While the oil and gas industries remain powerful forces in the province, some experts believe Saskatchewan — as well as the rest of Canada — is on the cusp of a major green energy switch. 

Transitions to green energy are already happening throughout Saskatchewan, as cities like Regina and Saskatoon implement their climate action plans and citizens scope out solar panels, electric vehicles and waste-reduction options.

Markham Hislop, a Saskatchewan-born energy and climate journalist, says the current move toward green energy mirrors events of the late 19th and early 20th century when steam and horses were replaced by cars, trucks and tractors powered by internal combustion engines. 

“Many Saskatchewanians will remember stories of their great-grandparents’ big steam tractors before the Great War, and smaller gas tractors working on in the fields by 1920,” said Hislop, who is also the founder of Energi Media and host of the podcast Energi Talks.