When the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA) launched its campaign to phase out coal-fired electricity in Ontario, coal power was Ontario's "dirty secret." Few people knew that Ontario was increasingly relying on coal to generate electricity or about the health and environmental impacts of burning dirty coal.

The OCAA built a strong foundation for its campaign by analyzing the emission trends from Ontario's five coal-fired generating stations and the economic implications of phasing out these aging generators and replacing them with cleaner generation sources and energy conservation initiatives. Many observers felt that a coal phase-out was "unachievable" due to the ongoing problems with Ontario's nuclear generating stations and the resulting potential power shortage in the province. However, using research from the Ontario Medical Association, the OCAA pointed to the true costs of relying on increasing coal-fired electricity generation to meet Ontario's power needs including skyrocketing health costs and lost economic productivity.

With this baseline information in place, the OCAA launched an aggressive public awareness campaign that included magazine supplements, billboards, radio ads and an ever-growing email bulletin list combined with two websites. During a series of hot summers marked by a growing number of air quality alerts, the public got the message about the need to phase out coal and pressure for political action grew.

The OCAA then targeted the Lakeview Generating Station in Mississauga, the No. 1 air polluter in the Greater Toronto Area, as the leading contender among Ontario's five coal plants for an early shutdown. The OCAA secured the support of Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion for the Lakeview shutdown and held a press conference just outside the plant. This event definitely sent reverberations through Queen's Park.

Meanwhile, the OCAA continued to closely document the health and environmental impacts of burning coal, including particulate emissions, toxic emissions and climate change impact. For example, it promoted the fact that Ontario could achieve one-half of its Kyoto Protocol target for emissions reduction simply by replacing the coal plants with cleaner burning natural gas units. It also raised public awareness of the fact that the giant coal-fired Nanticoke Generating Station was the largest air polluter in all of Canada.

With a provincial election looming in 2003, both the then-governing Conservatives and the then-opposition Liberals committed to achieving a complete coal phase-out if elected. (The Liberals by 2007, the Conservatives by 2015).

Since the McGuinty Liberal government came to power in 2003, the OCAA has been deeply involved in helping the province shape a new energy framework that will facilitate a coal phase-out and create the greatest ancillary benefits. It has pushed for the creation of incentives for local electrical utilities to run aggressive energy conservation programs, greater opportunities (and uptake) for renewable power, load shifting and other measures that will help reduce the health and environmental impacts of electricity generation.

Critics have continued to insist that a coal phase out would be too costly or would leave the province short of power. The OCAA has again responded by documenting the province's progress in securing replacement power and addressing how it can deal with any remaining power gaps. It has also debunked the notion of "clean coal", pointing out that so-called clean coal technology could only reduce the coal plants’ total emissions by one-half of 1%.

With the support of the Laidlaw Foundation, the OCAA has helped ensure that today Ontario is the first jurisdiction in the world to commit to a complete phase-out of coal fired electricity. On April 30, 2005, this commitment took its first major step toward becoming a reality when the coal-fired Lakeview Generating Station (the No. 1 air polluter in the GTA) was shutdown.

There is still a long road ahead before all coal burning for electricity generation ceases by 2007, but the OCAA is confident that, with the Laidlaw Foundation's help, it has opened the door to a cleaner electricity sector and a brighter future for the people of Ontario.