Transforming Canada’s energy system and broader economy to net zero requires unprecedented investment in innovation, energy infrastructure and industrial processes. McKinsey pegs the capital cost at over a trillion dollars to 2050, with half a trillion needed before 2030.
April 25, 2023, 6 AM MDT
The federal government’s climate plans hinge on rapidly building an unprecedented quantity of new energy infrastructure. There is growing recognition and concern that Canada lacks the policy and regulatory frameworks to enable the country to build enough fast enough.
March 14, 2023, 12 AM MDT
‘Never before in human history have we tried by means of deliberate political decisions and by means of economic planning to choose the method by which the industrial system will operate and [how] we will live our lives.’
February 6, 2023, 6 AM MST
The federal budget was released yesterday amid higher prices and inflation, ballooning debt, the war in Ukraine and the new Liberal-NDP deal. With all the uncertainty, it was an open question where the government would take fiscal policy.
April 8, 2022, 5:18 AM MDT
Ottawa released its long-awaited Emissions Reduction Plan this week. A voluminous 271 pages, the plan charts the government’s path for climate policy to 2030.
March 30, 2022, 12 AM MDT
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has propelled energy security to the top of political agendas. Europe’s desire to reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas creates opportunities for producing countries the world over, including Canada. It’s no surprise that energy companies and premiers of producing provinces are advocating that Canada can help strengthen European energy security.
March 14, 2022, 8:18 AM MDT
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed at COP26 what the Liberal Party announced on the federal election campaign trail: Ottawa will cap and cut emissions from the oil and gas sector on the road to net zero by 2050. The announcement was met by consternation from some in oil and gas producing provinces.
November 23, 2021, 12 AM MST
Canadians woke up yesterday to much the same picture in Parliament as they did when they went to bed: a minority Liberal government with the Conservatives in official opposition, and both the Bloc and NDP holding the balance of power.
September 22, 2021, 12 AM MDT
Part I of this series noted that Canadians’ appetite for climate action has grown over the last year, but that their confidence the country can actually reduce emissions is weak. Many see governments as part of the problem, not the solution.
September 16, 2021, 12 AM MDT
Climate change will be a key topic in the leaders’ debates this week. All major parties have put forward climate plans (see Part II of this series) and their leaders will surely duke it out on climate at the debates. What do Canadians think? How much do they want climate action? How confident are they Canada can reduce emissions?
September 7, 2021, 6 AM MDT
The IEA released a study last week that lays out a proposed pathway to global net zero GHG emissions by 2050. The part that’s grabbing the headlines? That there should be no development of new oil and gas fields if the world is to achieve net zero targets.
May 25, 2021, 9:02 AM MDT
Many would say a global health pandemic is a terrible time for big policy changes to transform the economy. Job number one should be the crisis at hand — big changes can wait. And yet, the federal government has released a flurry of climate commitments since the pandemic gripped the nation.
April 20, 2021, 7:30 AM MDT
In the first meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the two leaders unveiled an ambitious Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership. This is welcome news after years of dwindling federal attention to the bilateral relationship.
March 15, 2021, 12 AM MDT
What are Canadians’ views on oil and gas development during COVID-19?
February 9, 2021, 12 AM MST
Over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has gripped Canadians’ attention. Many surveys are tracking public views on the pandemic, but what about opinions on other policy priorities?
February 8, 2021, 6:11 AM MST
After a tense few days, Democrat Joe Biden has been declared president-elect of the United States. While the results will no doubt be contested by President Donald Trump in the weeks and months to come, it seems clear that Biden is headed for the White House.
November 9, 2020, 8:32 AM MST
When it comes to energy and climate, the highly anticipated Speech from the Throne was a bit of a letdown.
September 25, 2020, 12 AM MDT
With increasingly stringent public health measures across the country to combat COVID-19, Canadians are understandably less focused on energy and environment than usual. But the precipitous drop in global oil prices and the collapse in Canadian energy stocks underscore the tight link between energy and global circumstances.
March 17, 2020, 10:05 AM MDT
Seeing the protests in support of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs opposed to the Coastal GasLink pipeline, you might think the country is hopelessly polarized over energy and environment. Canadians’ views on oil and gas development, pipelines, Indigenous rights and climate action seem ever-more divergent. So do those of energy and environmental leaders.
February 18, 2020, 3:54 AM MST
There is mounting concern in Canada about conflict over energy and environmental issues. It is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of conflict and see division everywhere — some days it seems like warring politicians, angry protests and social media fights are the only game in town.
February 4, 2020, 4:56 AM MST
As Parliament resumes in Ottawa this week, differences between the parties over energy and environmental issues are sure to hit the headlines and erupt on social media. Judging by these debates, Canadians’ views on things like carbon taxes, pipelines and oil and gas development are increasingly divergent.
February 4, 2020, 4:57 AM MST
Former prime minister Kim Campbell famously said that elections are no time to discuss serious issues. She was roundly critiqued for the statement, but looking at energy and environment in the federal election you can understand what she was getting at.
October 22, 2019, 9:25 AM MDT
The last few years are a vivid reminder that federalism is pivotal to energy and climate change policy. In late 2015, intergovernmental collaboration hit a high with the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. Provinces and the federal government were singing from the same song sheet.
August 13, 2019, 7:17 AM MDT
What is Canada’s energy future in an age of climate change? This is a fundamental question, but it’s one that Canada has yet to answer definitively. Two different visions are on offer. Unfortunately, they mostly talk past each another.
June 11, 2019, 12 AM MDT
The Kenney government has come to power with a new approach to energy. It can be summed up in four words: fight back, dial back.
May 7, 2019, 12 AM MDT
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