In 2009, The Canadian Academy of Engineering recommended that new electric grid interconnections be funded on a Federal-Provincial cost-shared basis to achieve specified  goals (Report of the Canada Power Grid Task Force, Volume II – ISBN 978-0-9730830-5-7). This was to be the first stage of new infrastructure investments to enable the passage of large blocks of power east-west in Canada, and north-south  the U.S., essentially the establishment of a national power grid, the next step in nation-building. 

In 2012, The Academy identified five new priority  hydroelectric projects that would triple the power available for both domestic use and international trade (Canada: Winning as a Sustainable Energy Superpower – ISBN 978-0-9730830-9-5). 

In 2014, the Academy examined how a fully interconnected grid with regional hubs would make a ten-fold increase in the export of  of low-carbon electricity to the continent, resulting in a major decrease in North America's greenhouse gas emissions (Canada: Becoming a Sustainable Energy Powerhouse – ISBN 978-1-928194-00-2). The Muskrat Falls project in Newfoundland and Labrador was identified as a major step forward in this plan. A study was presented on the Mackenzie River hydroelectric project which confirmed that this project is ready for a detailed engineering evaluation.