The offshore renewable energy sector presents a generational economic opportunity for Canada, with the global offshore wind market alone forecast to attract one trillion dollars in global investment by 2040. The Government of Canada is helping Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia seize this generational economic opportunity.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, in partnership with the Governments of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, introduced amendments to expand the mandates of the two historic Atlantic Accords. These amendments will set the legislative framework for offshore renewable energy, enabling Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia to capitalize on their existing strengths and accelerate offshore wind development off Canada's East Coast.
The proposed amendments to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act (the Accord Acts) will:
change the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board's name to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator (CNSOER);
change the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board's name to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Regulator (C-NLOER);
expand the mandates of the CNSOER and the C-NLOER to include the regulation of offshore renewable energy projects;
improve alignment between the Accord Acts and the Impact Assessment Act (IAA); and
establish new authorities to support the Government of Canada's marine conservation agenda.
These amendments build on the April 2022 announcements by the governments of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia to expand the mandates of the CNSOER and the C-NLOER to include the regulation of offshore renewable energy projects. Doing so will ensure a clear, consistent and predictable regulatory regime in federal-provincial jointly managed offshore areas.
The amendment process will run parallel to the government's recently launched Regional Assessments of Offshore Wind Development, which will provide information and analysis regarding future offshore wind development activities that would be regulated under the proposed amended Accord Acts for the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Amendments to Accord Acts will also support the development of renewable energy and electrification - key priorities identified through the Regional Energy and Resource Tables processes already underway in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. They will also enable Canada to make good on its commitments - such as those made last summer to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz - to supply its allies with reliable, clean power in the years to come.
This work is being done in close collaboration with the Governments of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting Canada's clean energy sector by working with provincial partners like Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador on these amendments to create new clean energy opportunities, strengthen the economy and better protect Canada's environment for the future.
