Energy Poverty in Edmonton

Many families struggle with energy poverty, even in the midst of a wealthy, energy-producing region. This seeming contradiction has many complex causes, which we will be exploring with a number of partner organizations, including End Poverty Edmonton, Alberta EcoTrust, Kambo, and Metis Housing. Edmonton is one of the two major cities in Alberta, the wealthiest province in Canada, thanks to a heavily energy-based regional economy. Edmonton is far from the oilfields, however, and has a mixed, service-based economy, home to several large universities and government centres. Nonetheless, the city features high levels of economic disparity, with non-white and Indigenous families being over-represented among the lower-income groups.

Our researchers will explore energy poverty in Edmonton through several different research activities, including interviews with key informants: individuals working in government and non-governmental organizations whose mandate it is to serve the needs of low-income groups, including identifying and addressing forms of energy insecurity. We will also hold group discussions over shared meals with Edmontonians living with energy poverty. Finally, we will sit down with individual families to engage in long-form, unstructured conversations, exploring the values, practices, and experiences of those families, and the visions of the future they aspire toward., and how energy weaves its way through their lives, livelihoods, and aspirations.