Thomas J. Timmins
Automatically compiled listing. Details may contain errors.Partner at Gowling WLG
- Called to the bar
- 2000
- Languages
- English
About Thomas J. Timmins
Thomas J. Timmins is a partner at Gowling WLG who heads the firm's national energy sector practice. The work centres on the energy transition: wind and solar generation, battery storage, and the building and financing of large infrastructure. Data centre operators, for example, get help planning grid connections for high-demand sites and working through power purchase contracts.
Timmins was called to the Ontario bar in 2000. From 2016 to 2024, the firm's China practice in Canada ran under Timmins's leadership, and Timmins also goes by the Chinese name 谭民思. The federal government has also named Timmins to its roster of adjudicators under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement.
The work reaches beyond Ontario too. The Government of Bermuda has used Timmins as special advisory counsel on renewable procurement, energy storage, demand response and energy regulation. Closer to home, Ontario municipalities have asked whether they should keep owning their local power distribution companies, and FIT contract holders went to the Ontario Court of Appeal with Timmins acting for them, where they successfully asserted their contract rights.
Timmins teaches Infrastructure and Project Finance Law at Windsor Law and chairs Aazhogan Bridge. Earlier, Timmins chaired the Canadian Solar Industries Association (now CanREA) and helped found the West Toronto RailPath. CBC, CTV, The Globe and Mail and the Financial Post are among the outlets that have quoted Timmins on the energy transition and grid modernization.
Practice areas
Energy acquisitions and mergers
Timmins acts on deals for renewable assets, such as advising international infrastructure investors buying and developing large solar projects and serving as transaction counsel to Acciona Energy Canada on solar facilities in Alberta. On the utility side, the Town of Ajax had Timmins on the merger of Veridian and Whitby Hydro that created Elexicon.
Power transmission and local utilities
A private developer has relied on Timmins for the regulatory development of a major transmission line serving large industrial sites in Canada. Ontario municipalities also get advice on their options for, and the viability of keeping, local distribution company assets.
Utility procurement and grid modernization
Public utilities, including Alectra and Hydro One, have had Timmins's support on procuring and rolling out advanced metering (AMI 2.0) and on grid modernization contracting.
Indigenous partnerships and cross-border infrastructure
Timmins structured and helped a First Nations community complete its purchase of an international toll bridge between Canada and the United States.
Education & credentials
- JD, Queen's University
- BA (Hons.), University of Toronto
- Called to the Ontario bar (2000)
Publications & speaking
- Wind Energy Law in Ontario, International Energy Law Review (2011)
- Wind Energy Siting Guide, Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) (2011)
- Some Ontario FIT contracts can be repowered, Gowling WLG (2024)
- The fading reality of municipal utility dividends: Financial pressures on LDCs in the transitioning energy landscape, Gowling WLG (2025)
Memberships & affiliations
- Canada China Business Council: Timmins sits on the council's board of directors.
- National Electricity Roundtable: Timmins is a member of its board of directors.
- Canadian Ditchley Foundation: Timmins serves on the foundation's board of directors.
- Transparency International: Timmins is a member of its Legal Committee.
- Centre for Urban Energy, Toronto Metropolitan University: Timmins is an advisor to the centre.
In the community
- Timmins was a co-founder of the West Toronto RailPath.
- Timmins was a founding committee member of Toronto BikeShare.
- Timmins previously chaired the Children's Own Museum.
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This listing was generated by AI from public sources in October 2026. It may contain errors, and we can’t guarantee it’s accurate or complete. Before you rely on anything here, verify it on their firm’s website. Confirm Thomas J. Timmins’s licence and standing in the Law Society of Ontario directory ↗
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