In response to the agreement between the federal and Alberta governments to delay and weaken Canada’s industrial carbon price, Greenpeace Canada senior energy strategist Keith Stewart said: 

“The only thing happening faster than the federal rollback of climate policies is the global renewable energy revolution that will turn all of these concessions to Big Oil into a massive lost opportunity to build a better, safer Canada. A greener world is a safer and more affordable world, so let’s not confuse what is good for oil companies with what is good for regular people.” 

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s 15 most significant climate policy rollbacks:

  1. Weakened the industrial carbon price. Given that existing legislation mandates an industrial carbon price of $170/tonne by 2030, today’s announcement lowers it to $130/tonne and delays it until 2040. This gives high polluting industries a competitive advantage over cleaner alternatives for an additional decade.
  2. Cancelled the consumer carbon price as his first act upon becoming Prime Minister.
  3. Cancelled a proposed cap on oil and gas emissions despite an election promise to maintain it.
  4. Rushed to pass controversial Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act, which aims to fast-track approvals for major infrastructure projects by exempting ‘projects of national interest’ from laws that safeguard health, the environment, and Indigenous rights. Projects considered for fast-tracking include LNG Canada Phase 2 and Ksi Lisims LNG.
  5. Scrapped the Electric Vehicle Availability Standard, which would have required all new vehicles sold in Canada to be zero-emissions by 2035. The government’s new EV strategy weakens and delays the uptake of EVs, fails to include regulations on tail pipe emissions, eliminates subsidies for installing EV chargers in remote and rural areas and apartment buildings, and does not identify if the plan will actually reduce emissions.
  6. Weakened anti-greenwashing provisions in Canada’s Competition Act.
  7. Proposes gutting the impact assessment process for industrial and infrastructure projects and rushing approvals within one year, ignoring impacts on health, climate, public safety, the environment, and federal and provincial laws.
  8. Releases a national electricity strategy to double Canada’s electricity supply by 2050, which includes a troubling focus on natural gas and weakening Canada’s Clean Electricity Regulations. 
  9. Pipeline support:
    1. Pitched restarting Keystone XL pipeline in a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
    2. Signed a controversial deal with the province of Alberta that Ottawa will support a new pipeline in exchange for Alberta raising its carbon price. 
    3. Media report Carney is open to using public money to build another oil pipeline to the British Columbia coast.
  10. Expanded fossil fuel subsidies:
    1. Budget 2025 extended CCS tax credits by five years, from 2031 to 2035.
    2. Announced a new $1 billion in fossil fuel subsidies by agreeing to cover fees for Equinor’s proposed Bay du Nord deepwater oil project off the coast of Newfoundland).
    3. Created 2 new fossil fuel subsidies in the Spring Economic Update:
      1. Enhanced oil recovery projects will now receive a 43.75% Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit – a complete back-track on the 2025 budget
      2. 50% Capital Cost Allowance rates for LNG facilities, plus 10% for related buildings, that would allow companies to claim capital costs against their taxes faster.
    4. Announced the Canada Strong Fund, which could become yet another public  subsidy for oil, gas and pipeline projects and could be used to de-risk additional fossil fuel projects for private financiers.
  11. Suspended a ban on single-use plastic exports. The export ban was supposed to go into effect in December 2024 – backtracking was a gift to the petrochemical industry that will increase emissions in Canada and flood developing countries with more harmful, toxic plastic pollution.
  12. Approved Enbridge’s $4 billion Sunrise natural gas pipeline expansion plan in British Columbia.
  13. Changed the mandates of federal crown corporations with mandates to provide public financing to projects (e.g. Canada Infrastructure Bank) to allow financing of fossil fuels.
  14. Ended the Clean Growth Hub, an initiative that helps small and medium-sized businesses navigate a suite of federal clean economy programs and incentives.
  15. Did not renew the greener homes grants that enabled many Canadians to reduce energy use in their homes and save money.