“Plains’ portfolio forms a fully integrated cross Canada NGL system connecting Western Canada supply to key demand centres across the Prairie provinces, Ontario and eastern U.S.,” he said.
“The system includes strategic hubs like Empress, Fort Saskatchewan and Sarnia – which provide a reliable source of Canadian NGL supply to extensive fractionation, storage, pipeline and logistics infrastructure.”
Martin King, RBN Energy’s managing director of North America Energy Market Analysis, sees Keyera’s ability to “Canadianize” its NGL infrastructure as improving the company’s growth prospects.
“It allows them to tap into the Duvernay and Montney, which are the fastest growing NGL plays in North America and gives them some key assets throughout the country,” said the Calgary-based analyst.
“The crown assets are probably the straddle plants in Empress, which help strip out the butane, ethane and other liquids for condensate. It also positions them well to serve the eastern half of the country.”
And that’s something welcomed in Sarnia.
“Having a Canadian source for natural gas would be our preference so we see Keyera’s acquisition as strengthening our region as an energy hub,” Bradley said.
“We are optimistic this will be good for our region in the long run.”
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
Meanwhile, the governments of Ontario and Alberta are joining forces to strengthen the economies of both regions, and the country, by advancing major infrastructure projects including pipelines, ports and rail.
A joint feasibility study is expected this year on how to move major private sector-led investments forward.
Alberta
Alberta school boards required to meet new standards for school library materials with regard to sexual content

Alberta’s government has introduced new standards to ensure school library materials are age-appropriate.
School libraries should be safe and supportive places where students can learn and explore without being exposed to inappropriate sexual content. However, in the absence of a consistent standard for selecting age-appropriate library materials, school boards have taken different approaches, leading to concerns about safeguards in place.
In response to these concerns, and informed by feedback from education partners and the public, Alberta’s government has created standards to provide school boards with clear direction on the selection, availability and access to school library materials, such as books.
“Our actions to ensure that materials in school libraries don’t expose children to sexual content were never about banning books. These new standards are to ensure that school boards have clear guidance to ensure age-appropriate access to school library materials, while reflecting the values and priorities of Albertans.”
The new standards set clear expectations for school library materials with regard to sexual content and require school boards to implement policies to support these standards.
Standards for school library materials
Under the new standards, school libraries are not permitted to include library materials containing explicit sexual content. Non-explicit sexual content may be accessible to students in Grade 10 and above, provided it is age-appropriate.
“Protecting kids from explicit content is common sense. LGBTQ youth, like all children, deserve to see themselves in stories that are age-appropriate, supportive and affirming – not in material that sexualizes or confuses them.”
School boards must also regularly review their school library collections, publish a full list of available materials and ensure that a staff member supervises students’ access to school library materials. School boards will have to remove any materials with explicit sexual content from their school libraries by October 1.
School board policies and procedures
All school boards must have publicly available policies that align with the new standards for selecting and managing library materials by January 1, 2026. School boards can either create new policies or update existing ones to meet these requirements.
These policies must outline how school library materials are selected and reviewed, how staff supervise students’ access throughout the school day, and how a student, parent, school board employee or other member of the school community can request a review or removal of materials in the school library. School boards are also required to clearly communicate these policies to employees, students and parents before January 2026.
“A robust, grade- and age-appropriate library catalogue is vital for student success. We welcome the ministry’s initiative to establish consistent standards and appreciate the ongoing consultation to help craft a plan that will serve our families and communities well.”
“Red Deer Public Schools welcomes the new provincial standards for school library materials. Our division is committed to maintaining welcoming, respectful learning spaces where students can grow and thrive. Under the new standards for school libraries, we remain dedicated to providing learning resources that reflect our values and support student success.”
Quick facts
- The new standards will apply to public, separate, francophone, charter and independent schools.
- The ministerial order does not apply to municipal libraries located within schools or materials selected for use by teachers as learning and teaching resources.
- From May 26 to June 6, almost 80,000 people completed an online survey to provide feedback on the creation of consistent standards to ensure the age-appropriateness of materials available to students in school libraries.
Related information
- Ministerial Order
- School library standards engagement
- Reference Materials: Content warning: this document contains graphic content that may be disturbing to viewers and is not appropriate for young viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
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