Ontario imports nearly half its gas from the United States—a “dangerous dependence, economically, environmentally, and politically,” says GreenLight Canada. The group is urging the province to reduce this vulnerability by investing in Canadian renewables and speeding up home electrification.

GreenLight is circulating a petition—‘Tell Enbridge to Drop U.S. Gas’—addressed to Premier Doug Ford and Enbridge CEO Gregory L. Ebel. It calls on the province and the energy company to “cut ties” with American gas, build on Ontario’s $12-billion renewable energy expansion, and help speed home retrofit adoption by offering more rebates. The petition had 7,854 signatures at last count, with a goal of 10,000.

“As the U.S. turns inward, Ontario must look to its own resources and technologies to secure our future,” Greenlight writes. “Let’s expand homegrown clean energy, enhance rebates for retrofitting and electrification, and reduce our reliance on imported gas—especially from countries that are no longer acting as partners.”

Enbridge had not returned a request for comment as this story went to press.

GreenLight Canada is an electrification initiative that provides homeowners with free energy retrofit assessments, links them with neighbours who have been through the process, and facilitates community input into provincial electricity policy. It provides an online retrofit calculator, which walks users through a questionnaire on their home’s size, age, heating source, and energy and electricity bills to create a home profile. It then offers retrofit recommendations with a breakdown of costs and available rebates and loans. Average bill savings per month, as well as the time estimated to break even on a retrofit investment are also provided. 

The group is also piloting a Neighbour Connect program that brings “retrofit veterans” together with new recruits to share information on the retrofit process.