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MLAs call on N.W.T. gov't to offer more support for residents facing high fuel costs
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-30 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Affordability, Energy, Governance]The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a motion on Thursday, developed by the Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight, urging the territorial government to increase home heating subsidies and expand financial incentives for converting to energy-efficient alternative heating appliances. Driven by a global spike in heating oil prices following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, regular MLAs criticized current programs as insufficient given that roughly half of Northwest Territories households rely on diesel as their primary heat source. Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek noted the timing aligns with the upcoming territorial budget cycle and acknowledged gaps in existing wood pellet conversion and senior heating subsidy programs, while pointing out that public housing and income assistance clients already receive full heating coverage. The territorial government now has 120 days to formally respond to the motion.
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Yukon gov't not swayed by petition to demand investigation into power utilities' billing practices
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-29 01:44:22.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Affordability, Governance]Yukon Energy Minister Ted Laking has declined an opposition petition urging the government to use Section 18 of the Public Utilities Act to order the Yukon Utilities Board to investigate ATCO Electric Yukon and the Yukon Energy Corporation over billing discrepancies. The petition, signed by 1,101 people and tabled by NDP justice critic Carmen Gustafson, called for an independent probe into billing practices between July 2025 and July 2026 following months of customer complaints related to a 2023 billing system transition. Instead of a regulator-led investigation funded by taxpayers, the territorial government previously directed ATCO Electric Yukon to hire its own independent third-party auditor to investigate the billing issues.
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Q&A | Yukon energy minister says power bills could go up by 53% without federal help
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-22 12:31:09.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Infrastructure, Affordability, Governance]Yukon Energy Minister Ted Laking announced that Yukon power bills could increase by 53 per cent without federal funding support to address critical power infrastructure upgrades and a projected 60 per cent rise in grid demand over the next decade. Laking is lobbying the federal government in Ottawa for a 75-25 per cent cost-sharing partnership for infrastructure projects, noting that connecting to the British Columbia power grid is estimated to cost over $4 billion, which far exceeds the territorial government's $2 billion annual budget. In response to recent grid capacity strains, the Yukon government has repealed the Clean Energy Act, reallocated electric vehicle rebates toward home energy efficiency and heat pumps, and planned thermal backup generation utilizing Whitehorse Power Centres.
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N.W.T. expands home heating subsidy for seniors
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-21 18:06:17.0
Tags: [National, Seniors, Affordability, Social Services, Energy]The Government of the Northwest Territories announced modifications to the Senior Home Heating Subsidy by raising the household income threshold to $90,000 or less per year to expand financial assistance over the winter. The new policy replaces a previous three-zone system ranging from $66,000 to $87,000 with a uniform income cap while maintaining zone-based monthly subsidy rates of $530 for Zone 1, $685 for Zone 2, and $1,090 for Zone 3. Payments are distributed monthly between September and April, with previously denied applicants automatically reassessed and an application deadline set for March 15, 2027.
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N.W.T. finance minister says no emergency relief from fuel price shock, but pushes Ottawa for support
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-21 10:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Finance, Energy, Taxation, Affordability]Northwest Territories Finance Minister Caroline Wawzonek rejected calls from MLAs to slash the territorial gas and diesel tax—which generates an estimated $15 million annually—or provide immediate emergency heating fuel subsidies ahead of winter. Testifying before the federal standing committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, Wawzonek criticized federal funding programs like the $2-billion heat pump initiative as unsuitable for northern climates and pressed Ottawa for customized support to address energy and affordability challenges where transport and heating costs are double the national average. She noted the territorial government already provides over $18 million in direct annual energy subsidies and warned that low water levels threatening the hydro system will force the territory to rely more heavily on costly diesel generation.
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Inflation rises to 3.1% in September, as fuel prices push higher: StatsCan
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-10-19 12:44:28.0
Tags: [National, Economy, Affordability, Energy]Statistics Canada reported that Canada's annual inflation rate rose to 3.1 per cent in September, driven primarily by gasoline prices jumping 27.8 per cent year-over-year due to benchmark oil price increases stemming from ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Concurrently, grocery price inflation slowed to 1.7 per cent year-over-year—the smallest yearly increase since May 2024—while shelter prices rose 1.8 per cent year-over-year. Statistics Canada's core inflation measures eased slightly on a monthly basis ahead of the Bank of Canada's upcoming October 28 rate announcement.
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Yellowknife residents worry what this winter will do to their power bills
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-15 15:30:59.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Affordability, Taxation]In Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, about 30 residents attended a town hall hosted by MLAs Kieron Testart and Robert Hawkins to discuss mounting home heating and electricity costs driven by global oil price spikes. Residents and local officials discussed potential long-term solutions such as small modular reactors—following a recent intergovernmental information-sharing agreement signed by the Northwest Territories, Alberta, and Saskatchewan—as well as immediate relief measures. Attendees and MLA Kieron Testart called for territorial fuel tax reductions and direct consumer subsidies, such as a $100 monthly power bill credit, to alleviate affordability pressures during the winter months.
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Ottawa to provide $2B in rebates for homeowners who install heat pumps
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-10-08 15:57:40.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Environment, Housing, Affordability]The federal government, led by Prime Minister Mark Carney, is launching a $2-billion rebate program to help an estimated 820,000 homeowners across Canada install new heat pumps or replace existing heating systems over the next eight years. Officials state that the program will save participating homeowners an average of $1,400 annually on heating bills while lowering emissions. Additionally, Ottawa is partnering with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to offer low-interest financing enabling apartment building owners to retrofit more than 280,000 homes over the same eight-year period.
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Cost of living, ‘opioid crisis’ paramount for opposition MLAs as Yukon legislature returns
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-10-02 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Governance, Healthcare, Affordability, Energy, Mining]As the Yukon Legislative Assembly begins its fall sitting, opposition leaders Kate White of the NDP and interim Liberal leader Debra-Leigh Reti are pressing Premier Currie Dixon's majority government on the rising cost of living, regional healthcare gaps, and the territory's opioid crisis. Premier Dixon is seeking federal intervention to raise the Yukon's debt cap from $1.2 billion to $3 billion to fund major energy and health projects. Additionally, the territorial government reported that 52 out of 56 recommendations from the Independent Review Board following the 2024 Eagle gold mine heap leach disaster have been implemented, with the remaining four slated for completion by spring.
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S-251 (45-1) - An Act to establish a national strategy to end energy poverty
Source: Parliament of Canada (LEGISinfo)
Date: 2026-10-01 00:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Affordability, Social Services, Governance]Senator Mary Coyle introduced Senate Public Bill S-251, entitled An Act to establish a national strategy to end energy poverty, in the Senate of Canada. The legislation reached its first reading on October 1, 2026, during the 1st session of the 45th Parliament. The bill aims to create a comprehensive federal framework and national strategy to address and eliminate energy poverty across Canada. Currently, the bill is positioned at the second reading stage in the Senate for future debate and committee review.
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Poilievre urges tax cuts to make diesel fuel more affordable
Source: CBC Politics
Date: 2026-09-27 17:08:51.0
Tags: [National, Taxation, Energy, Affordability]Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has proposed a federal policy to eliminate all taxes on diesel fuel until at least Canada Day by extending the fuel excise tax cut and removing the GST on diesel purchases. The plan also advocates for permanently scrapping the federal industrial carbon tax and the Clean Fuel Standard to eliminate production costs, encourage refinery investment, and address regional transportation bottlenecks that leave parts of Canada dependent on U.S. diesel imports.
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N.W.T residents feeling strain of rising home heating oil costs
Source: Territories - Northern Affairs (Yukon, NWT, Nunavut)
Date: 2026-09-15 11:00:00.0
Tags: [National, Energy, Affordability, Infrastructure]Residents across the Northwest Territories face extreme strain as home heating oil prices surge to approximately $2.30 to $3.17 per litre compared to $1.40 the previous winter. While the Government of the Northwest Territories supplies subsidized fuel to 16 communities via its Petroleum Products Program—keeping prices around $2.54 per litre in fly-in communities like Wekweètì—unserviced municipalities such as Norman Wells experience severe cost pressures forcing discussions on winter closures of public buildings. Territorial infrastructure departments point to the existing senior home heating subsidy for low-to-modest income seniors, though many residents, such as Norman Wells Mayor Frank Pope, fall just above qualifying income thresholds.
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Ottawa set to extend the pause on federal fuel excise tax: source
Source: Global News Politics
Date: 2026-09-02 13:20:19.0
Tags: [National, Taxation, Economy, Affordability, Energy]Federal Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne is set to announce an extension of the pause on the federal excise tax on gasoline and diesel until at least next year, preventing the return of the tax originally scheduled for September 8, 2026. The initial suspension, which took effect in April, eliminated a federal excise tax of 10 cents per litre on gasoline and four cents per litre on diesel. The decision by the federal government to prolong the tax break comes in response to rising fuel prices driven by ongoing hostilities associated with the Iran war.
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