Calgary Herald: Federal government commits $26 million for prairie clean energy, including $4.2 million for University of Calgary research
Kwatuuma Cole Sayers, Executive Director, Indigenous Power Coalition speaks at the launch of WTC in Calgary on July 4, 2026
Speaking at the University of Calgary’s downtown campus Saturday, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said the $4.2-million investment will support the Western Transmission Catalyst (WTC) program, aimed at expanding electricity transmission connections across Western Canada, with the goal of improving grid reliability, affordability and the sharing of clean energy between provinces.
“We’re contributing to finding ways to respond to urgent challenges facing modern electrical systems,” said Dr. Bill Ghali, vice-president of research at the University of Calgary. “Whether that comes in the form of data centres, connecting to the grid, the increasing demands on the grid for industry and our homes and a push to get more electric vehicles on the road.”
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The program will be headed by Dr. Blake Shaffer, who co-leads the U of C’s interdisciplinary electricity centre, alongside the Indigenous Power Coalition, a non-profit organization that pushes for Indigenous involvement in energy projects to progress economic reconciliation.
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The coalition’s executive director, Kwatuuma Cole Sayers, said the program is the answer to how Canada will interconnect its grid and ensure generations to come have access to affordable and reliable energy.
“Our mission is clear: to clear the path and overcome the hurdles of expanding interprovincial transmission in Western Canada,” he said. “We’re doing this by directly tackling the challenges that have gotten in the way of getting infrastructure built in the past.”
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He said they are doing so by focusing on Indigenous-led ownership and leadership, independent technical and economic analysis to provide decision-makers the facts and facilitating collaboration across industries and jurisdictions to make coordination seamless.
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“An an independent convener, we can help transform competing interests into collective wins,” Cole Sayers said.
