Official registries and open data list 1,053 active companies in utilities in Quebec, which puts Quebec in 1st place in Canada for this sector (81 % of the national total). 120 of them (11 %) have at least one known director, and 27 (3 %) published an official change in the last 18 months: incorporation, amendment, change of director or address.
Want a closer look at these companies? ciblr sends you 5 profiles of companies in utilities in Quebec free of charge, contact details included.
Get 5 profiles from this segmentCanada's utilities (electricity, gas, water, sewage) count only 1,337 employers but 136,217 payroll employees: it is the most concentrated sector in the economy. After a decade of stability, electricity demand, data centres and decarbonization targets are restarting a heavy investment cycle, with capital expenditures expected to rise 9.7% in 2026.
NAICS 22 covers electricity, natural gas distribution, water treatment and distribution, and sewage systems. ISED counts 5,217 establishments in 2025, but only 1,337 with employees. The size profile is the opposite of the rest of the economy: 7.9% of employers have 100 to 499 employees and 2.6% have 500 or more, compared with less than 1% in most sectors.
Employment is stable and well paid: 136,217 payroll employees in 2025, of which 108,136 in electric power generation, transmission and distribution alone. Ontario has 51,883, Quebec 31,931, Alberta 17,934 and British Columbia 12,292. The sector's average hourly wage reached $44.72 in 2024 according to ISED.
The market is structured around provincial Crown corporations (Hydro-Quebec, BC Hydro, Manitoba Hydro, SaskPower, Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation, NB Power, Nova Scotia Power) and a few private groups (ATCO, Fortis, Enbridge, Emera, Energir, Capital Power). Generation reached 622.2 million MWh in 2024, down slightly by 0.2%, of which 55.2% hydroelectric and 63.9% from renewable sources.
Two years of drought weighed on hydroelectricity: generation fell 6.1% in Quebec and 8.9% in Manitoba in 2024, which pushed thermal generation up (+1.7%) and cut exports to the United States by 24.5%, to 36.1 million MWh. Quebec alone produces 50.2% of Canadian hydroelectricity. The episode was a reminder of the value of interconnections and storage.
Investment is clearly restarting. Statistics Canada expects a $4.5 billion increase (+9.7%) in the sector's capital expenditures in 2026, driven by grid reliability projects and by announced demand growth. Electricity infrastructure spending had already risen 9.2% in 2024, led by Quebec (+33.7%), Ontario (+10.1%) and Saskatchewan (+28.6%). Sector GDP, however, grew only 0.3% in 2024: capital comes before output.
Demand is the new variable. Data centres, transport electrification and industrial projects (LNG, critical minerals) are pushing distributors to revisit their supply plans. Hydro-Quebec priced its 2035 Action Plan at $155 billion to $185 billion, and in May 2026 Canada's prime minister announced a National Electricity Strategy aimed at doubling grid capacity by 2050 and training more than 130,000 skilled workers.
Economic regulation is provincial: the Regie de l'energie in Quebec, the Ontario Energy Board, the BC Utilities Commission, the Alberta Utilities Commission and the Manitoba Public Utilities Board. These tribunals set rates and approve investment plans; their public decisions state precisely which spending programs were authorized and for how much.
Federally, the Canada Energy Regulator oversees international lines, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission regulates plants and small modular reactors, and Environment and Climate Change Canada carries the Clean Electricity Regulations. Funding programs matter as much as regulation: the Canada Infrastructure Bank, the Canada Growth Fund, the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways program ($4.5 billion) and the Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program, raised to $10 billion.
The Major Projects Office portfolio shows where the money is going: new nuclear at Darlington, the North Coast Transmission Line in British Columbia, Wind West in Nova Scotia and the Taltson hydro expansion. Electricity Canada, the Canadian Gas Association and provincial water associations structure sector dialogue.
Who buys what: utilities buy transformers, conductors, switchgear, smart meters, grid management systems, cybersecurity, engineering and inspection, vegetation management, equipment rental and a great deal of specialized line maintenance labour. Municipal water systems buy treatment chemicals, pumps, instrumentation and leak detection.
Cycles and signals to watch: rate applications and capital plans filed with regulators, renewable energy procurement calls, data centre interconnection notices, investment intentions published by Statistics Canada in February, and Crown corporation investment decisions. Buying cycles are long (eighteen months to five years) and almost always run through a prior supplier qualification.
How ciblr helps: target the sector's 1,337 employers by province, identify the 141 establishments with 100 employees or more that hold the budgets, track public contract awards by Crown corporations and municipalities, and watch hiring in engineering, project management and line trades as a signal that a capital program is starting.
150 employers but 31,931 payroll employees, sector GDP of $12.37 billion (2024) and 50.2% of Canadian hydroelectricity. The Regie de l'energie oversees the rates and spending of Hydro-Quebec Distribution and Energir.
Of these 1,053 companies, 120 are federally incorporated, 933 are known through the provincial registry. 97 of them were founded in 2025 and 2026, that is 9 % of the active base; 60 incorporations in 2025. That is in line with the average of the three previous years (56 a year): a steady pace of creation.
Over the last 12 months, 68 companies in the sector (6 %) won at least one public contract, 434 contracts in all, published by governments, cities and public bodies. 2 received a federal grant or contribution (3 agreements).
Headcount is known for 1,051 companies (100 %): 11,322 declared jobs in total, and the median company has 1-4 employees.
155 companies (15 %) publish a general phone or email, 123 have a website verified by ciblr, 86 hold an official licence or permit.
Moves published in the last 90 days: 3 relocations, 19 public contracts, 1 grants, 4 hirings, 2 dissolutions.
1,053 companies in utilities are active in Quebec according to official registries and open data, that is 81 % of the 1,304 companies in the sector across Canada.
120 of these companies (11 %) have at least one director on the federal registry (the only registry that publishes directors), which lets you approach them through the right person.
ciblr sends 5 company profiles from this target free of charge, directors and contact details included. The subscription at 99 CAD per month gives access to the whole target, with Excel export and change tracking.
Every company counted here is active in an official registry (Corporations Canada, Registraire des entreprises du Québec, OrgBook BC) or named by an official open source (licence, public contract, grant, registered employer). The sector is a NAICS code, size comes from the declared headcount when a source provides it and otherwise from an estimate based on the registry (board size, age, status, statute), and "recent signal" means a published move (incorporation, amendment, change of director, address, contract, grant, hiring) in the last 18 months. Figures are recomputed every week from the ciblr database. No data is purchased or invented.
ciblr sends you 5 profiles of companies in utilities in Quebec free of charge, directors and contact details included. For the whole target, the subscription is 99 CAD per month, no commitment.