Canada to Net Zero: A Sisyphean Task or a Reachable Summit?
April 20, 2026
By Krystie Johnston
Have you ever heard the Greek legend of Sisyphus? He was a king condemned by the gods to roll a boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down and him to start again once he reached the summit – for eternity. Allegorically, this story embodies futility and perseverance (among other aspects of the human condition). I asked Frederic Morency, Vice President of Sustainability, Strategic Initiatives & Innovation at Schneider Electric Canada, if Canada’s efforts towards net zero have any semblance to this metaphor. And he shared his insights.
Canada’s plan to net zero is holding together, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to deliver. The government’s own 2025 Progress Report indicates the country is off track for its 2030 and 2035 climate targets, and the policy clock is ticking. Will Canada reach its net zero goals on time? Morency says it is not the ambition to reach net zero that has changed, but the conditions around that ambition.
Multiple pressures are colliding
Canada still has clear targets, but the systems required to deliver them are under real pressure. “On the one hand, there are positive forces accelerating progress: continued decarbonization of the electricity sector, growing corporate commitments, and stronger awareness that energy and sustainability are now business-critical,” Morency says. “Electrification is gaining ground across buildings, transportation, and industry – which is exactly what needs to happen.”
“At the same time, those same forces are creating new constraints,” he adds. “Electricity demand is rising faster than many forecasts anticipated, driven by electrification, industrial growth, and increasingly, data and AI workloads. In some regions, the grid is already tightening. So, while we are asking more of electricity as a decarbonization tool, we are also putting more strain on the system that delivers it.”
Layering this onto a policy environment that can shift over relatively short periods of time, and it creates uncertainty for long-term investment decisions. Morency says that industrial players in particular need clarity and consistency to move forward with large-scale decarbonization projects. “The ‘flux’ we are seeing is really the result of a system in transition. We are not moving in a straight line from low to high carbon. We are reconfiguring energy, infrastructure, and markets all at once. That kind of transition is inherently uneven. And it is why execution is now the real challenge.”
Executing change requires perseverance
Schneider Electric has decades – almost centuries – of experience as a leader in energy and sustainability they bring to the table to support with executing this transition. Morency says that one of the advantages Schneider Electric brings is experience across both sides of the equation – energy and digital. Increasingly, the transition depends on how well those two are integrated.
“A big part of the solution is making energy use more visible, more controllable, and more efficient in real time,” he explains. “Through platforms like EcoStruxure, organizations can monitor, analyze, and optimize how energy is consumed across buildings, industrial operations, and infrastructure. That kind of visibility is critical when energy becomes both more constrained – and more valuable.”
Morency says that at Schneider Electric Canada, they are also seeing strong momentum in electrification and automation, helping industries transition away from fossil-based processes while maintaining performance and competitiveness. “In buildings, for example, digital controls and energy management systems can significantly reduce consumption while also providing flexibility back to the grid, which is becoming increasingly important.”
Another area where Schneider can help is with advisory and implementation support. Morency explains that many organizations know where they want to go with sustainability, but the “how” is complex. This is where a partner like Schneider can help by translating targets into actionable roadmaps, prioritizing what to do now versus later, and how to scale effectively. If the challenge is executing decarbonization strategies, then the solutions from Schneider will help Canada reach that metaphorical summit.
So, is Canada’s journey to net zero a Sisyphean task or reachable summit? Is it about the destination? Or the journey? Morency offers this: “To your question on end goal versus the journey, it is both. But the journey is what determines whether the goal is realistic. Net-zero by 2050 is important. But what matters most is what happens between now and 2030. The decisions made in the next few years, on infrastructure, electrification, and efficiency, will either enable that long-term target or make it much harder to reach.”
Purposeful repetition
The reality is that the energy transition is iterative. Very few organizations – or countries – get it right on the first attempt. Conditions change. Technologies evolve. And sometimes, progress does not come as quickly as planned.
“The most important thing is not to interpret setbacks as failures, but as feedback,” Morency says. “If something does not deliver the expected outcome, it usually points to where the system needs to adapt – whether that is infrastructure, timing, or approach.”
Morency concludes, “The organizations that make the most progress are the ones that stay pragmatic, measure results closely, and adjust quickly,” he says. “There is also a tendency to think in terms of large, transformational moves only. They are important, but consistent incremental progress (improving efficiency, digitalization of operations, and optimizing energy) adds up quickly. And often, this creates the foundation for bigger changes.”
More Information
Interested in learning more about your journey to Net zero? Visit Schneider Electric Canada today.
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