Canada’s national energy regulator released new modelling this week that expects electricity demand to grow 44% coast to coast by 2050, driven by AI data centres, industrial electrification, and residential growth.
In Ontario alone, the IESO’s queue already includes 8,400 megawatts of data centre demand — equivalent to one-third of the province’s entire electricity system — while annual consumption is forecast to grow from roughly 157 TWh in 2026 to over 260 TWh by 2050.
The IESO’s own chief energy transition officer noted the demand forecast has already had to be revised upward twice in two years, calling data centres “that big and arriving that fast.”
For investors who want to own the infrastructure that gets paid when electricity becomes the new bottleneck, these two Canadian businesses are worth a close look.
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BEP.UN
Brookfield Renewable Partners (TSX: BEP.UN) looks like a natural winner if demand keeps rising because it owns a huge, diversified global fleet of renewables and knows how to recycle capital into new growth. It runs hydro, wind, solar, storage, and other clean power assets, and it also has a massive development pipeline that lets it build into demand rather than just hope prices go up. Over the last year, the tone around the name has shifted toward “real contracts, real customers,” including management pointing out robust demand from hyper scalers signing long-term deals for power.
The earnings picture supports the growth angle. Brookfield Renewable reported funds from operations of $1.33 billion for 2025, or $2.01 per unit, up 10% on a per-unit basis versus 2024, with fourth-quarter funds from operations (FFO) per unit of $0.51. Management also announced a 5% distribution increase, which signals confidence that the cash engine can keep expanding.
Valuation is where investors need to stay clear-eyed. Because Brookfield Renewable often reports net income that swings due to non-cash items, many investors anchor on FFO and distribution yield rather than a neat price-to-earnings (P/E). On recent market data, it traded with a 4.8% dividend yield. The upside comes from rising contracted pricing, project execution, and capital recycling into higher-return builds. The risk is that it still carries significant debt across the platform, and higher rates can pressure valuation even when operating cash flow keeps growing.
Brookfield Renewable is a global-scale play on the power demand surge: a development pipeline that can build directly into the 8,400 MW of Ontario data centre demand queuing up, backed by hyper-scaler long-term contracts and a 5% distribution increase that signals management confidence in the cash engine.
NPI
Northland Power (TSX: NPI) could also win from rising power demand, but the story has a different flavour. It owns offshore wind, onshore renewables, and dispatchable natural gas generation, and it has been building out assets that can matter when grids need reliability as well as clean electrons. Over the last year, two items stood out for investors: Oneida energy storage began contributing after commencing operations in 2025, and the dividend stock dealt with a major impairment at Nordsee One as pricing moved from a subsidized regime to market exposure.
The latest results show that operationally, it can benefit when demand and pricing improve. In Q4 2025, revenue from energy sales rose to $723 million from $572 million a year earlier, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased to $390 million from $312 million. Plus, free cash flow per share improved to $0.46 from $0.31. For full-year 2025, revenue increased to $2.44 billion from $2.35 billion, while adjusted EBITDA was essentially flat at $1.25 million versus $1.26 billion, and free cash flow per share dipped slightly to $1.46 from $1.53. The headline net loss in 2025 came largely from the $527 million non-cash pre-tax impairment tied to Nordsee One.
Valuation and income need a careful read here because the dividend changed. Northland’s board approved an adjustment to its dividend to $0.72 per share on an annual basis, starting with the January 2026 payment and now yielding 3.3%. The upside comes from stronger production, contribution from storage, and the value of ready to run power when grids tighten.
Northland Power’s dispatchable gas generation earns most when the grid is under stress, which is precisely what a 44% national demand increase and 8,400 MW of Ontario data centre queuing is likely to create.
Bottom line
Increasing power demand is not just as assumption anymore — it is a policy and engineering reality confirmed by both the national energy regulator and Ontario’s system operator this week. For investors, BEP.UN gives you global-scale renewable development with hyper-scaler contracts. NPI gives you grid-reliability assets, including storage and dispatchable generation, that earn most when the system is under the most pressure.
| COMPANY | RECENT PRICE | NUMBER OF SHARES YOU COULD BUY WITH $7,000 | ANNUAL DIVIDEND | TOTAL ANNUAL PAYOUT ON A $7,000 INVESTMENT | TOTAL INVESTMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEP.UN | $43.02 | 162 | $2.12 | $343.44 | $6,969.24 |
| NPI | $21.67 | 323 | $0.72 | $232.56 | $6,999.41 |
When electricity becomes the new bottleneck — and 8,400 megawatts of data centre demand queuing into Ontario suggests that moment is closer than most investors think — the owners of generation and grid flexibility tend to get paid first.
