441-01870 (Environment)

In 2021, the Government of Canada committed to achieving an enhanced 2030 emissions reduction target of 40-45 per cent below 2005 levels under the Paris Agreement and adopted legislation to enshrine this Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), as well as the commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 in law. The Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act provides a durable framework of accountability and transparency to deliver on this commitment. The Act requires the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to set subsequent targets for 2035, 2040, and 2045, at least 10 years in advance. The Act also holds the federal government accountable as it charts Canada’s path to achieve net-zero emissions by establishing a transparent process to plan, assess, and adjust the federal government’s efforts to achieve our national targets, based on the best scientific information available.

As an early deliverable under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, Canada published the first Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) in 2022. The plan lays out the next steps to reaching Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction target as a concrete milestone that improves transparency and accountability on the way to net-zero. The 2030 ERP includes a suite of new mitigation measures and strategies, $9.1 billion in new investments, and builds on the foundation set by Canada’s existing climate actions. The plan also reflects input from thousands of Canadians, businesses, and communities, as well as submissions from Indigenous partners, provinces, territories and the Net-Zero Advisory Body.

Achieving further emissions reductions, in line with Canada’s 2030 and 2050 commitments, will require significant and ongoing effort. The Government of Canada is optimistic that, together, Canadians can achieve real and lasting emission reductions, while sharing and exporting our climate solutions to the world and supporting the workers and communities affected by the global transition towards a low-carbon future.

Looking forward, the transition to a cleaner future will bring new, dynamic opportunities across our labour force. To put workers across Canada at the forefront of building a net-zero emissions economy, the Government of Canada is committed to help Canadians have the skills they need to succeed and to enable the economy to have the workers it needs to thrive. Building on Budget 2021 investments in skills development, including through the Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program, Skills for Success, and the Apprenticeship Service, the Government is proposing to invest $250 million to help ensure Canadian workers can thrive in a changing global economy through the 2022 Fall Economic Statement.

On July 24, 2023, the Government of Canada released the Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Government of Canada Self-Review Assessment Framework and the Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Government of Canada Guidelines, which were jointly developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Department of Finance Canada. The Guidelines apply to all federal departments and agencies.

The Framework and Guidelines fulfill our domestic, G7 and G20 commitments to phase out and rationalize inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by 2023. Canada is the first country to release a rigorous analytical guide that both fulfills this commitment and transparently supports action. The Guidelines will be used to prevent the creation of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies in the future.

The Government of Canada is investing to build a prosperous low-carbon economy in line with Canada’s ambitious emissions reduction targets. This includes taking a whole-of-government approach to seize the generational economic opportunities that a net zero emissions future represents – by making investments in renewable energy and clean technology as well as decarbonization technology in the conventional energy sector.

Budget 2023 makes transformative investments to build Canada’s clean economy, fight climate change, and create new opportunities for Canadian businesses and Canadian workers. This includes significant measures that will deliver cleaner and more affordable energy, support investment in our communities and the creation of good-paying, high-quality jobs, and ensure Canadian workers are able to produce and provide the goods and resources that Canadians and our global partners need. These investments are underpinned by a set of clear and predictable investment tax credits, low-cost strategic financing, and targeted investments and programming, where necessary, to respond to the unique needs of sectors or projects of national economic significance. Since 2016, the federal government has committed over $120 billion to clean growth and emissions reduction measures, including over $80 billion in investment tax credits.

Canada also joined other countries at COP26 in committing to end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022. On December 8, 2022, the Government released policy guidelines that lay the foundation for federal departments and agencies to put in place the measures that deliver on Canada’s commitment at COP26. By ending new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector, Canada will ensure its investments abroad are aligned with its domestic and international climate goals, which means investing in clean energy and renewables.

In addition, Canada committed to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and recently accelerated the timeline to do so this year. To date, Canada has phased out or rationalized nine tax preferences supporting the fossil fuel sector and has committed to take part in a peer review of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies under the G20 process.

The Government also announced in Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan that it will cap and cut emissions from the oil and gas sector. This commitment was reiterated and reaffirmed at COP27. As a result, companies are actively investing in the development and deployment of emissions-reduction technologies, such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), hydrogen and electrification. These efforts will help lead to a cleaner energy future.

With a highly skilled and educated workforce, and with the abundant natural resources and energy sources critical for a net-zero future, Canada is uniquely positioned to benefit from a low-carbon economy. The Government is committed to moving forward with comprehensive action required to support Canadian workers and communities as they meet the challenges and realize the opportunities of a net-zero emissions future.  The interim Sustainable Jobs Plan, released in February 2023, lays out a comprehensive approach as part of Canada’s broader economic plan for clean growth.

This plan, drafted in consultation with provinces, territories, union and labour organizations, Indigenous partners, industry, and civil society, outlines the Government’s current and planned action to support the creation of good, well-paying jobs for Canadians. These opportunities exist in every region of the country and every sector of the economy. From critical minerals to hydrogen, electric cars and buses, batteries, renewable energy, low-carbon building products, carbon capture, utilization and storage, and small modular reactors, Canada has a major opportunity to build a net-zero future that works for everyone. There are also significant opportunities for sustainable jobs in conventional energy industries that are working to lower their emissions in line with Canada’s climate policy, enabling producers to be low-emissions suppliers of products to a world rapidly shifting to a net-zero economy.

Recognizing the importance of helping Canadians access job training for the net-zero future, the Government has also made historic investments in skills programming, including for sustainable jobs. This includes $1.5 billion in new investments that will deliver almost 500,000 new training and work opportunities for Canadians, which will help workers transition to and take advantage of new opportunities, including in clean energy. Furthermore, the 2022 Fall Economic Statement announced funding to establish a new sustainable jobs stream under the Union Training and Innovation Program and launch a new Sustainable Jobs Training Centre, among other things.

As committed to in the interim Sustainable Jobs Plan, the Government introduced Bill C-50, the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act, in June 2023. The legislation proposes establishing a federal governance, engagement, and accountability framework to advance economic prosperity and ensure workers benefit from the opportunities presented by a low-carbon economy. The bill would also require the Government to:

• establish a Sustainable Jobs Partnership Council to provide independent advice to Government on sustainable jobs measures;
• create a Secretariat to lead the Government’s sustainable jobs approach; and
• release a Sustainable Jobs Action Plan every five years beginning in 2025.

These legislated mechanisms would guide and organize efforts to support workers and communities as Canada shifts to a low-carbon economy, ensuring equitable, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth across the country.

The Regional Energy and Resource Tables (Regional Tables) are a key initiative to drive this work. The Regional Tables are helping to accelerate Canada’s economic growth opportunities by taking into account each region’s unique advantages and ability to meet the demands of new and emerging markets. These regional processes are being undertaken in partnership with individual provincial and territorial governments, in collaboration with Indigenous partners, and with the input of experts, labour organizations, industry, and other stakeholders. The Regional Tables will form the basis for implementing joint strategies to leverage energy and resource opportunities to realize each region of Canada’s comparative advantage in a net-zero emissions economy.

To date, the federal government has jointly launched nine Regional Tables across the country, with British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and the four Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador) as well as the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Most recently, the Government of Canada and British Columbia, in collaboration with First Nation partners, released the foundational British Columbia Regional Energy and Resource Table Collaboration Framework, which sets the stage for a shared longer-term vision. On the other side of the country, plans for a similar framework with Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario are not far behind.

Canada has what it takes to be a clean energy and technology supplier of choice in a low-carbon world; the Government remains committed to realizing that potential.