The Government of Canada is helping businesses and workers across the country seize the economic opportunities associated with the global drive for clean growth - delivering good, middle-class jobs, strong local economies and clean air for generations to come.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Labour, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced up to $86 million in federal investments, subject to final negotiations, to convert the oil refinery in Come By Chance, Newfoundland and Labrador, into a world-class renewable diesel facility that will create hundreds of middle-class jobs, grow the economy and help power the province's low-carbon future.
The federal support will enable Braya Renewable Fuels to commercialize its production of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. When completed later this year, the project is expected to sustain 200 full-time jobs while creating 800 local jobs during its construction.
The funding announcement - made possible through Natural Resources Canada's Clean Fuels Fund and Innovation, Science and Economic Development's Strategic Innovation Fund - capped Minister Wilkinson's visit to Newfoundland and Labrador today. In addition to the Clean Fuels Fund, the Government of Canada has also created the Clean Fuel Regulations, which support the growth of the clean fuel sector while being designed to keep life affordable for the middle class.
Earlier in the day, Minister Wilkinson used his keynote address at the Energy NL conference to highlight the ongoing federal-provincial partnership to drive clean growth and create jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador.
This initiative includes the Government of Canada's introduction yesterday of proposed amendments to expand the mandates of the two historic Atlantic Accords to include the regulation of offshore renewable energy.
The Minister also spoke to the release of the Newfoundland and Labrador Collaboration Framework under the Regional Energy and Resource Tables (Regional Tables). A draft version of the framework - informed by early discussions with Indigenous partners and the initial input of labour and industry representatives - identifies four areas of opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador to excel in a low-carbon economy: critical minerals; wind and hydrogen; electrification; and carbon capture, use and storage.
Finally, Minister Wilkinson also announced an investment of $150,000 in Econext, in partnership with Energy NL, to launch an awareness campaign on hydrogen and the technologies used to produce it locally. Federal funding for this project is provided through Natural Resources Canada's Clean Fuels Awareness initiative, which supports innovative projects that aim to address awareness and knowledge gaps among Canadians and industry on all clean fuel types and clean fuel technologies across all industries, commercial applications and the general public.
Through these efforts and transformative initiatives such as those announced today, the federal government is working to position Canada - including Newfoundland and Labrador - to be a global supplier of choice for clean energy and technologies in a net-zero world.
