Clean grid projects account for nearly 85% of the energy development involving any degree of Indigenous ownership, and Indigenous partners have a stake in nearly one-quarter of the more than 700 renewable energy projects above one megawatt in operation across Canada, a preliminary analysis concludes.

Calgary-based Indigenous Energy Monitor (IEM) identified [pdf] 523 projects with some degree of Indigenous ownership across five categories: oil and gas, carbon capture and storage, power and utilities, mining and critical minerals, and chemicals and fuels. Some 452 of the projects were in power and utilities, and 75% of those were renewable energy developments, with energy storage accounting for another 11% and transmission lines 6.6%.

Out of that total, 189 were in operation in 2025, 32 were under construction, 173 were in development, and 58 had been shelved or cancelled. IEM said most of them were half- to majority-owned by Indigenous partners.

The oil and gas sector reported 18 projects in operation, three under construction, seven in development, and five cancelled or shelved. The majority of the projects were pipelines, and most of them featured only minority Indigenous ownership. While the 33 fossil projects involved 89 unique owners, the 452 power and utility projects had 363, suggesting both a wider ownership base for renewables and greater opportunity for successful project developers to branch out and scale.

“Indigenous equity ownership growth is being driven by how projects are conceived, procured, financed, and risk-assessed,” the preliminary report states, with procurement requirements, rising energy demand, Indigenous leadership, and better access to funding among the factors behind the trend. Continuing obstacles include access to capital, capacity constraints, lack of market transparency, and ownership risks.

The database focuses strictly on publicly-identified projects, and the power and utilities section is limited to installations with at least 500 kilowatts of capacity. The full report is due between April and June this year.

IEM founder Robert Williamson said the number of Indigenous-owned projects going into operation each year grew 388%, from eight to 39, between 2021 and 2025, and at least 47 are expected to go into service this year.

“We also anticipate increased project announcements tied to upcoming procurement processes, including power RFPs from Manitoba Hydro and BC Hydro, both of which require Indigenous participation,” he wrotein an email. “The recent national push for major infrastructure projects also presents clear opportunities for Indigenous ownership in the short to medium term.”

Williamson said a variety of factors determine the difference in Indigenous investment levels between renewable energy and fossil fuel projects. Electricity projects require less capital and local capacity for Indigenous partners to get involved, and “power projects may align better with an Indigenous community’s values and perspectives on sustainability and climate issues,” he said. Oil and gas is also “more limited in geographic scope, which mean less opportunity to invest for the majority of Indigenous communities in Canada.”

By contrast, electric power projects “can be deployed virtually anywhere in Canada,” and “present community opportunities for energy sovereignty.”