Federal Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi announced the Canadian Centre for Energy Information August 26 – an independent, one-stop, website designed to provide Canadians with comprehensive energy information to support Canada's transition to a low-carbon energy future.
Once operational, the new Centre, which received $15.2 million over five years in the most recent federal budget, will “provide Canadians with access to independent and credible information and expert analyses on which to base important decisions for their businesses, their communities, and the environment,” an announcement says.
The Centre is a partnership between Natural Resources Canada and Statistics Canada, where it will be housed. It will be guided by a joint federal-provincial-territorial steering committee and will seek advice from Canadians, Indigenous peoples, industry, academics and municipalities. This will enable it to:
• Compile, reconcile and integrate energy data from various Canadian sources;
• Make data from multiple providers available free of charge on a one-stop, user-friendly website;
• Work collaboratively to harmonize energy definitions, measurements and standards;
• Provide remote access for researchers to microdata on a secure collaboration platform;
• Improve the completeness, coherence and timeliness of Canada's energy information; and,
• Provide new data products, visualization tools and expert analyses in support of modeling and forecasting.
The Centre notes that Canada's energy sector accounts for nearly 820,000 jobs and 11 percent of GDP, and plays a key role in the development of solutions to address climate change.
Visit the portal at http://statcan.gc.ca/eng/topics-start/energy.