Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Canada
Canada: Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources was 77.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Canada, 1990–2025
Source: Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Canada stood at 77.0%.
The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Canada peaked at 81.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 71.1%, in 2001.
That places Canada 45th out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Canada, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 77.4% | — |
| 1991 | 78.0% | +0.8% |
| 1992 | 77.1% | -1.2% |
| 1993 | 79.3% | +2.9% |
| 1994 | 79.7% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 78.6% | -1.4% |
| 1996 | 79.5% | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 76.7% | -3.5% |
| 1998 | 73.1% | -4.6% |
| 1999 | 73.9% | +1.1% |
| 2000 | 72.6% | -1.8% |
| 2001 | 71.1% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 72.5% | +2.0% |
| 2003 | 71.5% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 73.3% | +2.6% |
| 2005 | 74.8% | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 75.9% | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 74.5% | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 76.3% | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 77.2% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 75.9% | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 76.7% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 78.2% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 79.0% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 78.7% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 79.1% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 79.7% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 80.8% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 80.7% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 80.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 81.5% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 80.8% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 81.2% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 79.2% | -2.5% |
| 2024 | 77.7% | -1.9% |
| 2025 | 77.0% | -0.9% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 77.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 40.0%, 1.9× the median. (75 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 77.3% | 73.1% | 79.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 74.0% | 71.1% | 77.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 79.0% | 75.9% | 80.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.6% | 77.0% | 81.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More climate change data for Canada
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 2.27 billion kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 44,359 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 9,631 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 34,728 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 36.34 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,240 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 17,229 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 16,823 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 406.39 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 63.48 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Canada?
- Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources in Canada was 77.0% in 2025, according to Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 81.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 71.1% in 2001.
- How does Canada rank for share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources?
- Canada ranks 45th out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada data come from?
- The figures come from Ember (2026) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of electricity generation from low-carbon sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Measured as a percentage of total electricity produced in the country or region. Low-carbon sources correspond to renewables and nuclear power, that produce significantly less greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuels. Renewables include solar, wind, hydropower, bioenergy, geothermal, wave, and tidal.