Solar development is accelerating in some parts of Canada, while others are taking a more cautious approach as provinces and territories chart their own energy policies.
Phil McKay, Senior Director of Member Programs at the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA), told pv magazine that while figures for new solar additions in 2026 are not yet available, he is hearing anecdotally from the association’s members that it has been “a good year”, with many talking about growing interest in storage-paired systems.
Canada’s solar market is highly fragmented across its ten provinces and three territories. This is largely down to the country’s electricity system, which the federal government’s website describes as multiple, relatively-segregated grids that are governed and planned independently and generally trade more with the US than one another. McKay described it as “13 different markets.”
These markets are prioritizing solar buildout to different degrees. In April, Québec launched a solar incentive program, with provincial utility Hydro-Québec offering a direct cash rebate of CAN 1,000 ($720)/kW covering up to 40% of eligible installation costs for residential and customer customers.
According to details on its website, the support cuts the current payback period of 25-30 years down to 10-12 years. It forms part of wider plans to integrate 3 GW of solar in Québec by 2035. “Speaking with local companies there, they’ve been ran off their feet with inquiries [since the launch],” McKay said.
Another solar market leader is Ontario, which backed 12 solar projects with a combined capacity of 915 MW through its long-term energy procurement exercise in April. Such procurements are a key driver of Canada’s solar market, with previous CanREA analysis expecting them to be a large contributor to a forecasted 21 GW of solar by 2035.
The awarded projects in Ontario are granted 20-year agreements and are expected to begin commercial operation by the start of May 2030. McKay added that the approvals include agrivoltaics projects. “This is an open cost-competitive environment where agrivoltaics are competing with gas, which is so great to see,” he said.
Other regions of the country are starting to entertain a shift from net-metering to net-billing. British Columbia has replaced net metering with a fixed CAN 0.10/kWh export rate below retail, while New Brunswick is proposing a similar shift to below-retail compensation for surplus solar generation.
“Its all based on the same premise that solar isn’t as valuable as we’ve been making it out to be and solar customers are getting a free ride,” McKay explained. “There is huge pushback in the province, a lot of people are very upset about it.”
McKay spoke with pv magazine soon after the US placed 50% tariffs on many billions of dollars worth of Canadian goods going into the States last weekend. He said the uncertainty around US policy decisions impacts the entire sector.
“Everything [the US administration] does affects us, even content requirements on Chinese imports can create pathways for us. It’s hard to forecast where this goes because two weeks ago, we didn’t know we’d face these tariffs,” he said.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney responded to the latest tariffs with a speech that McKay said reiterated commitments from the spring budget to double the electricity grid with sustainable energy.
“That’s very policy-driven language for solar, wind, and storage markets,” McKay said. He added that the ‘build Canada strong’ narrative is helping to unify the country around energy infrastructure.
“We’re finally talking about cross-Canada transmission lines and nation-building projects,” he said. “That’s exciting because it’ll open up the solar market and help balance the grid.”
On the other end of the scale, McKay shared that Canada’s grassroots solar movement is also picking up. Discussions around plug-in solar are developing, with the Canadian Standards Association currently debating UL 3700, a bi-national safety framework for Canada and the US that covers interactive plug-in solar systems.
McKay explained that while the standards ecosystem is engaged, progress is expected to move slowly. In the meantime, community and environmental organisations are starting to show interest in such products. “They see these systems as energy freedom,” McKay said. “A way to give Canadians a choice over whether we burn fossil fuels or not.”
McKay added that some large authorities, such as Ontario’s Electrical Safety Authority, are saying they will back UL 3700-compliant products, but he also confirmed that no such products are yet available.
“A few manufacturers are starting to design products to that standard,” McKay said. “It’s nascent, [now] waiting for the next steps before getting the standards, then we can unlock the whole country.”
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