Federal energy minister calls decision to extend coal in Sask. ‘odd’

When asked about Saskatchewan’s stance on coal power Tuesday, the federal energy minister seemed confused.

Last week, the Government of Saskatchewan announced it will look into extending the useful life of a handful of coal power plants in the province despite federal regulations which require all coal power generation to end by 2030.

Jonathan Wilkinson, federal minister of energy and natural resources, responded to a question about the provincial government’s announcement while attending an event in Saskatoon, calling it “odd”.

“This is something that can be done. Other provinces have done it, and it’s almost bewildering to hear Premier Moe say what he says,” said Wilkinson.

The Saskatchewan government has long complained about the regulation, saying coal is among the few choices for the province to produce enough power to meet the basic, everyday needs of the province.

Wilkinson said the coal phase-out is an important part of a climate plan. He noted that the regulation was not introduced by the Justin Trudeau government, which Scott Moe’s government has often had clashes with, but was introduced by Stephen Harper’s Conservative government in 2012.

“That is a commitment that was made because coal is the most destructive to the environment of any way of generating electricity,” Wilkinson said.

The federal government has worked with other provinces to develop plans to eliminate coal, according to Wilkinson. He said Ontario phased out coal a decade ago, Alberta finished its phase-out last year, and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick will have phased out coal by 2030.

“The only government in this country that has made no effort to actually address the issue of coal-fired power is Premier Moe and his government here in Saskatchewan,” said Wilkinson.

The minister questioned whether or not Moe believed in the science of climate change.

Last week, provincial cabinet minister and Estevan-Big Muddy MLA Lori Carr told DiscoverEstevan the provincial government would look to extend coal-powered units past the end of their lives. The government said SaskPower looking at whether to extend the lives of units 4, 5 and 6 at Boundary Dam and the units at Poplar River Power Station and Coronach.

In an emailed statement responding to Wilkinson’s comments, Jeremy Harrison, minister responsible for SaskPower, said the provincial government would make decisions on the future of Saskatchewan’s power generation based on what’s best for Saskatchewan families and economy, “not unconstitutional federal regulations.”

Echoing a social media post from the premier last week, Harrison said SaskPower’s top priorities for the power grid going forward will be reliability and affordability, and that coal has been an important part of the power mix.

Our government has provided clear direction to SaskPower that the top priorities for our electricity system going forward will be affordability and reliability. This is what Saskatchewan people have told us they expect.

With these priorities in mind, we are closely considering… pic.twitter.com/BR9KHKZmDp

— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) January 23, 2025

He said a plan will be released later this year on the province’s future of power production in Saskatchewan.

“This plan will prioritize reliability and affordability with an all-of-the-above approach to power production that includes a future for coal while continuing long-term work towards the addition of nuclear power,” wrote Harrison.