Energy Conference Network plans climate resilience events in Ottawa and Winnipeg

Energy Conference Network will host two fall conferences in Canada focused on energy justice and climate adaptation, with events set for Ottawa on Oct. 6-7 and Winnipeg on Oct. 20-21. The gatherings aim to give communities, utilities and policymakers practical tools to address energy poverty and rising climate risks.

Why it matters: - Energy poverty and climate resilience are becoming more urgent across Canada as households and communities face higher costs, more severe weather and growing pressure on housing and infrastructure. - The two events are designed to move participants from discussion to action by connecting policymakers, utilities, housing providers, municipalities and Indigenous leaders with practical strategies and partnerships.

What happened: - Energy Conference Network announced two fall events focused on Canadian climate and energy resilience. - The Canada Home Energy Justice Conference will take place Oct. 6-7 at Carleton University in Ottawa. - The Adaptation Forum will take place Oct. 20-21 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. - The Canada Home Energy Justice Conference is in its third year and is co-organized with Efficiency Canada.

The details: - The Canada Home Energy Justice Conference will bring together community leaders, policymakers, researchers, utilities and housing providers. - The Ottawa agenda focuses on energy poverty and barriers to affordable, efficient home energy. - The program includes community-led retrofit strategies, tenant voices in building performance and a national push to end energy poverty. - The Adaptation Forum is themed Community & Infrastructure Resilience in the Prairies. - The Winnipeg event will focus on climate adaptation challenges in Western Canada as wildfires, drought and flooding strain housing, infrastructure and emergency systems. - The forum will gather municipalities, Indigenous leaders, insurers, utilities and funders. - The forum will highlight financing solutions, resilient retrofit approaches and partnerships that can scale across the Prairies. - Energy Conference Network CEO Symon Rubens said the company wants to put the people doing this work in the same room so they can leave with strategies and partnerships, not just ideas. - The Canada Home Energy Justice Conference will include a ministerial keynote, a fireside chat and roundtable dialogues meant to translate research into program delivery. - The Adaptation Forum will include site visits and roundtables aimed at helping attendees leave with funding leads and community-specific partnerships. - Registration is open for both events. - Early bird pricing for the Ottawa conference ends Friday, Aug. 28. - More information and registration for the Canada Home Energy Justice Conference is available here. - More information and registration for The Adaptation Forum is available here. - Energy Conference Network’s LinkedIn page is available here.

Between the lines: - The pairing of an energy justice conference with a Prairie adaptation forum signals a broader effort to treat home energy affordability and climate resilience as connected policy problems. - The emphasis on roundtables, site visits and funding leads suggests the events are being built for implementation, not just awareness. - The focus on rural, remote and Indigenous communities reflects where climate and energy gaps can be most difficult to close.

What's next: - Energy Conference Network will hold the Ottawa conference first, followed by the Winnipeg forum two weeks later. - Attendees who want early bird pricing for Ottawa need to register before Aug. 28. - The conferences are positioned to produce partnerships, retrofit ideas and financing pathways that could shape local action after the events end.

The bottom line: - Energy Conference Network is betting that Canada’s climate and energy challenges are best tackled by bringing the right people together around practical next steps, not just panels and presentations.