Recently, the Business Renewables Centre’s (BRC) Renewables in Review 2025 showed that investment in renewable energy in Alberta has all but disappeared. New wind projects have “stalled altogether,” causing the province to actually lose grid-connected wind capacity, and solar added only 38 MW, its smallest gain since 2019.
That same week, Bloomberg NEF’s Energy Transition Investment Trends 2026 reported a $2.3 trillion global investment in renewable energy in 2025, up 8 per cent year-over-year, despite significant trade disruptions.
While the world races toward clean energy, Alberta pursues pipelines to markets that are rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels. Our province is shunning the largest investment trend on the planet to appease oil and gas companies. Failing to adapt will mean that Albertans and our future economy will pay a heavy price.
The global shift is undeniable. While China still attracts the largest share of clean-tech manufacturing investment, the U.S., EU, and India are onshoring clean-tech supply chains of their own. Meanwhile, Energy Analytics reports that global investment in upstream oil and gas fell to $567 billion in 2025, a 35 per cent decline from the $869 billion invested in 2015.
As a result of Alberta’s cratering investments in solar, wind, and battery storage, Canada has dropped out of the top ten countries investing in clean, inexpensive renewable energy, only to be replaced by Saudi Arabia.
The consequences are already visible. The oil and gas sector lost 10,000 jobs in 2025, meaning the oil patch now employs less than 5 per cent of Albertans. Most of these losses are due to automation in the oil sands and layoffs to maximize profit taking. Strong employment trends in construction, manufacturing, and professional services made up for these losses, foreshadowing the province’s employment future.
According to the BRC report, “after pioneering business investment in renewable energy in Canada, as of 2025, Alberta no longer leads the country in corporate procurement capacity.”
Ironically, China, India, and Japan, all top-ten clean energy investors, are targets for Alberta’s pipeline dreams to export fossil fuels to Southeast Asia. These short-term market opportunities will almost certainly be eclipsed by the surge of inexpensive wind and solar power being built now.
Even in the United States, investment in renewable energy increased 3.5 per cent in 2025, despite President Trump’s slashing of the previous administration’s programs.
Why is Premier Smith so determined to quash Alberta’s less expensive, clean, job-creating renewable energy sector? Consider the revolving door between her government and the oil and gas industry, where senior officials, including the Premier herself, skip between government posts and corporate petroleum lobbyist positions.
For six decades, the oil and gas industry has controlled Alberta’s finances and our well-being. The global energy transition threatens that sector. Instead of embracing the opportunities of the new energy economy, Alberta pledges fealty to a bygone era. Workers, energy consumers, investors, and all Albertans will pay the price for this gross incompetence.
