Canadian Electricity Rates for Miners (2025–2026): City-by-City Prices & Who Can Actually Connect

Quick answer

On standard published tariffs, the cheapest industrial electricity in North America is Canadian: Winnipeg (5.09¢/kWh), Montréal (5.52¢) and Vancouver (6.72¢) post the three lowest large-power prices of the 22 cities in Hydro-Québec's 2025 comparison study — cheaper than every US city surveyed. The catch is that those three grids are exactly the ones a new miner cannot freely join: BC has permanently banned new crypto connections, Manitoba is replacing its expired moratorium with a dedicated higher-rate regime, and a new Québec miner at ≥50 kW pays Rate CB at 18.767¢/kWh, not the 5.52¢ in the table. In practice, deregulated Alberta (≈8¢ urban retail, cheaper at wholesale or behind the meter) is where new Canadian industrial mining goes — while below 50 kW, home-scale miners everywhere in Canada still pay ordinary residential rates.

Canada holds the continent's cheapest grid power and restricts miners from most of it. If you are siting a farm: Alberta first, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland worth pricing, Québec/BC only with an existing allocation or connection. If you are home mining: your marginal residential tier (e.g. 11.142¢ in Québec) is the number that matters, and heat reuse is what makes it rational — see the heating-fuel comparison.

Large-power prices: what an industrial miner would pay (¢/kWh, CAD, before taxes)

Average prices on April 1, 2025, from Hydro-Québec's annual 22-city comparison study — the closest thing North America has to an apples-to-apples benchmark. The 5 MW profile runs at 85% load factor; a miner's ~100% load factor spreads demand charges over more kWh, so real mining averages land slightly below these where demand charges dominate. The access column is the part no price table shows.

City	Utility	5 MW	50 MW	Can a new miner connect?
Winnipeg, MB	Manitoba Hydro	6.00¢	5.09¢	Dedicated regime being legislated
Cheapest large-power city in the entire 22-city study. But Manitoba's directive-backed moratorium on new crypto connections (Nov 2022) ran to April 30, 2026, and as of mid-2026 the province is legislating a dedicated regime instead: bills tabled in April 2026 would charge crypto operations and data centres up to 100% higher rates and allow peak-time curtailment. Confirm current connection policy with Manitoba Hydro before committing capital.
Montréal, QC	Hydro-Québec	5.83¢	5.52¢	Capped & allocated (Rate CB)
The table prices are what a NORMAL industrial customer pays. A miner with ≥50 kW of installed capacity is placed on Rate CB and barred from Rate L/M; with block allocation suspended since January 2023, a new miner bills at 18.767¢/kWh on all energy — about 3.4× the large-power price shown here. Below 50 kW (home scale), residential Rate D applies normally: 7.065¢ first ~40 kWh/day, then 11.142¢ marginal.
Vancouver, BC	BC Hydro	8.42¢	6.72¢	New connections banned
BC's 2022 moratorium was made permanent: the Cryptocurrency Power Regulation relieves BC Hydro of any obligation to serve new cryptocurrency mining loads. Existing grandfathered sites continue; a new grid-connected mine is off the table. Residential-scale home mining is unaffected.
St. John's, NL	NL Hydro / Newfoundland Power	11.15¢	7.66¢	Standard process
Abundant hydro and no crypto-specific moratorium. Large-power price drops sharply at the ≥30 MW tier (NL Hydro rates apply above 30 MW demand; Newfoundland Power below).
Calgary, AB	ENMAX	8.02¢	7.99¢	Standard process (permissive)
Deregulated market, no crypto-specific restrictions, active behind-the-meter and flare-gas mining. The practical answer for new Canadian industrial mining — note the retail prices shown here are what urban customers pay; industrial miners in Alberta typically contract at wholesale-linked or behind-the-meter prices below them.
Edmonton, AB	EPCOR	10.17¢	8.05¢	Standard process (permissive)
Same permissive Alberta framework as Calgary. Large-power bills at ≥500 kW estimated by Hydro-Québec from the applicable general rate.
Regina, SK	SaskPower	9.57¢	8.05¢	Standard process
No crypto-specific moratorium; standard industrial connection process through SaskPower.
Moncton, NB	NB Power	11.13¢	10.63¢	Standard process
No province-wide crypto moratorium on NB Power's grid today; NB Power paused new crypto requests in 2022 while it developed policy, so confirm current policy for large loads.
Charlottetown, PE	Maritime Electric	11.27¢	11.27¢	Limited capacity
Small island grid with limited spare capacity for large continuous loads; bills estimated by Hydro-Québec.
Ottawa, ON	Hydro Ottawa	12.75¢	12.31¢	Standard process
No crypto-specific moratorium; normal IESO/OEB industrial connection process. Ontario's global-adjustment-heavy industrial pricing makes 24/7 base loads expensive relative to the hydro provinces.
Toronto, ON	Toronto Hydro	12.80¢	12.66¢	Standard process
Same Ontario framework as Ottawa; bills estimated by Hydro-Québec. More than 2× Winnipeg's large-power price.
Halifax, NS	Nova Scotia Power	13.43¢	13.43¢	Standard process
Most expensive Canadian large-power city in the study — a thermal-heavy (coal/gas) grid. Legal to mine, hard to justify at grid rates.

The sovereignty paradox. The three cheapest grids in this study — Winnipeg, Montréal, Vancouver — are all hydro-powered, all Canadian, and all closed or hostile to new mining load. Québec is the sharpest case: the province with the continent's cheapest clean power prices a new miner at 18.767¢/kWh while the industrial customer next door pays 5.52¢. Cheap, clean energy is the raw material of digital infrastructure — hashrate, compute, data capacity a province actually owns. Pricing that industry out doesn't make the advantage disappear; it hands it to whoever south of the border will take it, and the province becomes a renter of foreign digital infrastructure instead of an owner of its own. The full argument: Canada's digital sovereignty · energy is compute · Québec regulation tracker.

How the US compares — and why "cheap Texas power" isn't in this table

Same study, same profiles, same Canadian cents. On published urban tariffs, every US city surveyed is more expensive at 50 MW than Winnipeg, Montréal, Vancouver, St. John's, Calgary, Edmonton or Regina. The famous 4–6¢ (US) figures behind large Texas mining operations come from negotiated wholesale, interruptible and demand-response supply — deals that exist precisely because miners curtail on request. Urban retail tariffs are the honest like-for-like comparison; negotiated industrial supply is a different (and unpublished) market.

City	Residential (1,000 kWh)	5 MW	50 MW
Miami, FL *	18.75¢	10.87¢	8.68¢
Detroit, MI *	29.62¢	9.62¢	9.22¢
Chicago, IL	24.33¢	11.77¢	9.25¢
Nashville, TN	19.70¢	13.97¢	10.04¢
Seattle, WA	18.97¢	13.31¢	12.16¢
Portland, OR *	23.90¢	13.13¢	12.35¢
Houston, TX *	26.07¢	14.35¢	12.90¢
New York, NY *	52.48¢	22.90¢	22.88¢
San Francisco, CA *	59.94¢	24.33¢	23.88¢
Boston, MA	47.87¢	28.19¢	24.58¢

* Bill estimated by Hydro-Québec rather than provided by the utility; may differ from actual bills.

Home & small-scale: the rates a pleb actually pays

Below 50 kW there is no Rate CB, no moratorium, no connection queue — a home miner pays the ordinary residential tariff everywhere in Canada. Two numbers matter: the average price at a heavy-consumption household (3,000 kWh/month ≈ a home plus roughly one ASIC), and — in provinces with tiered rates like Québec and BC — the marginal price of the last kWh, which is what your miner actually adds. The 40 kW small-power column is the "garage fleet / small hashcenter" anchor: roughly an 11-unit S21-class deployment.

City	Residential avg (1,000 kWh)	Residential avg (3,000 kWh)	Small power (40 kW)	Medium power (1 MW)
Winnipeg, MB	10.53¢	9.90¢	9.69¢	7.92¢
Montréal, QC	8.29¢	9.61¢	12.08¢	9.71¢
Vancouver, BC	12.60¢	13.17¢	12.70¢	9.73¢
St. John's, NL	15.59¢	14.54¢	14.59¢	12.14¢
Calgary, AB	22.90¢	20.51¢	14.42¢	11.07¢
Edmonton, AB	22.00¢	20.15¢	20.99¢	12.30¢
Regina, SK	17.89¢	15.89¢	15.43¢	12.94¢
Moncton, NB	16.61¢	14.64¢	17.98¢	15.89¢
Charlottetown, PE	19.69¢	16.89¢	20.44¢	17.28¢
Ottawa, ON	14.35¢	12.33¢	14.14¢	15.71¢
Toronto, ON	15.57¢	12.89¢	15.50¢	17.27¢
Halifax, NS	20.48¢	19.20¢	19.19¢	16.61¢

Québec home miners: the average hides the tier structure — Rate D bills 7.065¢ on the first ~40 kWh/day and 11.142¢ beyond it, so an always-on ASIC runs almost entirely at the 11.142¢ marginal tier. Increasing-block provinces (QC, BC) penalize added load; declining-block cities (most others) reward it. Heat reuse flips the math either way: a mining watt that displaces heating fuel is a watt you were buying anyway.

What a ¢/kWh means in hardware terms

One Antminer S21 Pro at stock (234 TH/s × 15 J/TH = 3,510 W) burns 84.2 kWh/day. Daily power cost = 84.24 kWh × price. The spread below is the entire siting decision in one column:

Scenario	Price	Per S21 Pro / day	Per S21 Pro / month
Winnipeg — large power (if you can connect)	5.090¢	$4.29	$130
Montréal — large power (existing allocation only)	5.520¢	$4.65	$141
Calgary — large power (open for business)	7.990¢	$6.73	$205
Montréal — home scale, Rate D tier-2 marginal	11.142¢	$9.39	$285
Toronto — large power	12.660¢	$10.66	$324
Québec — NEW ≥50 kW miner on Rate CB	18.767¢	$15.81	$481

Same machine, same sats out — from $130/month in Winnipeg to $481/month for a new Québec miner on Rate CB. Run your own numbers with your model and your rate: ASIC ROI calculator · cost to mine 1 BTC by province · which ASIC should you buy?

Frequently asked questions

Where is electricity cheapest in Canada for Bitcoin mining?

On published large-power tariffs: Winnipeg (5.09¢/kWh at 50 MW), then Montréal (5.52¢) and Vancouver (6.72¢). But Manitoba is legislating a dedicated crypto regime, BC has permanently banned new mining connections, and a new Québec miner pays Rate CB (18.767¢), so the cheapest power a new industrial miner can actually contract for is usually Alberta (≈8¢ urban retail, less at wholesale or behind the meter) or Saskatchewan/Newfoundland (8.05¢/7.66¢, standard connection process).

Can I still mine Bitcoin in Québec?

Yes — at home scale. Below 50 kW of installed capacity, Rate CB does not apply and you pay ordinary Rate D (7.065¢ first ~40 kWh/day, 11.142¢ marginal). At ≥50 kW dedicated to blockchain use, Rate CB is mandatory, Rate L/M are barred, and with block allocation suspended since January 2023 a new site bills at 18.767¢/kWh on a curtailable contract. Full rate table: Hydro-Québec electricity rates.

Is US electricity cheaper than Canadian for mining?

Not on published urban tariffs — every US city in the study costs more at 50 MW than seven of the twelve Canadian cities. Large US mining operations get their 4–6¢ US prices from negotiated wholesale, interruptible and demand-response contracts (ERCOT-style), not from retail tariffs. If you can negotiate that class of deal, the comparison changes; if you are paying a published tariff, Canada's hydro provinces win on price and lose on access.

Do these prices include taxes and demand charges?

Demand charges yes, taxes no. The study computes a full bill for each profile (energy + demand + fixed charges, at the stated load factor) and divides by kWh, excluding taxes. Miners running near 100% load factor do slightly better than the 85%-load-factor profile shown wherever demand charges are a big share of the bill.

Where do these numbers come from?

Hydro-Québec's annual Comparison of Electricity Prices in Major North American Cities, 2025 edition — rates in effect April 1, 2025, all values in Canadian cents, ISBN 978-2-555-02337-6. It is the standard cross-utility benchmark; some city bills are estimated by Hydro-Québec (flagged). For binding numbers, only the utility's tariff schedule counts — see the per-province tariff dataset for those.

Sources, method & related data

Primary source: Hydro-Québec, 2025 Comparison of Electricity Prices in Major North American Cities (PDF) — rates in effect April 1, 2025; average-price tables excluding taxes; profiles as defined in the study (residential 1,000/3,000 kWh; small power 40 kW/10,000 kWh; medium power 1 MW/400,000 kWh at 56% LF; large power 5 MW and 50 MW at 85% LF). Miner-access overlay: D-Central, cross-referenced with the Canada mining regulatory-status dataset and re-verified July 2026 (BC Cryptocurrency Power Regulation; Manitoba's April 2026 rate-premium and curtailment bills; Hydro-Québec Electricity Rates schedule, Chapter 7). Rates change every April — this page states its vintage instead of pretending to be timeless.

Open data (CC BY 4.0): CSV · JSON · API: /wp-json/dc/v1/canada-electricity-miners

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Last reviewed July 19, 2026.