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In this episode, I had the pleasure of talking with Brad Duguid, senior advisor at Sussex Strategy Group and the new President of The Association of Major Power Consumers Ontario (AMPCO).

Brad was a councillor for almost ten years in the city of Scarborough and Toronto, and a provincial MPP for 13 years. He has had seven ministries, including Aboriginal Affairs, Labour, Energy & Infrastructure, Economic Development, Research & Innovation, Trade and Training, Colleges & Universities. He was known as a troubleshooter for government, which leads to his value as an advisor at Sussex, as well as a good choice for AMPCO at this time.

After the Minister of Energy brought forward the Long-Term Energy Plan and was at the centre of the tough decision for Ontario to get off coal-fired generation, he has a lot of pride in knowing that his efforts and hard work mattered. The elimination of smog days in Toronto was the single greatest climate change initiative in North America, until now. Ontario has one of the cleanest energy systems in the world, a huge, impactful, global advantage for Ontario.

Brad and I talk about being the voice of AMPCO to be involved in helping the government with solutions for reliable and affordable power, and the on-going push to get off fossil fuels and deal with the infrastructure and use of natural gas generation for electricity, a huge item to review. We discuss the new Integrated Energy Resource Plan that will review electricity and include review of natural gas generation.

Key Takeaways:

  1. The transition away from Natural Gas will require practical technologies at an affordable price.
  2. All sectors in the energy industry including government and regulator, need to collaborate on solutions to obtain the capacity we need in the short and long term.
  3. In light of the drastic changes in the global economy.  Reliable and affordable energy sources are more important than ever.
*This was recorded January 27, 2025 prior to the provincial election February 27.

Please subscribe to this podcast and connect with me on my website at DGG5Advising.com or on LinkedIn at Dean G. Gatien.

In this episode, Dean mentions the legacy and widsom of his father Clary, and his upcoming 100th Birthday.  Clary passed away on February 6, 2025.  This obituary shares more about his full life: sudbury.com/obituaries/gatien-clarence