We all remember that initial shock in 2020, when our systems of trade and transport – previously understood as untouchable, and nearly always reliable – were thrust into disarray. Suddenly it mattered more where our purchases originated from, and what materials they were generated from. Travelling abroad became more difficult, if not outright impossible. Planes were grounded all over the world, and the return to “normal” seemed like a distant dream.

And it all unfurled while we were collectively confronting an unknown and deadly virus.

We adapted, and as a result of this tremendous upheaval, certain good ideas gained widespread traction: embracing a better work–life balance, baking sourdough bread and making the most of the region where you live. It became the age of the “staycation.”

Now, in the summer of 2026, we’re witnessing the return of some of the markers of those disease-ridden summers. The war in Iran, and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has triggered a massive fuel shortage. Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, has called it “the greatest global energy security threat in history.”

Some 13,000 flights were cancelled in May alone. The implications have been felt around the world. In Europe, governments have called on citizens to limit their car trips, while European airports, including Paris’s Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam’s Schiphol, have seen some of the highest flight-cancellation rates globally. In Asia, which was the recipient of 90% of the oil coming through the strait, fuel shortages have meant that families have no fuel with which to cook, let alone travel. Canadian airlines have discontinued flight routes, with several airlines cancelling nearly all U.S.-bound flights. The Middle East and South America are also grappling with the fallout.

Even before the fuel crisis, Canadians were choosing to stay closer to home. Political tensions with the United States, historically their preferred travel destination, and a weak Canadian dollar are among the factors cited in a recent Léger poll that found that 67% of Canadian travellers planned to keep it domestic.

This shift lines up well with the conditions required for an increased interest in sustainable, nature-focused vacations, according to a research paper in the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism co-written by Michelle Rutty, assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo. The findings, based on a survey of 753 Canadians during the pandemic, indicated that Canadians showed a preference for sustainable, regenerative tourism (including staycations) for post-pandemic travel, due to changes in their motivations, values and behaviours.

Current conditions will make many hesitate to book a trip, Rutty says. “It’s important to note that Canadians won’t stop travelling, but rather [will] change the way they travel,” she adds, and will instead consider more local destinations.

This shifting approach to vacations is already being reflected in numbers from parks throughout Canada. BC Parks registered a 60% increase in reservations for the May long weekend this year. Banff National Park notched a record-breaking 4.5 million visitors in the fiscal year 2025/2026. In Quebec, the most recent data available show a 25.3% increase in natural parks visits, reaching 9.4 million in 2023/2024, while total Ontario Parks visits surged to 12.4 million in 2024.

The increased interest in outdoor adventures has led to upgrades in park facilities across the country. In 2025, the Ontario government committed nearly $60 million to add up to 300 new campsites and improve 800 campsites by providing electricity. BC Parks has changed its booking system, which now allows visitors to book just three months in advance instead of four. In Quebec in May, provincial cycling organization Vélo Québec released a new digital platform to encourage more “bike-cations” using the province’s many interconnected bike routes.

Jax Jacobsen is a Montreal-based journalist who specializes in mining, business and climate.

The post The return of the staycation appeared first on Corporate Knights.

This is the second time Innergex, a renewables developer, operator and owner, has been ranked number one by the Corporate Knights Best 50 index. Previously holding the position in 2023, this is the first time it leads the list under the newly revamped scoring methodology, which focus more squarely on sustainable revenue and sustainable investment, as well as – crucially – the compound annual growth rate of sustainable revenue.

Innergex’s financial footing is now stronger than ever, thanks to its July 2025 acquisition by Quebec pension fund manager La Caisse (formerly the CDPQ) in a deal valued at nearly $10 billion, of which La Caisse paid $2 billion. The Quebec investment fund bought Hydro-Québec’s shares and allocated up to 20% of its investment to other long-term investors, to help Innergex defend against market shocks and focus on its long-term objectives. These investors include Investissement Québec (which invested $500 million), Quebec-based Desjardins Global Asset Management, and union-based fund manager Fondaction Asset Management, along with 14 Swiss institutional investors. Innergex has now been privatized as a result of the investment.

Gaining access to so much “patient capital” is critical for a company like Innergex, whose core business is building long-term infrastructure, CEO Jean Trudel says. “Building energy projects, whether it’s hydro, wind or solar, is a long-time investment,” he says. The slow-return capital deployed by La Caisse is essential for making these kinds of projects work, and the bank is “ready to deploy more capital to help us go further,” Trudel says.

Diversification and consolidation

Innergex currently produces 4,424 megawatts of clean energy, with another 12,000 megawatts in the ready-to-bid stage. “Innergex is planning to grow,” Trudel says, pointing to the company’s mission to decarbonize grids as a way to fight climate change.

The company now operates in four markets: Canada, the United States, France and Chile. It has also diversified beyond its roots in hydropower to focus now on hydro, wind, solar and battery storage, while bringing its expertise and technologies to foreign markets.

In 2025, Innergex switched on its Hale Kuawehi solar and battery storage plant in Hawaii. The project integrates 30 megawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity with four hours of battery storage. Innergex has since sold this project but remains active in battery projects elsewhere, like in France, where it is working with the Réseau de transport d’électricité to balance the country’s electricity system, using its Tonnerre nine megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.

Innergex is developing relationships with industries that also benefit from decarbonization, such as in Chile. Businesses are now open to having conversations about renewable sources powering their operations, Trudel says, including mining companies BHP and Codelco. “It’s very valuable for an industry to be able to say it’s 100% renewable,” he says.

Innergex is also prepared to meet Hydro-Québec’s new focus on expanding solar energy generation through Quebec. In April, it announced in its first solar farm tender call for 60 projects.

Trudel dismisses claims that La Caisse plans to merge Innergex with another Quebec renewable powerhouse, Boralex. “We have no anticipation of being merged,” he says, acknowledging that it is a common question given that both companies are based in Quebec. La Caisse’s main mission is to stimulate the Quebec economy and protect Quebec-based businesses. “It’s not necessarily contradictory that the Caisse would support both.”

While Innergex has developed its offerings among multiple forms of renewable generation, there’s one arena it has decided to exit: geothermal. “As much as geothermal is a great energy source, it’s very different from the [energy] sources we have at the moment,” Trudel says. “It’s a lot more akin to mining, where you have to drill holes to get to the resource underground.”

Overall, the future for sustainable energy and for Innergex is bright, Trudel says. “The demand is strong, our positioning is good, and we have a strong owner with patient capital and deep pockets.”

Jax Jacobsen is a Montreal-based journalist who specializes in mining, business and climate.

The post Quebec renewables powerhouse Innergex is taking the long view appeared first on Corporate Knights.

That’s the term given to industries based around the oceans, which cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface and generate trillions to the global economy. In Canada alone, the blue economy contributes north of $30 billion to annual GDP, a figure that could jump to $220 billion by 2035 in shipping, fishing, energy and other sectors.

But not everyone benefits equally: local communities and underrepresented groups often bear the brunt of the impacts from these economic activities while receiving little of the benefit. The Ocean Equity Index was developed to correct this imbalance.

“There are so many inequities on many different levels” in global ocean governance, says University of Victoria professor Natalie Ban, an index co-author. “The real impetus behind the [creation of] the index is not to assess the inequity, but to assess it and come up with new steps” to improve equity across different dimensions.

The Ocean Equity Index is based on six principles of ocean equity: the promotion of Indigenous rights; respecting all relevant actors and their diverse knowledge systems; supporting a transparent and efficient decision-making process; promoting accountability; mitigating harms; and ensuring equitable sharing of benefits to all members of the ocean community.

The report authors say the index creates an objective assessment of who benefits from ocean initiatives, which can include economic development, ocean conservation or other programs, and also provides an opportunity for communities to improve the balance by acting on the findings.

Do quantified methods apply?

The initiative has come under scrutiny from some ocean equity scholars. “To me, the index is deeply problematic, because it’s not taking into account . . . the historical context of how people are being oppressed, and how people are dealing with the actual injustice,” says Cinda Scott, a marine biologist and co-director of Ocean Nexus. “When you create an index, I personally don’t feel that it’s necessarily the best way to represent issues such as human rights abuses, legacies of colonialism, racism, sexism and genderism.”

Other equity scholars are uneasy with the use of quantitative methods for such an expansive concept. “The first rule of equity work in general is never come up with a quantitative method for it,” says Simon Fraser University’s Andrés Cisneros-Montemayor. “I have a lot of respect for the authors, and this is the first-ever global index of ocean equity – but there’s a reason for that.”

Great Bear Sea’s blueprint for doing business with nature

Assigning numerical values for the index criteria, and then combining them, does not lead to clarity, Cisneros-Montemayor says. He gave a hypothetical example where “everyone was listening to everyone, except for women . . . Are you equitable now?” While he agreed on the fundamental need for ocean equity, “transitioning that to a quantitative index does much more harm than good,” he adds. “That’s not a meaningful way to address equity.”

Lead Ocean Equity Index author Jessica Blythe, of Ontario’s Brock University, says it “is designed to support community engagement by creating space to discuss context, reflect on divergent perspectives and identify actionable steps to improve equity.” She adds, “In our experience trialling the index, many organizations reported that completing an assessment broadened their understanding of equity.”

Market application

The use of indices to improve corporate behaviour has been attempted before with mixed results, says Adel Guitouni, a business professor at the University of Victoria. “When sustainability was seen as very important, Wall Street introduced the Sustainability Index,” he says. Companies received surveys and questionnaires, which were then compiled as guides for investors looking for greener investments. However, the problem with indices is that they are not objectively assessed, Guitouni says, which led to distortions in how companies were perceived, which did not align with their climate performance. “There’s no objective system,” he says. “Even when you try to include these metrics and criteria, there’s a lot of variability in how we measure, how we aggregate, what to exclude and include.”

The tool’s effectiveness will depend on political realities on the ground, Guitouni adds. An index of ocean equity could help move equity along, if the political and social reality is already moving in that direction, he says.

Effectiveness of such indices depend “on the political and regulatory framework that exists,” Guitouni says. However, if a country or region is firmly against practices of inclusion and equity, the index won’t help much, he says.

Jax Jacobsen is a Montreal-based journalist who specializes in mining, business and climate.

The post A new ocean equity tool seeks to give communities more power. Will it work? appeared first on Corporate Knights.