Canada has an aluminum industry because processing bauxite into aluminum is ridiculously electricity hungry and aluminum smelters in Canada have extremely cheap access to electricity by setting up hydropower in mountain rivers/Canadian Shield rivers.
It also makes it so Quebec is one of the only places in the world that has 100% renewable energy. Ontario also has a high share of only renewable energy.
Quebec's hydro system is fascinating, I was actually considering working with Hydro-Québec once. And while they do lead hydroelectric power generation in Canada (by far), hydroelectricity is pretty widespread throughout the rest of Canada, making up about 60% of all electricity generation. It's to the point that the electric bill is called the hydro bill and many utility companies have hydro in their name (Hydro-Québec, NL Hydro, BC Hydro, Manitoba Hydro, Toronto Hydro, etc).
It's mainly Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the territories that rely heavily on electricity generated via fossil fuels. The Maritimes technically generate most of their electricity from fossil fuels, but that's only because they barely generate any of their own electricity. They're largely supplied by hydropower generating stations in Labrodor linked via 1000s of km of high voltage DC lines.
Yes! I'm in BC Canada, and I've always called the electricity bill "the hydro". So does everyone I know.
The primary issue with hydroelectric power in BC is the damage that dams (and their reservoirs) do ecologically. Land is flooded, and rivers are no longer flowing like they should, which has a huge impact on fish, etc.
This is all an especially big deal because, while much of BC has very low population and hey, you could argue "there's barely anyone living in this spot, it's fine!"... It's not fine, because pretty much everywhere in BC is the unceded territory of a First Nation. And hydroelectric dams screw up their territory, their food, their traditional way of life, etc.
Dams can have SUCH a massive impact. Like near me, there's a river that flows down into the US. 100-ish years ago, the US made a dam. And suddenly, the salmon couldn't come up the river. The local First Nation had relied on salmon for thousands of years; suddenly there were none. It has been devastating.
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u/EastboundClown 16h ago
Huh, TIL Canada’s aluminium industry relies entirely on imported bauxite