National Propane Day highlights the role of propane in Canada’s cleaner, greener future

The Canadian Propane Association (CPA) is celebrating the inaugural National Propane Day on March 21, 2023. National Propane Day is an opportunity to recognize the many benefits of propane as an affordable, accessible, and low-emission Canadian energy source and its essential role in our energy future.

Propane is used daily by millions of Canadians for water and heating, cooking, and power generation at home and work. It is an essential energy source with countless applications, from powering fleets and school buses to fisheries, farms, and construction projects.

“Propane is an energy of choice that provides reliable and affordable power across multiple sectors,” said Shannon Watt, president and CEO of the CPA. “It is also highly accessible, with unmatched distribution infrastructure across the country, making it the ideal low-emission energy option for those Canadians living in rural and remote areas that do not have access to the electric grid or natural gas pipeline system.”

Millions of homes in Indigenous, rural, and remote locations across Canada rely on wood, diesel, and heating oil as their primary heat source. Propane can affordably help Canadians lower their emissions with furnaces achieving 98 percent efficiency, saving residents up to 30-45 percent of heating costs and reducing emissions up to 38 percent compared to oil furnaces. And in some regions, propane is even cleaner than the electric grid.

Propane is also the perfect backup energy source for renewable energy systems like solar and wind by providing reliable and consistent low-emission energy when renewable sources are not available.  In addition, propane does not degrade over time, making it a reliable option to provide emergency power for critical infrastructure like hospitals, emergency fleets, and other essential services during power outages or natural disasters.

Advancements are being made today to make propane an even lower carbon energy. Propane can be combined with renewable DME (dimethyl ether) and hydrogen, significantly reducing emissions, and with renewable propane already being produced in some parts of the world, it will reach near zero emissions.

“Now and for future generations, propane is an essential energy for a low-carbon future,” said Watt. “Propane is the missing link between the realities of energy today and the hope for the energy of tomorrow. It has an important role as a low-emission energy source that ensures all Canadians can afford to heat their homes while reducing their emissions. It ensures that no one gets left behind in the energy transition to decarbonize.”

National Propane Day recognizes the critical role of propane to provide affordable, low-emission energy across the country. With its advances to decarbonize, propane is a full partner in Canada’s path to a greener future.