Will Ontario leapfrog ahead of Minnesota? Here at MNFuels.com, we’re mighty proud of our state’s long leadership in production and use of renewable fuels. But something is happening up in the Great White North.
Ontario just announced it will increase by 50% the ethanol content of gasoline sold within the Canadian Province making E15 the standard blend by 2030. Manitoba and Quebec have also made ethanol announcements. Manitoba’s requirement for E10 blends went into effect at the start of 2021 with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 220,000 metric tons per year. Quebec’s proposal would make E15 the standard by 2025 and includes incentives for cellulosic-based ethanol.
We went looking for a Canadian perspective on E15, climate change and the politics of it all. Ideally, we wanted someone not connected to the announcements or industries involved. We reached out across the Rainy River to a leader in the northwestern Ontario community of Fort Frances. The town has been making national headlines of its own. In those, Town Councillor Douglas Judson stands out as a passionate voice for changing public attitudes and behaviors.
“To be clear, I see this (E15) as a positive development, and we need more of these initiatives,” he says. “Climate change is the greatest threat to our civilization and we are past the point where governments in Canada can afford‒morally or politically‒not to put in place concrete initiatives for compliance and incentives to shift emissions-producing behaviours.” 
Ontario is large‒yes, bigger than Texas! And while its rural northwest is home to beautiful forests and lakes, mining, and agriculture, it does not yet produce biofuels. Judson recognizes that political reality, “Its laudable E15 may provide economic benefits for producers in Ontario’s southeastern Corn Belt,” adding, “Understandably, our provincial government’s announcement is rooted in the south.”
E15 is one plank in the Ontario provincial government’s Made-in-Ontario Environmental Plan. In addition to boosting the ethanol content and reducing the lifecycle carbon emission of Ontario gasoline, the plan includes other tactics such as renewable natural gas and expansion of electric vehicle charging. “These are all positive developments, and as a municipal representative in the rural north, I’m delighted to already see the expansion of electric charging stations in our region.”
According to the PEW Research center, a growing majority in the United States recognize the serious threat of climate change. Canadians might be more directly aware given the effects observed in Arctic ice and on northern plants and wildlife.
Judson contemplatively asks‒and answers, “As our climate gets closer to the brink, must we always argue a counter-balanced business case for actions to reduce emissions? Those are hard questions to answer‒and require creativity and courage on the part of lawmakers … The question is whether it is enough. Will these initiatives be enough to curb industrial and individual behaviours that contribute to climate change?”
Visit www.douglasjudson.ca to learn more about Councillor Douglas W. Judson.