Canada's ethanol industry is pressing the federal government to finalise long-promised changes to the Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR), arguing that delays are letting imported US ethanol take a growing share of the country's expanding market.
The Farms and Fuels Alliance, which represents Canadian corn growers and domestic ethanol producers, joined Renewable Industries Canada in a letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney asking for targeted amendments, including a minimum 1.4-times credit multiplier for ethanol produced in Canada. The groups say this would level the field with US producers, who benefit from the US 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit while competing in Canada. The alliance says the competitiveness problem was identified more than a year ago but the promised fix has not been published.
Andrea Kent, vice president of policy and external relations at Greenfield Global, said the proposal reflects a very different North American market and would let Canadian producers compete for demand created by Canada's own clean fuel policies. Industry representatives describe it as an adjustment within the existing rules, not a new subsidy.
The stakes for farmers are direct. Jeff Harrison, chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario, said ethanol plants use roughly one-third of the province's corn crop. He also cited estimates that ethanol blending cut Canadian wholesale gasoline costs by about 7.4 cents a litre in 2024.
The urgency has grown with expectations that Canada will become a billion-gallon, or roughly four-billion-litre, export market for US ethanol. Kevin Norton, chief executive of Alco Energy Canada, said the industry wants the 1.4x multiplier finalised before the end of 2026, so that the rural jobs and corn demand tied to Canada's clean fuel policies stay in the country.
Photo: Peter Giesbrecht / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Farms.com
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