The Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance's sixth annual ranking of Canadian jurisdictions on energy efficiency Ontario has the highest positive performance jump - New Brunswick sees the largest decline - Manitoba remains the shining star!

(Mississauga, Ontario, November 1, 2006) This is the sixth annual report card issued by the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance (CEEA), Canada's leading non-governmental, energy efficiency advocacy organization. This report card highlights the progress of the federal government and the provinces to reduce energy demand and consumption. The report also recognizes the role that efficiency and conservation have in improving Canada's competitiveness and reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The following grades are based on the performance of the provinces between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2005.

Ken Elsey, President & CEO of CEEA, stated that, "No jurisdiction received a failing grade. The federal government and Manitoba were both awarded A's, New Brunswick dropped from a B+ to a C+, Ontario leaped up from a C- to a B+, and Alberta failed to live up to its potential, receiving a D+."

The scoring for each of the 14 Canadian jurisdictions is a product of 12 parameters, including how the jurisdiction supported activities such as energy efficiency and public outreach, the existence of public/private partnerships to support energy efficiency, and the existence and responsiveness to energy efficiency issues in key legislation, such as building codes and energy efficiency acts. The report also examined whether the government led by example and how it regulated the energy market. Criteria detail can be found at www.energyefficiency.org.

Mr. Elsey noted that in preparing the report card, several issues were identified as significant influences: Canada's falling short of Kyoto targets, energy grid capacity issues and aging infrastructure (particularly in Ontario and eastern Canada), and energy price fluctuations which drive the need for greater understanding of energy consumption patterns and habits.

When asked to predict how jurisdictions would score next year, Mr. Elsey said, "The volatility of energy prices and supply issues has kick-started many energy efficiency initiatives and appears to have spurred the adoption of new policy and regulations. This needs to be tempered by significant program reductions at the federal level." Mr. Elsey also observed that, "It is early November and there is still time to make positive changes that will be considered in the report card next year."

The report card and background information are available at www.energyefficiency.org.

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For more information or to arrange interviews with Mr. Elsey, please contact Brent Kulba, Environmental Communications Options, 416-972-7401, kulbab@huffstrategy.com

The Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance (CEEA), a broad based, not-for-profit organization, was established (1995) to respond to the lack of a coordinated multi-stakeholder effort to promote energy efficiency in Canada, leading to enhanced competitiveness and improved environmental protection. The Alliance works in partnership with manufacturers, utilities, governments, builders, labour, consumer groups, and environmental organizations to facilitate the adoption of energy efficiency measures in Canada. The Alliance is supported through fees and project contributions from members.