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Coal in Canada
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Coal in Canada
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.The coal industry generated $12.2 billion in 2023. With 19 active coal mines across Canada, most of the coal comes from British Columbia (59%), Alberta (28%) and Saskatchewan (13%).
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. 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.
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 nine nearby mines that were still active in 2016 across Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In November 2017, the Government of Canada co-founded the Powering Past Coal Alliance. As of June 2024, only eight operational coal-fired power stations remained in Canada.
Canada exports both the higher and lower grades of coal—metallurgical coal and thermal coal. According to a February 2015 Natural Resources Canada report, in 2013, "Canadian coal exports totalled $5.5 billion." Ninety-three percent of coal exports were the higher-grade coking coal. In 2013 there were only two coal mines in Canada producing the lower grade thermal coal for export—Westmoreland Coal Company's Coal Valley and Hillsborough Resources Limited's Quinsam mine. A third thermal coal for export mining project—the Vista Coal Project in northern Alberta—had received regulatory approval in the 1980s, and again in 2014, but the price of thermal coal had dropped dramatically from 2011 to 2014 and the project stalled. The project was revived in 2015 when American billionaire coal investor purchased Vista. Thermal coal was exported from Vista in 2019.
For several years, coal production decreased as provincial and federal governments sought to phase out its use in favor of renewable energy in order to combat global warming.
By 2018, there was an increase global coal prices and improvements in thermal coal mining, which led to an increase in coal mining activity. Most of Canada's coal reserves are located in Alberta.
In 2010, Canada ranked 15th in the world in coal production, with a total production of 67.9 million tonnes.
Coal was first mined in Canada in 1639 when the first mine was opened in Grand Lake, New Brunswick. First Nations would identify deposits, and the mined product would be used for tasks such as burning and trading. During the New France period, a large mine was built in Cow Bay, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island to supply to Louisbourg fortress.
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Coal in Canada
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.The coal industry generated $12.2 billion in 2023. With 19 active coal mines across Canada, most of the coal comes from British Columbia (59%), Alberta (28%) and Saskatchewan (13%).
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. 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.
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 nine nearby mines that were still active in 2016 across Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In November 2017, the Government of Canada co-founded the Powering Past Coal Alliance. As of June 2024, only eight operational coal-fired power stations remained in Canada.
Canada exports both the higher and lower grades of coal—metallurgical coal and thermal coal. According to a February 2015 Natural Resources Canada report, in 2013, "Canadian coal exports totalled $5.5 billion." Ninety-three percent of coal exports were the higher-grade coking coal. In 2013 there were only two coal mines in Canada producing the lower grade thermal coal for export—Westmoreland Coal Company's Coal Valley and Hillsborough Resources Limited's Quinsam mine. A third thermal coal for export mining project—the Vista Coal Project in northern Alberta—had received regulatory approval in the 1980s, and again in 2014, but the price of thermal coal had dropped dramatically from 2011 to 2014 and the project stalled. The project was revived in 2015 when American billionaire coal investor purchased Vista. Thermal coal was exported from Vista in 2019.
For several years, coal production decreased as provincial and federal governments sought to phase out its use in favor of renewable energy in order to combat global warming.
By 2018, there was an increase global coal prices and improvements in thermal coal mining, which led to an increase in coal mining activity. Most of Canada's coal reserves are located in Alberta.
In 2010, Canada ranked 15th in the world in coal production, with a total production of 67.9 million tonnes.
Coal was first mined in Canada in 1639 when the first mine was opened in Grand Lake, New Brunswick. First Nations would identify deposits, and the mined product would be used for tasks such as burning and trading. During the New France period, a large mine was built in Cow Bay, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island to supply to Louisbourg fortress.