Canada Energy Regulator 2025–26 Departmental Plan

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Results we plan to achieve

• Rules of Practice and Procedure^{Footnote 3}
  In 2025-26, the CER will finalize updates to the Rules of Practice and Procedure in support of fair and accessible regulatory processes. This work was guided by an engagement process launched in 2024-25. The review will reflect the CER’s new governance structure and formalize the practices, processes and terminology which have evolved since the National Energy Board Rules of Practice and Procedure were implemented in 1995.
• Dispute Resolution
  The Dispute Resolution process plays a vital role in how the CER fulfills its mandate to help balance the interests of all Canadians in the stewardship of pipelines and energy development in Canada. In 2025-26, the CER will continue to provide alternative dispute resolution processes to help parties find resolution to issues outside of the Commission’s adjudicative processes.

Results we plan to achieve

• Rapid Review Process
  In 2025-26, the CER will implement the Rapid Review process, a risk-based approach to streamline the assessment of low-risk applications while maintaining quality and thoroughness of reviews. This strategy was informed by engagement with Indigenous Peoples and stakeholders throughout 2024-25 and will be further shaped by historical data analysis, industry feedback, and regulatory best practices. The Rapid Review Process will provide predictable, efficient and timely regulatory decision-making processes for lower risk projects.
• Completeness Determinations
  In keeping with its pursuit of regulatory excellence, and improved timeliness and efficiency of regulatory processes, in 2024-25, the Commission of the CER shortened the amount of time it took to find applications for smaller infrastructure projects complete, resulting in assessments commencing sooner. The Commission, supported by staff, spearheaded an initiative whereby the assessments for routine applications were able to start within 30 days of an application being filed, down from a previous average of 90 days. In 2025-26, the Commission will integrate further efficiencies to support the timeliness of decision making, with a focus on bringing a similar efficiency to its assessment of large-scale pipeline projects.

Results we plan to achieve

• Crown Consultation Coordination^{Footnote 4}
  The CER, in its Crown consultation coordinator role, is exploring innovative approaches to its supplementary consultations to meet the Government of Canada’s commitments and obligations with respect to its duty to consult and accommodate in a manner consistent with the UN Declaration. The CER will continue to build relationships with Indigenous Peoples over the coming year, evolving current practices to establish meaningful consultation processes that respect the uniqueness of individual First Nation, Inuit and Métis communities.
• Filing Manuals Updates^{Footnote 5}
  The CER will continue to update its Filing Manuals’ guidance to proponents, providing applicants with clear expectations for complete filings and supporting a timely and predictable regulatory process. In the coming year, the CER will finalize updates to Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment and Lands sections of both the Filing Manual and the Electricity Filing Manual, aligned with one of the commitments made under the UNDA Action Plan. Specifically, APM 34 calls for amendments to incorporate specific localized knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and strengthens measures to prevent and address impacts to Indigenous rights and interests. The updates will be informed by a multi-year engagement process with stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples on both the Filing Manuals and the Onshore Pipeline Regulations (OPR).

Results we plan to achieve

• Early Engagement^{Footnote 6}
  The CER engages throughout adjudication decision-making processes and will continue to prioritize early engagement with impacted stakeholders, the public and potentially affected Indigenous communities for certain types of applications. As well, recognizing the importance of early and inclusive engagement, the CER has planned an evaluation of the effectiveness of the CER’s early engagement processes. The evaluation is expected to increase transparency and accessibility by identifying the strengths and areas for improvement of the CER’s current early engagement processes.

• Sections 183.2 (c), 262.2 (c) and 298.3 (c) of the CER Act outlines GBA Plus factors that must be considered in Commission recommendations to the Minister, such as health, social and economic effects, including with respect to the intersection of sex and gender with other identity factors. The CER has issued filing guidance on assessing GBA Plus requirements in applications, and staff is trained in GBA Plus to assess applications using this guidance. Updates to the guidance will be informed by engagement on the Filing Manual and OPR.
• The CER’s Technical Specialists, Technical Leaders, Hearing Managers, Process Advisors, and Socio-Economic Specialists help ensure that the CER’s early engagement activities, Dispute Resolution services, and Commission’s adjudicative processes (including Indigenous knowledge sessions) are accessible to diverse groups, including women, men, gender-diverse, and underrepresented people.

• In 2024-25, the CER delivered the first pilot release of the CER Portal. The CER Portal is a secure and integrated access point for the CER's adjudication tools and, eventually, all aspects of the CER-regulated facility lifecycle. In 2025-26, the CER will continue to develop the CER Portal, to allow applicants to submit and track the progress of applications, building off the work to date on the Applications Dashboard. The Applications Dashboard is a tool that improves access to reliable data and information which allows more informed decision-making, better process transparency and efficiency, and more meaningful engagement for all participants. The CER Portal, in turn, will also enhance transparency and confidence in CER adjudicative processes.

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Results we plan to achieve

• Compliance Verification Activities
  In 2025-26, the CER will remain focused on compliance verification activities that monitor compliance with regulatory requirements, including those related to the construction, operation, abandonment or decommissioning of infrastructure, as well as those related to financial reporting requirements. In 2025-26, as several major construction projects move into post-construction and operational phases, the CER’s oversight focus will include scrutiny on post-construction monitoring, reclamation, emergency preparedness, and damage prevention activities. The CER will do this through compliance verification activities such as inspections, audits, and site visits. When a non-compliance is identified, the CER has the authority to take various enforcement actions, such as issuing Administrative Monetary Penalties, compliance orders, or suspending operations. Penalties are designed to bring companies into compliance, ensuring safety and environmental protection.
• Indigenous Monitoring
  Collaboration with Indigenous Peoples during construction oversight will remain paramount to the CER’s Reconciliation efforts. The organization will continue to support and enable Indigenous monitors to bring Indigenous perspectives into the CER’s work and enhance its oversight tools. As projects move into post-construction phases, the CER’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees remains important to ensuring the protection of Sites of Indigenous Significance during land reclamation. At the same time, the CER’s compliance planning processes will continue to evolve to better reflect Indigenous Peoples' priorities and address socio-economic issues specific to pipeline facility construction.
• Safety Culture and Security
  The CER will promote Safety Culture by continuing to host industry workshops and engaging with other regulators in Canada, the United States, and abroad to share learnings and approaches, and support learning via the CER Safety Culture Learning Portal. The CER will also continue to strengthen expectations and to enhance compliance oversight in cyber security and process safety.
• Emergency Management
  The CER will lead and participate in strategic initiatives that improve Emergency Management Systems and promote continual improvement of emergency preparedness and response among regulated companies, first responders and other emergency services, Indigenous Peoples, and other communities that could potentially be involved in a response or impacted by an emergency. This will be done with near-term emphasis on enhancing awareness of CER-regulated companies’ emergency preparedness and response and enhancing Indigenous involvement in the CER’s emergency management oversight.
• Process Improvements
  In 2025-26, the CER will continue to engage regulated companies, regulators and external stakeholders through CER-hosted workshops and other activities to identify common issues, gaps and opportunities. This includes areas such as safety culture, safety and damage prevention, and pipeline integrity. CER oversight data and trends, as well as data from incidents, unauthorized activities and company reports will continually be assessed to inform the CER’s work identifying areas where companies can improve. This will also inform opportunities to evaluate and improve the application of the CER’s suite of enforcement tools and related compliance and enforcement framework.
  
  To further promote and improve safety and environmental outcomes, the CER will also identify technical research projects to encourage innovative and improved methods to strengthen pipeline integrity and enhance compliance oversight planning and processes to better address socio-economic impacts.
• Regulatory Framework Program
  In 2025-26, the CER will advance the work outlined in its Forward Regulatory Plan. This plan sets out the regulations, regulatory documents, and guidance that the organization plans to develop or amend over a three-year period.
  
  Phase two of engagement on the OPR began in 2024. It provided opportunities for regulated companies, landowners, Indigenous communities, and the public to submit their feedback on potential areas of change relating to the OPR and Filing Manuals. The CER’s objective for the OPR Review is to deliver a regulation that supports the highest level of safety, security and environmental protection; advances Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples; addresses transparency and inclusive participation; provides for predictable and timely oversight; and encourages innovation.
  
  In the next year, the CER will continue its multi-year initiative to update the OPR in a manner that incorporates specific localized knowledge held by Indigenous Peoples, as well as Indigenous laws, policies, practices, and protocols. The OPR project will continue to explore opportunities to strengthen measures to prevent and address impacts to Indigenous rights and interests, including in relation to heritage resources and sites of Indigenous significance, guided by the CER’s commitments made in the UNDA APM 34.
• Abandonment Cost Estimates and Set Aside and Collection Mechanism Review
  In 2025-26, the CER will continue to advance its abandonment funding program by completing its assessments of Statements of Investment Policies and Procedures and final Annual Collection Amount filings from the 2021 Abandonment Cost Estimates and Set Aside and Collection Mechanism Review, continue its compliance work to bring all companies into alignment with the final abandonment cost estimates issued in 2024, and assess annual filings to ensure funds are available for future abandonment. 
• Orphan Pipelines
  To maintain and improve upon the ongoing protection of the public and environment, the CER will continue to develop and implement a set of processes and procedures for the identification, monitoring, designation, and abandonment of orphan pipelines under the CER Act.

• The compliance verification program supports collaboration across the organization to develop regulatory strategies for project lifecycle oversight, ensuring that socio-economic effects including impacts to GBA Plus factors are monitored and managed by companies effectively. This approach aligns with the Safety and Environmental Oversight core responsibility, which emphasizes the importance of setting and enforcing regulatory expectations throughout the full lifecycle of a project, from planning to construction, operation, and abandonment.
• The CER will continue to apply a GBA Plus lens to the planning and implementation of its compliance verification program by seeking opportunities to collect and use intersectional data from internal and external stakeholders, subject matter experts, and Indigenous Peoples in compliance planning. Safety and Environment Oversight continues to enhance the socio-economic compliance program and develop socio-economic subject matter technical expertise.
• The CER will verify compliance to specific conditions placed on an applicant relating to GBA Plus matters in the application assessment process.
• The CER will be responsive to complaints related to GBA Plus matters and will adapt the compliance verification plan to include new verification activities as required.
• The CER will continue to involve Indigenous monitors in planning and conducting compliance verification activities, allowing for the inclusion of intersectional perspectives in defining areas of interest for compliance verification.
• The CER conducts GBA Plus analyses pursuant to the Cabinet Directive on Regulation for its regulation development projects. The CER will continue its assessment of impacts that proposed regulatory framework changes could have on Canadians from identifiable groups.
• Communications with regulated industry will use gender-neutral terms and promote gender-neutral terminology.

Results we plan to achieve

• Through its Strategic Priority of Preparing for the Energy Future, the CER will position itself to regulate potential new energy projects, including those transporting emerging fuels (such as hydrogen) and electricity. The CER will also enhance its regulatory oversight tools to ensure industry continues to increase the resiliency of regulated infrastructure in the case of hazards related to extreme weather events. To this end, the organization will engage with regulated companies, academia and other stakeholders to ensure that it is meeting the changing needs of the energy sector and adapting its requirements, guidance and capacity to monitor, assess and respond. Further, in 2024-25, the CER was successful in receiving additional funds through the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Regulatory Experimentation Expense Fund. With this funding, the CER is undertaking a Regulatory Pilot Project to test a draft compliance verification process to potential new requirements in the OPR to prevent and address impacts to the rights and interests of Indigenous Peoples. The CER is testing this draft process in collaboration with two regulated companies and two potentially impacted Indigenous communities. Results will be reviewed for lessons learned and opportunities to further innovate the CER’s approach to regulatory oversight.

Results we plan to achieve

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Results we plan to achieve

• UNDA Action Plan
  Engagement enables the CER to build and foster relationships and better understand diverse perspectives, interests and concerns. The CER will continue to progress UNDA APM 34 as part of the broader whole-of-government approach to implement the UNDA. This involves taking, in consultation and cooperation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, all measures necessary to ensure legal and regulatory initiatives are consistent with the UN Declaration, as required under section 5 of the UNDA. New CER guidelines will enable the organization to plan for, and deliver, these requirements starting from the early planning stages and throughout the process.
• Indigenous Cultural Intelligence
  The CER will continue to improve the Indigenous cultural intelligence of the CER’s governance bodies and staff through education, awareness and incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing in decision-making processes, policies and practices. CER staff will also apply these skills to enhance the decision-making ability of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples as rights holders by delivering information in a way that respects their cultures and perspectives and creating spaces where Indigenous voices can be heard.

Results we plan to achieve

• Engagement on CER Initiatives^{Footnote 7}
  The CER will work to continue building trust and confidence by engaging with Indigenous Peoples and stakeholders in a coordinated, transparent and collaborative manner on regulatory framework initiatives such as the OPR Review and updates to the Filing Manuals and Rules of Practice and Procedure.
  
  Efforts will also focus on ensuring that Canadians and Indigenous Peoples trust that we enable safe, reliable, competitive and environmentally sustainable energy transmission. Engagement activities are tailored to diverse audiences and communities at the national and regional levels guided by engagement plans that focus on building sustainable relationships.
  
  The CER will continue to work to partner and collaborate with First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples that have a shared interest in the work of the regulator. Deliberate work on collaboration agreements with the S’ólh Téméxw Stewardship Alliance and with Samson Cree Nation will help foster meaningful, reciprocal relationships in a way that is consistent with our commitment to implement the UN Declaration, and that honours the Nation-to-Nation treaties and agreements that Canada has entered.
  
  Similarly, the CER will continue to engage with First Nations and Métis governments, organizations and communities impacted by several of the facilities regulated by the CER to continue to strengthen the involvement of Indigenous Peoples in the oversight of our work. Specifically, this includes continuing work on the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees, established for the Trans Mountain Expansion and Line 3 Replacement Projects, as well as ongoing work to co-develop a collaborative mechanism with Indigenous Peoples relating to pipeline compliance and oversight of the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. System.
  
  Through these collaborations, the CER and Indigenous partners are advancing a shared commitment to respect, inclusivity, and transparency in energy regulatory oversight. The CER will continue to identify outreach opportunities with Indigenous Peoples to develop a better understanding of concerns and work collaboratively together to advance change and improve.

• The CER continues to use feedback from stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples to ensure engagement activities are inclusive and consider GBA Plus factors. The organization will use distinction-based approaches and tailor its engagement to reflect First Nations, Inuit and Métis distinct governance structures and models when developing engagement plans with Indigenous communities.
• Engagement measures enable the CER to monitor how effectively it engages a diversity of views to inform its decisions and work. The CER is continuing to improve its performance measures to collect information that is relevant to providing a more comprehensive picture of the impact of its engagement efforts.
• The CER is continuing to explore modern technologies to find ways to engage and collaborate with a more diverse and geographically dispersed audience. It will consider different approaches to sharing information with individuals and communities who do not have regular access to high-speed internet connections.

• Description
• Quality of life impacts
• Indicators, results and targets
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Related government priorities
• Program inventory

Results we plan to achieve

• Canada’s Energy Future Series^{Footnote 8}
  Energy information helps Canadians to make informed decisions about their energy future. Canada’s Energy Future is the CER’s long-term energy supply and demand outlook. It will be expanded to cover energy security, Indigenous insights, effects on households and businesses, and investment requirements — with improvements to energy models and databases. Following the publication of Canada’s Energy Future 2025 — the second iteration of Canada’s Energy Future featuring net-zero projections, the CER will prioritize post-release engagement. The organization also expects to begin planning and preliminary analysis for the next iteration of the Canada’s Energy Future report.
• Market Snapshots
  Market Snapshots are regularly published articles about various energy topics relevant to everyone in Canada. Following a user research study and the recent 10-year anniversary of this product, the CER will explore updates including the Market Snapshot index page, optimized findability, and continue publishing content that supports energy decision-making. This information supports Canada’s public dialogue on energy issues and informs decision-making by Canadians, governments, industry, and other interested parties.
• Energy Commodity Statistics
  The CER will continue to publish various Energy Commodity Statistics updates throughout the year, including monthly Canadian Crude Oil and Equivalent and Marketable Natural Gas production by province and territory; exports of natural gas and liquefied natural gas; exports of natural gas liquids; exports of crude oil and refined petroleum products; and imports and exports of electricity.
• Pipeline Profiles^{Footnote 9}
  The CER makes information related to CER-regulated pipeline infrastructure more transparent and accessible through its pipeline profiles. Pipeline profiles are data visualizations that make complex data and information more understandable and help Canadians navigate the CER regulatory oversight story. In 2025-26, the organization will continue to mature the Pipeline Information program to advance Trust and Confidence, Reconciliation and Implementing the UN Declaration, and Preparing for the Energy Future Strategic Priorities.

Results we plan to achieve

• Provincial and Territorial Energy Profiles^{Footnote 10}
  Provincial and Territorial Energy Profiles provide an overview of energy production, consumption, transportation, and trade for each of Canada’s provinces and territories. These profiles include information on all energy sources, including crude oil and refined products, natural gas, uranium, and renewables. They illustrate the diversity of Canada’s energy systems and provide readers with key facts and new developments in Canada’s energy systems. The CER will work on developing an updated user-centric design based on research and usability testing and enhancing the product in one of the CER’s first instances of employing the design-thinking process.
• Canadian Centre for Energy Information
  The Canadian Centre for Energy Information (CCEI) is a one stop-shop for energy information in Canada. In 2025-26, the CER will continue to support the CCEI workplan, including through collaboration on content for the CCEI website.

• The CER will continue improving digital content, accommodating the diverse needs of Canadians, so that it is equally accessible to all audiences. We will work to continually assess our programs with a GBA Plus lens by referring to the Canada.ca Style Guide.

• Canada’s Renewable Energy Profiles: The CER expects to release a jurisdictional overview of the renewable energy landscape in Canada in 2025-26. Illustrating the current state of renewable energy across the country, in all provinces and territories, this product will also include key facts and planned developments. This work will update and expand on the current iteration to include other sources of renewable energy such as bioenergy.

• Description
• Plans to achieve results
• Planned resources to achieve results
• Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

• Spending
• Funding
• Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
• Human resources

Variance between 2022-23 actual expenditures and 2023-24 actual expenditures  

The 2023-24 actual spending is $1.25 million higher than the 2022-23 actual spending, and the variance is primarily due to:  

• an increase of $13.71 million related to a Budget 2022 funding for regulatory renewal activities including Indigenous engagement and net-zero modelling; as well as funding to implement the Impact Assessment Act; 
• an increase of $1.58 million related to Grants and Contributions; 
• an increase of $0.24 million related to 2023-24 employee benefit plan costs; 
• a decrease of $6.93 million related to a Budget 2018 initiative to transition to new impact assessment and regulatory processes; 
• a decrease of $3.72 million related to other compensation adjustments including changes to terms and conditions of service or employment in the federal public administration; and 
• a decrease of $3.63 million mainly related to funding to improve the CER’s ability to interpret and make data available digitally to Canadians. 

Variance between 2023-24 actual expenditures and 2024-25 forecast spending  

The 2024-25 forecast spending is $16.70 million higher than the 2023-24 actual expenditures mainly due to:  

• a one-time increase of $7.04 million related to retroactive salary payment as a result of Collective Agreements renewal; 
• an increase of $5.84 million related to compensation adjustments including changes to terms and conditions of service or employment in the federal public administration;  
• an increase of $3.91 million related to Grants and Contributions; 
• an increase of $1.92 million related to Budget 2024 funding for Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees;
• an increase of $1.01 million related to employee benefits plan costs; and 
• a decrease of $3.02 million related to Budget 2022 funding for regulatory renewal activities as well as funding to implement the Impact Assessment Act. 

Variance between 2025-26 planned spending and 2026-27 planned spending  

The 2026-27 planned spending is $3.08 million lower than the 2025-26 planned spending primarily related to: 

• an increase of $0.28 million related to compensation adjustments including changes to terms and conditions of service or employment in the federal public administration;
• a decrease of $1.87 million related to Budget 2024 funding for Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees;
• a decrease of $1.18 million related to Budget 2022 funding for regulatory renewal activities, as well as funding to implement the Impact Assessment Act;
• a decrease of $0.23 million related to employee benefits plan costs; and
• a decrease of $0.08 million related to Grants and Contributions.

 Variance between 2026-27 planned spending and 2027-28 planned spending  

The 2027-28 planned spending is $1.81 million lower than the 2026-27 planned spending primarily related to:

• a decrease of $1.41 million related to compensation adjustments including changes to terms and conditions of service or employment in the federal public administration;
• a decrease of $0.24 million related to employee benefits plan costs; and
• a decrease of $0.16 million related to Budget 2022 funding for regulatory renewal activities, as well as funding to implement the Impact Assessment Act.

The CER is funded through Parliamentary appropriations. The Government of Canada currently recovers a large majority of the appropriation from the industry the CER regulates. All collections from cost recovery invoices are deposited to the account of the Receiver General for Canada and credited to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

Pipeline and power line companies that hold authorizations under the CER Act are subject to cost recovery. Applications before the CER for new facilities are not subject to cost recovery until the facility is placed into service, unless the company does not have any prior facilities regulated by the CER in which case a one-time levy is assessed following the authorization of construction.

Cost recovery is carried out on a calendar year basis.

This bar chart shows the CER’s six-year spending trend. It includes actual spending for the fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24, forecast spending for the year 2024-25 and planned spending for the years 2025-26 to 2027-28. Amounts are depicted by Voted and Statutory amounts. An explanation of spending variances is provided below Table 16: Three-year spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services and Table 17: Planned three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services.

Variance between 2024-25 forecast results and 2025-26 planned results  

The 2025-26 planned results are $13.40 million lower than the 2024-25 forecast results mainly due to:  

• an increase of $1.16 million related to compensation adjustments including changes to terms and conditions of service or employment in the federal public administration;
• a decrease of $7.04 million related to retroactive salary payment as a result of Collective Agreements renewal in 2024-25;
• a decrease of $6.88 million related to Budget 2022 funding for regulatory renewal activities including net-zero modelling as well as Data & Information and Innovation;
• a decrease of $0.30 million related to Grants and Contributions;
• a decrease of $0.29 million related to employee benefits plan costs; and
• a decrease of $0.05 million related to Budget 2024 funding for Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees.

Variance between 2022-23 actual full-time equivalents and 2023-24 actual full-time equivalents  

There was an insignificant decrease of 0.3 full-time equivalents from 2022-23 to 2023-24.

Variance between 2023-24 actual full-time equivalents and 2024-25 forecast full-time equivalents  

The increase of 7.3 full-time equivalents is primarily due to:

• an increase of 11.9 full-time equivalents is related to Budget 2024 funding for Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees; and 
• a net decrease of 4.6 full-time equivalents is related to Budget 2022 funding for regulatory renewal activities, implement the Impact Assessment Act and operational requirements. 

Variance between 2025-26 planned full-time equivalents and 2026-27 planned full-time equivalents  

The decrease of 10.1 planned full-time equivalents from 2025-26 to 2026-27 is primarily related to:

• an increase of 6.1 full-time equivalents is due to changes across the organization to meet operational requirements;
• a decrease of 11.3 full-time equivalents is related to Budget 2024 funding for Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees; and
• a decrease of 4.9 full-time equivalents is related to Budget 2022 funding for regulatory renewal activities, as well as funding to implement the Impact Assessment Act.

Variance between 2026-27 planned full-time equivalents and 2027-28 planned full-time equivalents  

The decrease of 4.4 planned full-time equivalents from 2026-27 to 2027-28 is primarily related to:

• a decrease of 4.0 full-time equivalents is due to changes across the organization to meet operational requirements; and
• a decrease of 0.4 full-time equivalents is related to Budget 2022 funding for regulatory renewal activities, as well as funding to implement the Impact Assessment Act.

Appropriate minister(s): The Honourable Tim Hodgson, P.C., M.P.

Institutional head: Tracy Sletto

Ministerial portfolio: Energy and Natural Resources

Enabling instrument(s): Canadian Energy Regulator Act

Year of incorporation / commencement: 2019

Other: The CER Act came into force on 28 August 2019.

Headquarters – Calgary

Mailing address:

210-517 10 Ave SW
Calgary AB  T2R 0A8

Telephone:

Office: 403-292-4800

Toll free: 1-800-899-1265

Fax: 403-292-5503

Toll free fax: 1-877-288-8803

Email: info@cer-rec.gc.ca

Website

appropriation (crédit)
Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, departments or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)
A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

full-time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full-time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])
Is an analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

Using GBA Plus involves taking a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach to our work. Considering all intersecting identity factors as part of GBA Plus, not only sex and gender, is a Government of Canada commitment.

government priorities (priorités gouvernementales)
For the purpose of the 2025-26 Departmental Plan, government priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the most recent Speech from the Throne.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
An initiative where two or more federal departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

Indigenous business (entreprise autochtones)
For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada’s commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, a department that meets the definition and requirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory. 

non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
Non-budgetary authorities that comprise assets and liabilities transactions for loans, investments and advances, or specified purpose accounts, that have been established under specific statutes or under non-statutory authorities in the Estimates and elsewhere. Non-budgetary transactions are those expenditures and receipts related to the government's financial claims on, and obligations to, outside parties. These consist of transactions in loans, investments and advances; in cash and accounts receivable; in public money received or collected for specified purposes; and in all other assets and liabilities. Other assets and liabilities, not specifically defined in G to P authority codes are to be recorded to an R authority code, which is the residual authority code for all other assets and liabilities.

performance (rendement)
What a department did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the department intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

plan (plan)
The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how a department intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)
A consequence attributed, in part, to a department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the department’s influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)
A measurable performance or success level that a department, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.