Canada Energy Regulator – 2025–26 Departmental Plan – Vision, Mission, Raison d’être and Operating Context

Our Vision  

The Canada Energy Regulator (CER) 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. 

The CER’s mandate and role are detailed at Governance of the Canada Energy Regulator – Mandate, Roles and Responsibilities on the CER website. 

Raison d’être: 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.

Operating Context

Managing risks and seizing opportunities in the work the CER does on behalf of all Canadians will affect how the CER achieves planned results for 2025-26. The CER has an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Framework for managing risks in the context of the current governance model and Strategic Plan. ERM is a holistic approach to identifying, assessing, preparing for, and managing organization-wide strategic risks. By providing a framework to identify enterprise-level risk events, ERM enables the CER’s Board of Directors and senior management to strategically manage events that might stand in the way of organizational success and identify mitigations to these risks.  

In 2025-26, the CER will mitigate risks related to: 

  • Industry safety: There is a risk of the occurrence of a high consequence event involving CER-regulated infrastructure resulting in significant harm to people, property, Sites of Indigenous Significance (SIS), or the environment. 
  • Indigenous Rights/Crown Consultation: There is a risk that the CER does not adequately respect and respond to First Nations, Métis and Inuit rights or meaningfully carry out Crown consultation or meet its commitments to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This may lead to inadequately addressing, avoiding, or minimizing adverse impacts on Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and a loss of confidence and/or trust in the CER’s commitment to Reconciliation. 
  • Workforce: There is a risk that the CER is unable to adequately attract, retain, and develop a diverse, inclusive, and modernized workforce. This could lead to skills and knowledge gaps, inability to adapt to change, decreased productivity and morale, and a workforce that does not represent the population we serve.  
  • Sustainability of Funding: There is a risk the CER is vulnerable to the instability of temporary funding and refocusing spending toward other government priorities, which would potentially compromise its ability to effectively to carry out its mandate. 
  • Cybersecurity Breach to CER Systems: There is a risk that a cybersecurity breach to CER systems may occur. This would lead to unauthorized disclosure of protected CER data, unauthorized alteration or destruction of CER data, IT systems and digital services, and/or a disruption of CER systems and inability to carry out daily operations. 
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