Spring has begun and while there may still be the occasional spring snowstorm in parts of the country, most of the cold weather is likely behind us. As furnaces start to wind down, this issue of Facts and Developments looks back on this past winter and the outsized role that natural gas has played in heating homes and businesses across the country.
The 2024-25 winter was one of the colder ones in recent memory. The year started with a big winter storm, hitting most of Canada and the United States, resulting in an all-time high natural gas demand in the US Lower-48. On average, temperatures across the country had remained at colder-than-normal levels for the rest of the winter, especially compared to the prior two winter seasons.
One way to measure the “coldness” of a season is through Heating Degree Days (HDD). HDD is defined as the difference between the daily outdoor air temperature below a baseline temperature of 15°C, the point at which energy input is needed to maintain indoor air temperatures. The higher the HDD, the more energy is required for heating a building. The graph below presents the average Heating Degree Days in Canada over the last three heating seasons from October to March. Through October to March, the heating needs in Canada were 2% higher than those of the 2022-2023 season and nearly 10% higher than the 2023-2024 season.
The colder than typical winter meant that energy demand in buildings was higher this year compared to the prior two. And there’s no energy source that is relied upon more in Canadian households than natural gas. Natural gas makes up 46% of all energy used in the building sector. There are nearly 7.7 million natural gas customers across the country – nearly 50% of nearly 15.5 million households – using natural gas as the primary energy source for home heating. This percentage is even higher in the provinces of Ontario (71%), Saskatchewan (80%), and Alberta (84%).
Between December 2024 and February 2025, a total of 14.7 billion cubic metres of natural gas was consumed in the residential and commercial sectors, equating to an increase of 3% and 13% compared to the 2022-2023 winter and the 2023-2024 winter seasons respectively. Typically, the gas consumed in the three winter months represents about 50% of the natural gas consumed in residential and commercial sectors throughout a typical calendar year. This seasonal consumption pattern underscores just how important natural gas is in the coldest months.
The seasonal peak observed in the natural gas system further emphasizes its importance to Canada’s energy system. To put this into perspective, the daily natural gas demand in the residential and commercial sector was 6.3 million GJ or about 73,000 MW. By comparison, the total electricity demand in the same two sectors this winter was only 33,000 MW. This comparison emphasizes the significant delivery capability of the natural gas system and its superior capability for meeting demand, especially during periods of peak demand or inclement weather. It is critical to understand these consumption patterns when there is any discussion about the future of our energy systems.
