Indigenous Communities Are Leading the Way to a Clean Energy Future
Marking National Indigenous Peoples Day, June 21, 2026
On June 21 we mark National Indigenous Peoples Day, a chance to honour the cultures, histories, and leadership of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. This year there's a clear and timely example of that leadership to celebrate, and it sits right at the heart of the work we care about: the move to clean energy. This spring, Ontario announced the results of the largest competitive energy procurement in the province's history. [3]
For us, there are two big reasons to celebrate. The first is the leadership of Indigenous communities. The second is renewable energy proving, on price, that it can outcompete fossil fuels.
Indigenous communities at the centre
Fourteen new projects were selected: twelve solar and two wind. [1] Every single one includes at least 50 per cent Indigenous equity ownership. [1]
This is important because ownership goes well beyond consultation or signing off on a project someone else already designed. It means Indigenous partners share directly in the revenue, the decision-making, and the long-term benefits of the energy their communities help build.
This is what energy looks like when communities are at the table from the start. Power generated near a community and owned by it too. The kind of arrangement that builds wealth, capacity, and self-determination, and keeps the benefits close to home. Half the cash flow and half the say stays with the people who live there.
For Indigenous communities, that matters in ways that go far beyond a single project. For generations, resource and energy development happened on Indigenous lands while the revenue and the decisions flowed somewhere else. Equity ownership starts to change that pattern. A 50 per cent stake in a 20-year contract is a stable, long-term source of income that a Nation controls and can put toward the priorities it sets for itself, whether that's housing, health services, language and culture programs, education, or investment in the next project.
It also builds real ownership, which means a seat in the governance of major infrastructure, the technical and financial capacity that comes from running it, and the jobs and training that stay in the community. It's economic self-determination through the energy transition, and it strengthens a Nation's footing for whatever comes next. This is reconciliation showing up in concrete, economic terms, not just as a statement.
Ontario's results are part of a bigger national shift. The Canadian Renewable Energy Association reports there are now more than 100 Indigenous-owned wind, solar, and storage projects operating across Canada. [1] Equity ownership is on the rise and becoming a normal part of how clean energy gets built in this country, and that's a good thing for the projects and the communities alike. We talk a lot about community energy as the future. Ontario just showed what it can look like at scale.
Renewables are winning on cost
The second reason to celebrate is simpler, but no less important. The selected projects came in at a weighted average fixed price of $87.80 per megawatt hour, which is right in line with recent procurements across North America. [2] The IESO secured these contracts at a price 21 per cent lower than the last time Ontario awarded large-scale renewables contracts. [4] Wind and solar are winning these contracts on cost. They're the most competitive option on the table.
For anyone still framing the energy transition as a trade-off between affordability and clean power, this is the answer. We don't have to pick. The cheapest new electricity Ontario can build right now is also the cleanest.
What's actually getting built
The fourteen projects add up to 1,315 megawatts of new capacity. Over their 20-year contracts, they're expected to deliver just over 3 terawatt hours of electricity a year. That's enough to power more than 350,000 homes across Ontario, all from wind and solar. [1] The projects are expected to be online by 2030. [4]
The procurement was launched in August 2024 under the Second Long-Term (LT2) Procurement, managed by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). [3] The selected projects range in size from 9 megawatts to 200 megawatts. The largest solar project, at 200 megawatts, is in northeast Ontario. The largest wind project, also 200 megawatts, is in the northwest. [4]
Why this matters
This is one procurement window. It won't power the whole province, and the energy transition Ontario needs is far bigger than fourteen projects. But it opens a channel and it does it in a way that puts communities at the centre.
That's the part we want to hold onto this National Indigenous Peoples Day. We believe the fastest, most affordable way to build the clean energy future can also be an inclusive one. When communities own a real stake in the projects on their land, the projects get built faster, stand on firmer ground, and keep the benefits close to home.
Indigenous communities are leading Ontario's clean energy future. That's worth celebrating, on June 21 and every day after.
References
Canadian Renewable Energy Association —Ontario's LT2 Energy Window 1 procurement goes all in on renewables(also the source for the count of Indigenous-owned clean energy projects across Canada)
Foundation Economics —Ontario's LT2 Window 1: What the Results Signal for Ontario's Energy Future (April 28, 2026)
Government of Ontario —Province Launches Largest Competitive Energy Procurement in Ontario History
Independent Electricity System Operator —Long-Term 2 RFP
