Canada’s first offshore wind farms move closer to reality as regulator clears bidders

Nova Scotia’s offshore energy regulator has released the names of companies that have qualified to bid on building Canada’s first offshore wind farms.

The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator identified five companies and two groups of companies that won approval after taking part a review process between October 2025 and January of this year.

The approved companies were required to meet certain financial, technical, legal and social criteria.

The regulator, however, says all of the companies that won approval had the option of keeping their status confidential, which means the names of some approved participants may remain a secret at this stage.

Meanwhile, the federal-provincial agency says a formal call for bids for seabed licences will be issued some time later this year.

Those bids will be subject to federal and provincial ministerial reviews.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 27, 2026.

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