How wind power grew in Canada
Hydro-Québec began wind research in 1975 with a 40 kW vertical-axis turbine. In 1977 it installed a 230 kW experimental vertical-axis machine on the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, and its 4 MW Éole turbine at Cap-Chat ran from 1988 to 1993. Canada's first commercial wind farm was Cowley Ridge, near Pincher Creek in Alberta. It began in 1993 with 52 turbines of 360 kW. Québec's first large farm, Le Nordais, followed in 1998 and 1999.
A federal incentive of about 1 cent/kWh ran from 2002 and supported 22 projects with 924 MW. Hydro-Québec tendered 1,000 MW of wind in 2003 and 2,000 MW in 2005. Ontario's Green Energy Act of 2009 let the province override local siting objections, but a new provincial government moved to repeal it in September 2018. Indigenous partners are now central. Over 70% of new grid projects in 2025 had Indigenous involvement. A federal Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit became law on 26 March 2026, and unlike most such credits it is open to tax-exempt bodies.
Wind generated a record 50.5 TWh in 2025, about 8% of Canada's electricity. Alberta overtook Ontario as the largest wind producer that year. Building has slowed, with only 347 MW added in 2025 from three farms. Québec plans more than 10,000 MW of new wind by 2035. Hydro-Québec's next tender seeks 5 to 10 TWh from smaller projects with community partners, for commissioning between 2031 and 2038.
Sources: Hydro-Québec · Government of Alberta · Natural Resources Canada · Global News · Torys · Statistics Canada · CanREA · Gowling WLG
Where Canada's power comes from, 2025
| Source | Share of electricity |
|---|---|
| Hydro | 52.8% |
| Gas | 17.9% |
| Nuclear | 13.1% |
| Wind | 7.9% |
| Coal | 4.0% |
| Solar | 1.6% |
| Bioenergy | 1.6% |
| Other fossil fuels | 1.2% |
Wind farms in Canada
We track 396 wind farms in Canada: 19.1 GW operating and 17.4 GW under construction, consented or planned, with 0.8 GW of it offshore. Each one's owners, turbines and status are in the Wind app.
Electricity data: Ember yearly electricity data (CC BY 4.0). Wind farms: national registers and Global Energy Monitor; see data sources.
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