Community & Stakeholder Alignment Questions

Current Initiative

Building tools to align and build trust between communities and developers to fast-track energy projects with clarity and confidence.

PART OF THE 2025-26 FELLOWSHIP SOLUTION PORTFOLIO

Overview

Rural communities in Alberta are often the location for major energy infrastructure. Oil & gas once contributed significantly to jobs and revenues in these communities, but as industry has shifted, such areas have been challenged to attract industry to replace it. At the same time, several proposed energy projects in Alberta’s rural areas have met with pushback that has led to projects' potential value to communities, and to the province as a whole, go unrealized.

Accelerating energy development in a considered, respectful way depends on stronger alignment between project developers and the stakeholders in proposed project communities. This requires better communication, better education and processes that build trust through transparency and alignment of goals with all parties' values.

Why It Matters

28%

of global GHG emissions are currently covered by a direct carbon price—either through a carbon tax or an emissions trading system (ETS)

2/3

According to the Bank of Canada, a Canadian CBAM could reduce emissions leakage to the US by approximately 2/3 compared to a scenario where Canada prices carbon and the US does not.

97%

Minimal risk: under the EU ETS, energy-intensive and trade-exposed sectors have received free allocations covering about 97% of their emissions, keeping carbon leakage near zero and prevented major competitiveness losses.

Hypothesis

If we can help developers and communities better navigate development conversations and consultations around proposed energy infrastructure projects, their development timelines can be accelerated through greater regional buy-in as a result of trust, transparency and the incentive of pre-negotiated community benefits.

Our Approach

This initiative will develop recommended processes and tools, including questionnaires for both municipalities and project developers, that help to create earlier clarity on the potential alignment of developers' and communities' priorities, conditions, non-negotiables, and desired outcomes for proposed projects.