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ARTICLE · 22 FEBRUARY 2018

Ontario Issues Canada's Largest Green Bond

Aird & Berlis LLP
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On February 14, the Ontario government announced that it had successfully issued a $1 billion green bond. This is the fourth green bond issued by the Government of Ontario ...

CanadaGovernment, Public Sector
David Stevens
David Stevens
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On February 14, the Ontario government announced that it had successfully issued a $1 billion green bond. This is the fourth green bond issued by the Government of Ontario, following three successful earlier green bond issuances: a $500 million four-year issue in 2014, a $750 million seven-year issue in 2016 and a $800 million six-year issue in 2017. The most recent $1 billion issuance is the largest in Canadian history.

As discussed in our earlier post about green bonds, these bonds are like other bonds. The Ontario issuances are backed by the full faith and credit of the province, stand on equal footing with other provincial bonds, and do not confer project-specific risk on bondholders. The sole difference is that funds raised through green bonds are subject to restrictions which limit their use to "eligible projects." Ontario has delineated specific eligible project categories like smart grid infrastructure, clean public transportation and energy efficiency.

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