Canada Energy Regulator's 2025–26 Departmental Plan: At a glance
A Departmental Plan describes a department’s priorities, plans and associated costs for the upcoming three fiscal years.
The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) regulates interprovincial and international pipelines and powerlines, offshore renewable energy projects, oil and natural gas operations in frontier areas, and energy trade.
Our Vision
The Canada Energy Regulator is a recognized leader in the regulation of energy infrastructure. We enable safe, reliable, competitive and environmentally sustainable energy transmission. We have the confidence of Canadians and we uphold the inherent and constitutionally protected rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Our commitment to regulatory excellence enhances Canada’s global competitiveness.
Our Mission
We regulate energy infrastructure in a way that prevents harm and ensures the safe, reliable, competitive and environmentally sustainable delivery of energy to Canada and the world. We recognize and respect the inherent and constitutionally protected rights of First Nations, Inuit and Métis. We provide energy information and analysis that informs and supports Canada’s transition towards a net zero future.
Key priorities
The CER’s top priorities for 2025-26 are as follows:
- Trust and Confidence: We foster the trust and confidence of Canadians by effectively delivering on our mission with safety at the forefront. We engage and empower our diverse workforce. We strengthen relationships that uphold the rights and interests of First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and we communicate transparently and engage meaningfully with all our stakeholders.
- Reconciliation and Implementing the UN Declaration: We are implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration) and delivering on the commitments made in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act Action Plan (UNDA Action Plan). We do so based on the recognition of rights, respect, co-operation and partnership, by working together with First Nations, Inuit and Métis governments, communities, and organizations. We continue to build the cultural intelligence of the CER.
- Competitiveness and Regulatory Excellence: We enhance Canada’s global competitiveness through leadership in regulatory innovation and best practices, focusing on cost-effectiveness, transparency, predictability, timeliness and efficiency of regulatory processes.
- Preparing for the Energy Future: We inform the energy transition by offering expertise and insight as the energy system transitions to a net-zero economy across Canada. We focus on energy innovation, security, competitiveness, and safe and reliable energy transmission infrastructure that is resilient to the effects of climate change.
Highlights
In 2025-26, total planned spending (including internal services) for the CER is $116,971,846 and total planned full-time equivalent staff (including internal services) is 546.2. For complete information on the CER’s total planned spending and human resources, read the Planned spending and human resources section of the full plan.
The following provides a summary of the department’s planned achievements for 2025-26 according to its approved Departmental Results Framework. A Departmental Results Framework consists of a department’s core responsibilities, the results it plans to achieve, and the performance indicators that measure progress toward these results.
Core responsibility 1: Energy Adjudication
- Planned spending: $27,148,413
- Planned human resources: 117.3
- Departmental results:
- Energy adjudication processes are fair.
- Energy adjudication processes are timely.
- Energy adjudication processes are transparent.
- Energy adjudication processes are accessible.
In 2025-26, the CER will continue to support adjudicative decision-making processes on several complex project applications and tolling matters, as well as processing export applications, responding to landowner compensation matters, and deliberating on a variety of other matters under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act. As it does so, the CER will explore and implement ways to continually improve. Following extensive engagement, the organization intends to update the Environment and Socio-economic Assessment and Lands sections of the CER’s Filing Manuals - one of the commitments made under the UNDA Action Plan Measure 34 (APM 34). These updates will provide greater clarity to applicants and interested parties on the information expected to be filed as part of project applications. The CER will continue to work with other federal departments to help ensure overall federal alignment on topics such as greenhouse gas emissions, regulatory efficiency and Crown consultation, implement the Rapid Review Process to further improve timely decision-making for certain negligible or low-risk applications, and continue to build the CER Portal to enhance transparency in its processes. As a critical component of the energy adjudication function, the CER will also continue to improve its early engagement and Crown consultation activities to support meaningful and informed rights holder and stakeholder involvement in regulatory processes.
More information about Energy Adjudication can be found in the full Departmental Plan.
Core responsibility 2: Safety and Environment Oversight
- Planned spending: $30,012,096
- Planned human resources: 145.1
- Departmental results:
- Harm to people or the environment, throughout the lifecycle of energy-related activities, is prevented.
Preventing harm is the foundation of how the CER keeps people safe and protects the environment, and it will continue to enforce strict safety and environmental standards through this core responsibility. In 2025-26, the CER will deliver regulatory compliance verification and oversight activities that demonstrate this commitment, including, but not limited to, inspections, audits, emergency management exercises, and information sharing activities. The CER will continue to support and enable Indigenous monitors to work jointly with CER inspectors and incorporate Indigenous perspectives into its work and oversight tools. Improving the application of enforcement tools and related processes will support the organization in promoting compliance and improving safety and environmental outcomes – including continuing to evolve and develop its regulatory oversight tools to ensure industry continues to assess and effectively manage evolving hazards related to extreme weather events. Work will continue on planned updates to the CER’s regulatory framework, including a major update to the Onshore Pipeline Regulations (OPR), with a focus on preparing for the energy transition and implementing the UN Declaration. Collaborating with other regulators is also part of the CER’s approach to ensure its readiness to regulate new energy projects. Promoting and enhancing learning via the Safety Culture Learning Portal to advance both safety culture and human and organizational factors, as well as promoting safety culture improvements via industry workshops will remain a focus.
More information about Safety and Environment Oversight can be found in the full Departmental Plan.
Core responsibility 3: Engagement
- Planned spending: $11,628,160
- Planned human resources: 41.4
- Departmental results:
- Input provided by Indigenous Peoples and stakeholders influences the Canada Energy Regulator’s decisions and work.
- Indigenous Peoples and stakeholders provide feedback that engagement with the Canada Energy Regulator is meaningful.
The CER will expand strategic and meaningful engagement activities across the country with Indigenous Peoples and stakeholders in all areas of its mandate. The CER will engage in key initiatives that involve continual improvement of the CER’s regulatory framework and energy information responsibilities to effectively deliver on its mandate. This includes engaging to share information about, review and update procedural and operational guidelines that govern the CER's regulatory processes. As part of UNDA APM 34, the CER will engage on ways to increase Indigenous involvement in regulatory oversight, as well as engage Indigenous Peoples, regulated industry and stakeholders on the OPR review. These initiatives help ensure that First Nations, Inuit and Métis nations and communities have a voice in regulatory and operational aspects of energy systems in a way that respects Indigenous rights, builds capacity, incorporates Indigenous knowledge in the decision-making process, and addresses concerns.
More information about Engagement can be found in the full Departmental Plan.
Core responsibility 4: Energy Information
- Planned spending: $7,179,750
- Planned human resources: 35.6
- Departmental results:
- Canadians access and use energy information for knowledge, research, or decision-making.
- Canadians have opportunities to collaborate and provide feedback on Canada Energy Regulator information products.
Energy information helps Canadians to make informed decisions about their energy future. The CER will release new energy information, conduct user research, and increase accessibility across its programs. It will continue to invest in its energy system modeling capacity and development of tools, prioritizing post-release engagement following the release of Canada’s Energy Future 2025 which will again include net-zero projections. The CER will continue to mature both the Pipeline Information program and the Energy System Information program in advancement of the CER’s Strategic Priorities, while continuing to support the Canadian Centre for Energy Information through collaboration on various energy data and information initiatives.
More information about Energy Information can be found in the full Departmental Plan.
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