Taking Action Together – Canada’s 2021 Annual Report on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 1: No poverty

Goal: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

SDG 1 aims to eradicate poverty in all of its forms, one of humanity’s greatest challenges. Poverty means that individuals struggle to meet the necessities of life and can result in challenges such as food insecurity, inadequate housing, poor health, lack of access to services, social exclusion, and other hardships. People living in poverty are more likely to face health-related setbacks, to have difficulty finding and keeping a job, to find themselves in the criminal justice system, and in need of various social supports and assistance.

Progress in Canada

Canada’s ambition under SDG 1 is to reduce poverty in Canada in all of its forms. Under the CIF, Canada is aiming to reduce the poverty rate by 50% by 2030 compared to the 2015 level. In Canada, poverty is measured through the Official Poverty Line that is calculated using the Market Basket Measure (MBM). This measure includes the combined costs of a basket of goods and services that individuals and families require to meet their basic needs and achieve a modest standard of living^{Footnote 5}.

The poverty rate in Canada has decreased steadily since 2015. Canada has met its interim 2020 poverty reduction target of decreasing poverty by 20% relative to 2015 levels. While poverty rates in Canada have been steadily declining, the pandemic is likely to have an impact that will be felt in the coming years. There is still work to be done to achieve the 2030 poverty reduction target in a sustainable manner.

According to the 2020 Canadian Income Survey (CIS) released in 2022, the poverty rate in Canada was 6.4% in 2020, compared to 10.3% in 2019 and 14.5% in 2015. Temporary federal emergency and recovery benefits, as well as other forms of support provided at all levels of government, played a key role in mitigating poverty in 2020. A year characterized by severe employment and earnings losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, certain groups in Canada experience higher rates of poverty as a result of systemic barriers, including:

• working-age singles (who have many of the same expenses as couples and families but lower income assistance rates and no opportunity to combine incomes)
• single parents (80% of whom are women)
• recent immigrants
• Indigenous peoples
• persons with disabilities

Intersectional factors are also affecting poverty rates of marginalized groups. These include: racism, discrimination, gender inequality, social exclusion from resources including goods, services and relationships, and economic barriers to access the labour market, housing and services ^{Footnote 6}.

Asset resilience can provide the security needed to be able to rebound from life's setbacks and build confidence for the future. Asset resilience is defined as the ability of Canadians to cover unexpected expenses, or reduced income, by drawing from assets (such as a bank account) for a specified period. The percentage of Canadians who are asset resilient for at least 3 months rose marginally from 66.6% in 2016 to 67.1% in 2019. Canadians tended to be slightly more asset resilient just prior to the pandemic than they were in 1999. Over the past two decades, several factors contributed to the overall rate of asset resilience. For one thing, Canadians held more liquid assets (assets that can easily be exchanged for cash) at the end of 2019. Canadians were also slightly older, on average – the median age of Canadians increased from 36.4 years to 40.8 years. Family income has also been rising since 2015 and asset resilience is positively associated with higher incomes ^{Footnote 7}.

Figure 1: Prevalence of asset resilience for at least 3 months in Canada (excluding territories) ^{Footnote 8}

Taking action

Domestic actions

The Government of Canada is committed to poverty reduction and has made significant investments since 2015 to support the social and economic well-being of all Canadians. This includes funding for key poverty reduction initiatives detailed in Opportunity for All – Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Opportunity for All – Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy was launched in 2018. This strategy seeks to reduce and remove systemic barriers, including for those communities that face unique barriers that can make them more vulnerable to poverty. In particular, this includes Indigenous peoples, single people aged 45 to 64, persons with disabilities, single parents (80% of whom are women) newcomers, Black Canadians and individuals from other racialized communities, LGBTQ2 (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirit ), in particular transgender individuals and Canadians with significant health issues. In June 2019, the Poverty Reduction Act received Royal Assent. It entrenched poverty reduction targets, Canada’s Official Poverty Line, and the National Advisory Council on Poverty into law.

Provinces and territories are also implementing strategies to advance SDG 1. For example, New Brunswick’s third poverty reduction strategy, Overcoming Poverty Together 3 (OPT3) was released in 2020. The objective of the strategy is to reduce income poverty by at least 50% by 2030. OPT3’s objectives are also aligned with Opportunity for All – Canada’ First Poverty Reduction Strategy, including the adoption of the MBM as the official poverty line for New Brunswick. OPT3’s pillars are:

• Income Security : Supporting New Brunswickers to move through the income security continuum and providing adequate income support to those who cannot work
• Coordination of Programs and Services : Helping New Brunswickers access the programs and services they need
• Inclusion and Healthy Communities: Helping New Brunswickers live with dignity

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

On the international front, Canada’s Official Development Assistance Accountability Act requires that Canadian international assistance focuses on poverty reduction and is consistent with aid effectiveness principles. Canada engages with partner governments, civil society organisations and project participants throughout the lifecycle of its international assistance projects and programs. These engagements support local needs and ensure that Canada’s international assistance activities consider the perspectives of the poor and are consistent with human rights standards.

In June 2017, Canada launched its Feminist International Assistance Policy. This policy seeks to eradicate poverty and build a more peaceful, more inclusive and more prosperous world. Canada firmly believes that achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls is the most effective way to reduce poverty and realize progress on all SDGs.

In 2020, Canada provided $10.8 billion in Total Official Support for Sustainable Development, implemented through initiatives and commitments under the Policy’s 6 action areas:

• Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls
• Human Dignity
• Growth that Works for Everyone
• Environment and Climate Action
• Inclusive Governance
• Peace and Security

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Canada has met its interim 2020 poverty reduction target of decreasing poverty by 20% relative to 2015 levels. While it is too early to assess all of the impacts of COVID-19 on poverty, those living in poverty are more likely than others to face additional impacts.

COVID-19 has also disproportionately affected some of the most marginalized populations. These groups include: Black and other racialized individuals, Indigenous peoples, women and children experiencing gender-based violence, those experiencing homelessness, seniors, non-status asylum-seekers, people who are institutionalized, persons with disabilities and people living in low income.

The National Advisory Council on Poverty was created to provide independent advice to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development on poverty reduction and report on the progress achieved toward poverty reduction. It brings together a committed and diverse group of 10 members, including persons with lived experience, leaders, experts, academics, and practitioners that work in the field of poverty reduction.

The National Advisory Council on Poverty^{Footnote 9} conducted engagement on poverty, and found a number of potential drivers for poverty. These include:

• inadequate social assistance benefits
• challenges in the care sector and economy
• inadequacies in long-term care
• capacity issues for affordable housing

Recommendations from the 2021 report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty aim to^{Footnote 10}:

• reduce inequity
• address issues of systemic racism, discrimination and colonialism
• ensure that everyone has equal access to benefits, resources and opportunities
• ensure that people are treated equitably and with dignity when accessing important benefits and services
• ensure that everyone has the resources they need to thrive

SDG 2: Zero hunger

Goal: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

SDG 2 aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition for all, and promote sustainable agriculture.

Progress in Canada

Food insecurity is prevalent across Canada’s provinces and territories at varying levels. This affects quality of life and can prevent individuals from reaching their full potential.

Individual and household access to sufficient amounts of safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food can be affected by many factors. These factors include:

• employment
• income and poverty
• food prices
• proximity to grocery stores and food outlets selling nutritious food
• infrastructure for growing, hunting, and harvesting
• transportation

Over the last 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a number of challenges in ensuring sufficient access to nutritious food for all. Although poverty has continued to decline, supported by increases in government transfers, food insecurity has worsened due to factors such as unemployment rates.

In 2020, 11.2% of people experienced moderate to severe food insecurity ^{Footnote 11}. The food insecurity rate increased slightly from 10.8% in 2019.

Figure 2: Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in Canada (excluding territories) ^{Footnote 12}

The web-panel Canadian Perspectives Survey in May 2020 found higher rates of food insecurity for Canadians who were not working due to closures, layoff or personal circumstances related to COVID-19 ^{Footnote 13}. They were more likely to be food insecure compared to those who were working.

In 2020, the rate of food insecurity for persons in lone-parent families was close to 3 times the rate for persons in couple families with children. Food insecurity rates were 30.1% for persons in female lone-parent families and 15.7% for persons in male lone-parent families ^{Footnote 14}. Food insecurity for couple families with children was 10.6%. Persons renting their home had higher rates of moderate or severe food insecurity than those that owned their home. In 2020, 21.1% of renters experienced food insecurity compared to 7.6% of homeowners.

Indigenous, Black, and other racialized households are more likely to experience food insecurity in Canada. In 2020, 21.9% of Indigenous peoples over age 16 and living off-reserve experienced food insecurity. The 2020 food insecurity rate for persons designated as visible minorities was estimated at 14.6%, while the rate for persons identifying as Black was 17.2%.

The long-term vitality of the food and agriculture sector depends on a healthy environment and resilience to climate change. Canadian producers have made improvements in environmental stewardship. Urgent action is still required to deal with climate change and to protect our environment for current and future generations. Canada’s Changing Climate Report indicates that warming in Canada is approximately double the global average and even higher in Canada’s northern regions ^{Footnote 15}.

Emissions from the agricultural sector rose from 57 Mt to 73Mt from 1990 to 2019, per the 2021 National Inventory Report ^{Footnote 16}. Although absolute levels have been increasing, in 2018, Canadian agriculture generated 50% fewer greenhouse gas emissions for every dollar of gross domestic product (GDP) that it generated, compared with 1997. Improvements in feeding and breeding lowered emissions by 15% per kilogram of beef in that time period. This reduces pressure on land and water at the same time. Similar declining emission intensities have been measured for other livestock categories such as dairy, pork and poultry ^{Footnote 17}.

The Government of Canada has developed a set of science-based agri-environmental indicators^{Footnote 18} that integrate information on soils, climate and topography with statistics on land use and crop and livestock management practices to report on the areas of water quality, soil quality, air quality, and biodiversity. These indicators, which are updated every 5 years using data from the Census of Agriculture, have shown mixed performance. For example, the Soil Cover Indicator has shown dramatic improvements since 1981, primarily due to the changes in tillage practices and crop distribution. However, the Wildlife Habitat on Farmland Indicator has deteriorated since 1986. This is primarily due to the loss of natural and semi-natural land resulting from the widespread conversion of pasture and forage to annual crops.

Figure 3: Agri-Environmental Sustainability Performance Indices, Canada ^{Footnote 19}

Taking action

Domestic actions

The Government of Canada engaged in the whole-of-society UN Food Systems Summit process throughout 2021. Canada hosted 8 Member State Dialogues and published summary reports, encouraged Independent Dialogues by partners, and participated in high-level meetings to discuss outcomes. Over 400 participants attended the Dialogues from April to June 2021, reflecting diverse perspectives from across the food system. The Dialogues focused on a range of food systems issues with the objective of identifying actions that would contribute toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This engagement also aimed to advance the vision and priority outcomes of the Food Policy for Canada.

Several organizations are leading efforts to advance sustainable food systems in Canada, including those engaging with the food movement, enhancing food literacy in schools, and working in cross-cultural contexts to advance Indigenous food security.

Food Secure Canada is a non-governmental pan-Canadian alliance. It amplifies the power of diverse voices and convenes the expertise and experiences of actors within the food movement to transform the food system into one that is more just, healthy and sustainable.

Food Secure Canada’s projects include: ‘Food Policy and the SDGs: Mobilizing the expertise and reach of the food movement’. The project consisted of bringing together community organisations to increase engagement within the food movement and deepen cross-sectoral understanding of how food policies can contribute to meeting the SDGs. As a result of this project, Food Secure Canada increased knowledge-sharing on how food policies could meet the SDGs and their targets by hosting a series of well-attended workshops and webinars, and deepened their focus to include the experiences of Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities. Food Secure Canada also generated a flow of policy publications, web-pages, op-eds, articles, social media, and targeted outreach to policy-makers which, taken together, significantly enhanced the exchange of ideas on how food policy in Canada can contribute to meeting the SDGs.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

In 2020 to 2021, Canada provided $1 billion in international assistance to agriculture, food security and nutrition. In 2021, Canada provided more than $500 million in humanitarian food assistance internationally. In response to increasing hunger and food insecurity, as a result of factors that include COVID-19 disruptions, climate change, and increased conflict, Canada provided $306 million in humanitarian funding in 2021 to the World Food Programme, Canada’s largest humanitarian partner, and helped reach 128 million people with food, cash support, and nutrition services.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

The Government of Canada continues to make improvements in the collection of data and of measurement of food insecurity at the national level to make progress on SDG 2. While existing data collection methods in Canada are considered to be progressive at the global level, challenges still exist in understanding the current status of food insecurity in Canada, particularly among groups experiencing systemic racism and discrimination. More research on the trends of household food insecurity and effectiveness of policy responses, with high-quality representative samples, is needed to better characterize and address food insecurity issues across Canada.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and taking action to address it will require engagement from all parts of society. The Government of Canada is committed to taking action, as outlined in the Strengthened Climate Plan to cut more pollution, to create more good jobs, and to support a healthier economy and environment, including in the agricultural sector.

Another challenge is the complexity of working toward increased availability and access to nutritious food for all Canadians, as multiple government departments at the federal, provincial and local levels are responsible for various policies and programs, which have the potential to reduce food insecurity. Canada’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Food Policy for Canada, and agricultural policy frameworks are important vehicles for dialogue and coordinated action.

SDG 3: Good health and well-being

Goal: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

SDG 3 aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. It addresses all major health priorities, including sexual, reproductive, maternal and child health; older adult health; infectious, chronic and, non-communicable diseases; strengthening the prevention, harm reduction and treatment of substance use; universal health coverage; mental health including addictions; health of Indigenous communities and access for all to safe, effective, quality and affordable medicines and vaccines. It also calls for more research and development, increased health financing, and strengthened capacity of all countries in health risk reduction and management.

Progress in Canada

For SDG 3, Canada has set 3 ambitions that encompass a range of indicators of good health and well-being: Canadians adopt healthy behaviours; Canadians have healthy and satisfying lives; and Canada prevents causes of premature death. Those 3 ambitions include 13 targets and indicators.

Canadians enjoy relatively good health and well-being as demonstrated by very low rates of maternal and infant mortality, improvements in death rates due to cancer, declines in birth rates among adolescents, reduced number of smokers, and high vaccination rates. However, other health indicators and trends continue to raise concerns. Existing health and social inequities have resulted in disproportional impacts of COVID-19 on some populations, while gaps in health outcomes remain particularly significant for Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Perceived mental health has been impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic with an increase in Canadians screened positive for symptoms of depression, anxiety or posttraumatic stress disorder. Suicide is the twelfth leading cause of death in Canada with 90% of cases linked to mental health concerns. Additionally, the opioid overdose crisis continues to be a serious threat to health in many communities.

Figure 4: Percentage of Canadians who perceived their mental health as very good to excellent, Canada (excluding territories) ^{Footnote 20}

Illegal drugs and substance use have always presented health and safety challenges in Canada. Recently, however, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of opioid-related overdoses and deaths. A number of factors have likely contributed to a worsening of the overdose crisis over the course of the pandemic, including the increasingly toxic drug supply, increased feelings of isolation, stress and anxiety and limited availability or accessibility of services for people who use drugs^{Footnote 21}.

Figure 5: Incidence of opioid and stimulant overdose related harms in Canada^{Footnote 22}

Canadians do not experience good health and well-being equally. Many of these inequalities are the result of individuals' and groups' relative social, political, and economic disadvantages. Working to reduce health inequalities means helping to give everyone the same opportunities to be healthy, no matter who they are or where they live.

Gaps in health outcomes are particularly significant for Indigenous peoples in Canada. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis often have poorer health status and outcomes than the general Canadian population, as shown across indicators such as mortality rates, incidence of communicable and chronic diseases such as tuberculosis and diabetes, as well as higher rates of HIV infection.

Tuberculosis rates in Inuit Nunangat, which includes Nunavut, Nunavik, Nunatsiavut and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, remain far higher than among the general population. Canada’s target is to reduce the incidence of active tuberculosis by at least 50% by 2025 and eliminate it by 2030.

Figure 6: Tuberculosis incidence per 100,000 population in Inuit Nunangat^{Footnote 23}

Taking action

Domestic actions

In April 2020, the Government of Canada launched the Wellness Together Canada (WTC) portal to provide Canadians with free access to live and confidential online mental health and substance use resources, available 24/7 in more than 200 languages and dialects. As of March 31, 2021, over 1.1 million individuals in all provinces and territories accessed the WTC portal in over 3.5 million web sessions, increasing awareness and understanding of care options that can be applied personally or are offered as a government service. Funding of $14.2 million was also provided to the Mental Health Commission of Canada to advance specific priorities in the area of mental health,C substance use and suicide prevention.

The Government of Canada’s approach to the opioid overdose crisis has been comprehensive, collaborative, and compassionate, guided by the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy (CDSS). The Government of Canada collaborated on several CDSS initiatives in 2020 to 2021, including: stigma reduction training for law enforcement; expanding public awareness through a multi-year campaign; and launching a virtual platform for the Know More Opioids tour, which engages with high school and post-secondary students.

In 2020 to 2021, the Substance Use and Addictions Program (SUAP) provided funding for 198 projects representing a wide range of evidence-informed and innovative problematic substance use prevention, harm reduction and treatment initiatives at the community, regional and national levels, targeting a range of substances, including opioids, stimulants, cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco and vaping. These projects delivered a total of 5,300 knowledge products and 28,000 learning opportunities, reaching approximately 10 million Canadians during this period.

Provincial and territorial ministries of education have many initiatives to support health and wellbeing. For example, the Government of Ontario provides funding through the Indigenous Institutes Mental Health Grant to support Indigenous Institutes in Ontario. This funding supports Indigenous Institutes to identify and provide culturally appropriate, trauma-informed mental health and wellness supports and services to their learners. This enhances access to postsecondary education for these learners and increases their opportunities for educational success.

HealthyMindsNS is a suite of online mental health resources that are free for students attending Nova Scotia universities and colleges, as well as for registered apprentices. The resources are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They complement the supports and services provided by other institutions. Student organizations in Nova Scotia continue to identify mental health and wellbeing as a priority. The e-mental health resources make mental health supports more accessible to students.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

Canada continues to collaborate with international partners and participate on various international committees, driven in large part over 2020 to 2021 by treatments and vaccines to combat COVID-19. The Government of Canada co-chaired the COVID-19 working group under the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities, supporting collaboration and alignment of scientific requirements for clinical trials and approvals of COVID-19 drugs and vaccines. It also participated in the COVID-19 Vaccine Pharmacovigilance Network of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities, which facilitated timely access to information about COVID-19 vaccines in other jurisdictions and supported Canada’s own assessments and actions.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose a significant challenge, both in the emergency response required to strengthen provincial and territorial healthcare systems to respond to increased infections and illness, and in public health measures required to prevent further spread of the virus, including national vaccination campaigns. Health financing will continue to be a priority as the Government launches an ambitious economic recovery plan to bring the economy back to pre-pandemic levels.

The pandemic has also had indirect public health impacts such as an increase in alcohol consumption and the use of other substances, and unhealthy eating behaviours. Public health restrictions and the stress, isolation, and increased domestic violence they contributed to, have also had negative impacts on the mental health of Canadians. Addressing these unintended consequences will pose additional challenges for healthcare systems as Canada works to promote mental health and support those experiencing mental health challenges.

Antimicrobial resistant infections (AMR) are a growing risk to health of humans and animals globally as well as in Canada, costing the Canadian healthcare system $1.4 billion and causing an estimated 5,400 deaths in 2018 alone. In 2021, the Government of Canada committed to work with partners to increase action against the growing threat of AMR and preserve the effectiveness of the antimicrobials Canadians rely upon every day. The focus is on 3 areas of action: securing access to antimicrobials through economic incentives; preserving the effectiveness of antimicrobials through stewardship initiatives; and increasing Canada’s leadership role domestically and internationally to steer collaborative efforts with partners.

SDG 4: Quality education

Goal: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

SDG 4 aims to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. Education supports socioeconomic mobility and enables paths out of poverty. It helps to reduce inequalities and is crucial to fostering tolerance and more peaceful societies.

Progress in Canada

Education has a direct impact on the realization of all human rights and is a primary driver of progress across all 17 SDGs. Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for Canadians of all ages are essential. They contribute to Canada’s economic and social prosperity, and to the well-being of all Canadians.

This includes:

• striving towards high education attainment rates
• quality early childhood development
• high levels of literacy to support the development of the relevant skills for employment

Overall, Canada has a highly educated population and continues to strengthen an already-robust system of quality education. Canada ranks among the top of countries in terms of levels of education achieved by its adult population.

The high school completion rate measures the percentage of persons who have completed a high school diploma or equivalency certificate. According to the 2016 census, Canada’s high school completion rate for persons aged 15 years and over was 79.3% (80.8% of women and 77.7% of men). The high school completion rate reached 86.3% for persons aged 25 to 64 (88.4% of women and 84.1% of men)^{Footnote 24}.

While new data are not yet available^{Footnote 25}, other data sources provide insights into current trends. Based on the 2021 Education Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program, the high school completion rate of the Canadian population aged 25 to 64 in 2020 was 92% for both sexes ^{Footnote 26}. This rate has been consistent over the last couple of years.

In Canada, post-secondary education completion rates have increased for the population aged 25 to 64, from 50% in 2010 to 60% in 2020. This includes people who have earned certificates, diplomas or degrees from universities, colleges, cégep and comparable institutions.

Figure 7: Post-secondary education attainment rate in Canada ^{Footnote 27}

Taking action

Domestic actions

Canada recognizes the benefits of a well-educated population for the prosperity and well-being of all Canadians. The Government of Canada is working to implement a number of initiatives to support quality education and lifelong learning and to ensure that all families have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care no matter where they live.

The Government of Canada is working with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide, community-based Early Learning and Child Care system. It has made a transformative investment of over $27 billion over 5 years as part of Budget 2021. This investment will allow governments to work together towards achieving an average parent fee of $10-a-day by 2025 to 2026 for all regulated child care spaces. This initiative will start with a 50% reduction in average fees for regulated early learning and child care spaces by the end of 2022. This investment will also allow governments to work together towards creating more high-quality, affordable, regulated child care spaces. It will also value the early childhood workforce and their work by providing them with the training and development opportunities needed to support their growth and the growth of a quality system of child care.

In addition, the Government of Canada is working with Indigenous and Federal partners to implement the co-developed Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework. This Framework serves as a guide for all actors in the Early Learning and Child Care sphere. It allows them to work towards achieving a shared vision that all Indigenous children have the opportunity to experience high-quality and culturally strong Early Learning and Child Care. Through Budget 2021, the Government of Canada has committed $2.5 billion over 5 years to support Early Learning and Child Care programs and services for Indigenous children and families.

In Canada, education is under the jurisdiction of the provinces and territories. Provinces and territories, under the aegis of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), lead progress toward the achievement of SDG 4. In 2020, CMEC released the Ensuring Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education: Sustainable Development Goal 4 in Canada (PDF) report. The report outlines work underway across Canada to achieve SDG 4. CMEC also engages with international work on SDG 4 data and indicators, and reports on SDG 4 at the UN High-level Political Forum, when SDG 4 is a focus for review.

Provincial and territorial governments are acting to provide quality education to all students in their jurisdictions and are actively expanding lifelong learning opportunities. Ministries of education are pursuing comprehensive strategies in line with SDG 4. For example:

• New Brunswick has embedded the SDGs and climate action education in its science curriculum for grades 3 to 10
• Ontario has modernized its curriculum to better prepare students for decent work in a growing and changing economy

A key to advance SDG 4 is the active effort to bring down barriers to quality education and to leave no one behind. Some provinces and territories have developed coaching and education programs targeted to specific groups, and have implemented Indigenous education policy frameworks.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

During its G7 presidency in 2018 in Charlevoix, Canada and key international partners mobilized an historic investment of nearly $3.8 billion. This included a commitment of $400 million over 3 years by Canada, for education for women and girls in crisis and conflict situations. At the 2021 G7 Summit, Canada endorsed the “Declaration on Girls’ Education: Recovering from Covid-19 and Unlocking Agenda 2030”. Canada also adopted 2 ambitious targets to stay on track to achieving the SDGs.

In 2021, Canada announced $300 million over 5 years in funding to the Global Partnership for Education. This partnership is focused on providing quality education to children in low-income countries.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Equity issues remain a challenge for Canada’s education system. As with other SDGs in Canada, groups that face socio-economic disadvantages, such as persons with disabilities, people in rural and remote areas, recent immigrants, and Indigenous peoples, can also face education and learning gaps.

For example, according to the Labour Force Survey, high school completion rates of the off-reserve Indigenous population aged 25 to 64 was 85% in 2021. This is compared to 93% for the Non-Indigenous population aged 25 to 64 ^{Footnote 28}. Progress in addressing these equity challenges should also help to improve outcomes under other SDGs where learning and education attainment are particularly relevant such as SDG 5 (Gender equality), SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities).

While Canada has relatively high post-secondary education participation and attainment rates compared to its Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) peers, substantial gaps remain. In 2017, there was still a significant difference in post-secondary enrolment for 19-year-olds in the top and bottom income distribution groups – 72.1% to 43.4%, respectively ^{Footnote 29}.

The 2016 census shows that Indigenous (status and non-status First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), Black, and other racialized individuals in Canada have lower post-secondary education attainment than the general population. Immigrants^{Footnote 30} have higher post-secondary education attainment rates than the general population, but often struggle to have their international credentials recognized and to afford Canadian credentials ^{Footnote 31}. Relative to the general population, data for the 2015 to 2018 period shows that post-secondary education attainment among lesbian, gay and bisexual Canadians is higher among gay and lesbian individuals, yet lower among bisexual individuals ^{Footnote 32}. Despite known data gaps (for example with respect to transgender individuals), research indicates that these equity-deserving groups face social and financial barriers to pursuing post-secondary education in Canada.

SDG 5: Gender equality

Goal: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

SDG 5 aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. It recognizes that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.

Women and girls often face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, further compounded due to factors based on:

• race
• ethnicity
• geography
• income
• education
• religion
• language
• sexual orientation
• gender identity and expression
• age
• disability
• migrant or refugee status

Progress in Canada

Canada’s ambitions for this goal are to:

• eliminate gender-based violence and harassment
• to support gender equality in leadership roles and at all levels of decision-making
• to ensure that Canadians, and those who live here, share responsibilities within households and families

Canada has a longstanding commitment to gender equality and is taking concrete action to ensure women, girls and gender-diverse individuals can succeed. In 2021, Canada ranked 24th globally according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. This report tracks progress towards closing gender gaps through cross-country comparisons^{Footnote 33}. At the same time, critical barriers to gender equality and the full participation of women in the economy remain.

Women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+ (two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, plus) and gender-diverse individuals continue to face violence and discrimination in Canada. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a rise was seen in reports from police services, shelters, and local organization of calls related to gender-based violence^{Footnote 34}. In addition, Canada is still challenged to respond fully to the legacy of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

Violence against women continues to have harmful impacts on the lives of women, their families, and their communities throughout Canada. In 2018, 12.1% of women aged 15 years or older reported that they were subjected to some form of intimate partner violence in the last 12 months. In 2018, the categories that had the higher proportion for having been subjected to violence by current or former partner are:

• 29% of women aged between 15 to 24 years
• 20% LGBTQ2
• 20% women who are separated or divorced
• 19% single women
• 17% Indigenous women^{Footnote 35}

Research shows that violence against women remains a serious and persistent problem. It is compounded for Indigenous women, many of whom face multiple risk factors ^{Footnote 36}. In 2018, 3.6% of women reported being sexually assaulted in the last 12 months. This proportion of women provides a benchmark for tracking future trends with the release of additional data.

Increased labour market participation of women is an important avenue for strengthening gender equality. When looking at the proportion of leadership roles held by women, there has been a general increase over time in women attaining more senior level public sector roles. In 2021, women accounted for:

• 48.6% of federal cabinet
• 35.6% of all management occupations
• 30.9% of senior management occupations
• 27.4% of First Nations Council members (2019)
• 39.3% of federally-appointed judges (2016)

Figure 8: Proportion of leadership roles held by women in Canada ^{Footnote 37}

The workforce experience of women can reflect barriers arising from their unequal share of household responsibilities. In 2015, women continued to experience a higher percentage of unpaid domestic and care work. In fact, women spent 15% of their day on these responsibilities compared to 10% by men. A more recent study from Statistics Canada in 2020 shows that women continue to perform a larger percentage of unpaid domestic and care work. It also shows that employment status and work location (working from or outside the home) affect the division of parental tasks ^{Footnote 38}.

Figure 9: Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work in Canada (excluding territories) ^{Footnote 39}

Taking action

Domestic actions

The Government of Canada is taking concrete action to ensure women and girls can succeed in Canada and around the world. This includes, for example, ongoing implementation of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) and integrating this tool into key federal decision-making processes through the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act; building on It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence to advance the development of a National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence; implement the 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan: Ending Violence Against Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People.

These actions further bolster efforts to ensure a continued feminist response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery in a way that creates jobs and opportunity for women and girls. In addition, Canada is leading efforts to prevent and eliminate gender-based violence, advance sexual and reproductive health and rights, and promote feminist movements, organizations, and voices.

Several organizations are developing initiatives to help advance gender equality in Canada. For example, the Kawartha World Issues Centre Community held community consultations and workshops on gender equality locally in the city of Peterborough for marginalized groups that is informing educational programming and resources in the community. Through this project, the organization is researching and presenting to their community the diverse and untold history of feminism as it relates to 5 groups:

1. Indigenous Women and Gender Diverse people
2. Black/Racialized Women and Gender Diverse people
3. people with disabilities
4. newcomers to Canada
5. 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

Canada recognizes the potential of women and girls as transformative agents of change and works to advance gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. It has launched, in the context of its Feminist Foreign Policy, a number of Strategies and programs, including a Feminist International Assistance Policy.

Additional information and examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

While Canada continues to champion gender equality, critical barriers remain for women and girls. Women continue to face restrictions in their full participation in the economy and remain underrepresented in leadership positions. Women's labour force participation and employment earnings in Canada continue to lag behind those of men. They are more vulnerable to financial insecurity in old age and after separation, divorce or widowhood. According to a 2018 report, women were found to have lower financial literacy than men, and have a lower likelihood of home ownership as a single parent by a sizeable difference of 23.8 percentage points^{Footnote 40}.

Women also continue to face a higher proportion of care-giving responsibilities and rates of victimization. Indigenous women and girls specifically, are at a disproportionate risk and face among the highest rates of violent and non-violent victimization of all population groups in Canada. In a 2018 report on intimate partner violence experienced by Indigenous women in Canada, about 6 in 10 Indigenous women were found to have experienced some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime^{Footnote 41}. Systemic and lived experiences of racism create barriers that further prevent many Indigenous women from seeking help following violent or traumatic experiences. These barriers include culturally inappropriate resources, inaccessibility of supports and services, and mistrust in the police, criminal justice system, and institutions intended to protect.

The 2030 Agenda is an important opportunity to address barriers to gender equality, and is a foundational requirement to make progress across all 17 SDGs. The COVID-19 pandemic further emphasized the need to address these, and other, inequalities to reduce disproportionate impacts on women and other marginalized communities. Canada’s efforts to implement a feminist recovery to the pandemic support ongoing policies to advance the 2030 Agenda, and gender targets across all of the SDGs, to accelerate Canada’s efforts to build back better from the pandemic and leave no one behind.

SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation

Goal: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

SDG 6 aims to ensure access to safe water sources and sanitation for all. SDG 6 goes beyond drinking water, sanitation and hygiene to also address the quality and sustainability of water resources, critical to the survival of people and the planet. The 2030 Agenda recognizes the centrality of water resources to sustainable development, and the vital role that improved drinking water, sanitation and hygiene play in progress in other areas, including SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), and SDG 4 (Quality education).

Progress in Canada

Canada’s ambition for this Goal is to ensure Canadians have access to drinking water and use it in a sustainable manner. Access to drinking water and sanitation in Canada is nearly universal and generally of good quality. Indeed, Canada has some of the world’s safest drinking water according to the World Health Organization,^{Footnote 42} as measured through multiple sources of data by the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI)^{Footnote 43}. The CESI indicators on drinking water report on the overall state of drinking water in Canada. However, Indigenous communities across Canada continue to be disproportionally affected by poor water quality and sanitation.

In Canada, the responsibility for providing safe drinking water to the public generally rests with the provinces and territories, while municipalities usually oversee the day-to-day operations of the treatment facilities. Provinces and territories use the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality (GCDWQ) developed by the Government of Canada as a basis to establish their own requirements for drinking water quality.

The GCDWQ are also used to inform the safety of drinking water in areas of federal jurisdiction (including on federal lands and in First Nations communities located south of 60° N latitude). As such, the data for this SDG indicator resides with a range of jurisdictions (provinces, territories, municipalities, federal departments and agencies).

Drinking water advisories are issued to warn people to not drink water that may be unsafe or is known to not be safe based on water quality test results. Since 2015, 78% of long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserves have been lifted. As of 2020, 58 long-term drinking water advisories were in effect. This data source is limited to communities south of the 60th parallel^{Footnote 44}.

Figure 10: Number of long-term drinking water advisories on public systems for communities on reserves south of the 60th parallel in Canada ^{Footnote 45}

Poor quality water and sanitation affect Indigenous communities across Canada. According to the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, most First Nations water systems are small, and some are in remote communities that are not always accessible by road. These circumstances present unique challenges, such as managing high capital and operating costs, finding and retaining qualified water system operators, and getting supplies and materials. On reserve, the provision of safe drinking water is a shared responsibility among First Nation communities and the Government of Canada. First Nations are the owners and operators of community infrastructure in First Nations communities, including water infrastructure.

First Nations with long-term drinking water advisories face the burden of having to boil and/or obtain bottled water for daily use and consumption. This burden is compounded by socio-economic barriers that include poor housing and infrastructure, remoteness and poverty, and impacts due to climate change.

The percentage of municipalities across Canada with sustained drinking water advisories is an indicator based on the Canada's Core Public Infrastructure Survey. The first reference year is 2016 and the performance of core public infrastructure assets is measured every 2 years. A sustained drinking water advisory is defined as one that exceeds 15 days in duration. In 2016, the percentage of municipal water owners with sustained drinking water advisories was 3.6% and in 2018 it was 4.5%^{Footnote 46}.

Figure 11: Percentage of municipalities across Canada with sustained drinking water advisories ^{Footnote 47}

The Water Account^{Footnote 48}, produced every 2 years, describes the use of water as a natural resource and of water accessed through municipal water supply or irrigation systems by industry, governments, institutions, and households. Despite improvements in household water conservation, Canada remains one of the largest per capita users of fresh water in the world.

Figure 12: Water use growth rate in Canada ^{Footnote 49}

SDG 6 is also about the quality and sustainability of water resources. To assess the water quality in Canadian rivers, the CESI indicators measure the ability of river water across Canada to support plants and animals. For the 2017 to 2019 period, water quality in rivers in Canada was rated fair to excellent at 82% of the monitored sites.

Figure 13: Water quality in Canadian rivers^{Footnote 50}

The highest proportion of sites rated marginal or poor was found in areas where there was urban development or mining, combined with agriculture, forestry or a combination of all 4. The Pacific Ocean, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River, and Atlantic Ocean regions had the highest proportion of sites with marginal or poor water quality (29%, 27% and 11%, respectively).

Taking action

Domestic actions

Canada continues to strive to ensure availability and sustainable management of drinking water for all. Canada is working to ensure all Canadians have access to safe drinking water and is committed to eliminating all long-term drinking water advisories affecting on reserve public First Nations drinking water systems. First Nations communities across Canada, with support from the Government of Canada, are working to ensure access to safe, clean drinking water and treated wastewater.

A diverse range of projects are being carried out across Canada by various types of organisations to support SDG 6. For example, the Foundry Spatial Water Framework is the winner of the 2021 Water’s Next Awards in the Category – Projects and Technology: Water Resources. Foundry Spatial Water provides fundamental web-oriented structures such as maps, data visualization, navigation, reporting, and database for communicating information about water supply and demand in watersheds and aquifers.

By taking massive volumes of real-time and historic environmental monitoring data, specialized hydrology models and analytical routines, the framework delivers easy to digest insight at whatever location a user is interested in. With a critical focus on optimizing the user experience, the framework implementations provide accurate, reliable, and relevant information for their specific location of interest. In a matter of minutes, users can retrieve knowledge that would otherwise require costly consultants to be engaged for weeks or months to produce. The Foundry Spatial Water Framework is currently available across more than 80 per cent of British Columbia and 40 per cent of Alberta. For example, the Northwest Water Tool is a point-and-click tool that helps scientists, industry explorers, communities and government decision-makers to understand accurate, real-time information about water resources in British Columbia.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

Canada is supporting international cooperation on sound water management through various multilateral organizations such as the Group of 20 (G20), the Global Environment Facility, and the UN, to align efforts and resources towards achieving all water and sanitation related SDGs.

As part of Canada’s international assistance efforts, Canada’s International Development Research Centre has invested more than $100 million over 3 decades to support research on water and water-related issues such as poverty reduction, improving health and sanitation, and increasing local governments’ ability to provide sustainable services to citizens.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

To enable and accelerate progress on SDG 6, essential elements need to be implemented. This includes good governance, elimination of inequalities, a new financing paradigm, capacity development, integration of technologies and innovation, data acquisition and monitoring, and strong multi-stakeholder partnerships.

Healthy and resilient ecosystems, including freshwater resources, are vital for the social and economic dimensions of sustainable development. Collaborative work on joint actions for conservation or restoration of national and transboundary ecosystems are essential in developing freshwater action plans. To avoid overuse or pollution of water resources and degradation of ecosystems, growth must be sustainable and equitable. It is also critical to build resilience to climate change and variability, through key tools such as strategies for disaster risk reduction and nature-based solutions.

Water is at the interface of many systems (for instance health, agriculture, energy, and economic growth). This requires effective regulations – including for the reduction of industrial and agricultural water pollution – and coordination mechanisms between multiple stakeholders.

With regard to access to safe drinking water for Indigenous communities, long-term solutions are required. Implementing these long-term solutions can take several years. Canada will continue to work towards a long-term strategy to ensure that drinking water systems are sustainable for all.

SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

Goal: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

SDG 7 aims to address the needs of close to a billion people around the world who lack access to electricity. It calls for universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030 as well as doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix; and doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.

Progress in Canada

Canada’s domestic ambitions for this goal are to support Canadians to reduce their energy consumption, and to ensure Canadians have access to clean, affordable, and secure energy. As one of the world’s largest per-capita consumers of energy, Canadians recognize the opportunities to make their energy use more efficient and the potential of renewable and low carbon energy sources that can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Continued efforts and investments from governments, private sector organizations, civil society, and individuals will be needed to meet climate and energy targets and ambitions in Canada and globally.

Many jurisdictions across Canada have been bringing cleaner energy sources into the electricity grid, such as hydro, wind, bioenergy, and solar. Canada is also making use of new enabling technologies like energy storage, including hydro storage, demand management, and smart grids technologies to provide further flexibility in the electricity systems. In 2020, 68% of Canadian electricity was generated from renewable energy sources. Adding nuclear power brought Canada’s total renewable and non-emitting electricity generation to nearly 83%^{Footnote 51}.

Figure 14: Proportion of electricity generated from renewable and non-greenhouse gas emitting sources in Canada ^{Footnote 52}

Building on this, governments and energy utilities have been collaborating on cost-effective standards for technologies to reduce electricity consumption, and are expanding infrastructure and upgrading technology to provide clean energy. These and other strategies helped to increase Canada’s energy efficiency more than 12% in 2018 compared to 2000, avoiding energy costs of $26.2 billion^{Footnote 53}. These approaches also mean that while Canadian energy use rose 19% during that same period, it is estimated to have risen 31% without them ^{Footnote 54}.

Figure 15: Annual energy savings resulting from adoption of energy efficiency codes, standards and practices in Canada ^{Footnote 55}

Canada is one of the world’s largest per-capita consumers of energy – approximately 5 times the world average. Much of this reflects the significant energy required for heating and power in a large northern country. However, as noted above, Canada generates its electricity from an array of primarily non-GHG emitting energy sources. For example, Canadians use, on a per capita basis, 20 times the world average of hydroelectricity and 8 times the world average of nuclear energy ^{Footnote 56}.

Figure 16: Total energy consumption per capita in Canada ^{Footnote 57}

Canada has a strong base to build on for clean and non-emitting electricity generation. The emergence of sources such as solar and wind is enabling further growth of renewable electricity supplies.

Taking action

Domestic actions

The Impact Canada Indigenous Off-Diesel Initiative made progress towards transitioning 14 remote Indigenous communities/regions off diesel as a primary source of energy. In 2020 to 2021, 14 contribution agreements worth up to $500,000 each were signed to support Energy Champions and their communities with community energy planning and engagement. One prize grant of $800,000 was given out to the first champion, who moved to the project implementation phase. In addition, 21 projects were completed in 2020 to 2021 under the Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program, with 93 projects overall being supported.

Decentralised Energy Canada’s (DEC) project ‘Community Sustainability – Capacity Building and Awareness (CS-CBA) – Alberta’ looked to increase the awareness of the SDGs in Canada's decentralised energy industry. The project highlighted 5 specific SDGs that were most relevant to the industry, including gender equity. DEC held a series of awareness-raising activities, such as webinars and panel discussions, which featured several industry-leading professionals, rural communities, and Indigenous-led organizations from across the country. This project:

• raised awareness of the 2030 Agenda
• built new local and regional partnerships aimed at exploring and acting on joint sustainability initiatives
• provided platforms for sharing of best practices
• built capacity
• improved technical competencies in rural and Indigenous communities through the delivery of training and education products

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

The Government of Canada engages with key bilateral partners and multilateral organizations on an ongoing basis to advance development and deployment of clean energy technologies and equitable access to clean energy around the world. For example, Canada actively supports the International Energy Agency (IEA) and its mandate to promote sustainable, reliable, affordable, and secure energy globally. Within the IEA, Canada chairs the Committee on Energy Research and Technology and officially participates in 22 of its technology collaboration programmes. Canada also supports the IEA’s Clean Energy Transitions Programme, which helps developing countries enhance their capacity to develop and deploy clean energy technologies.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Energy transition to cleaner and more sustainable sources requires collaboration across sectors, including industry, finance, infrastructure, natural resources, and community development. The transition will be supported by the development of new processes in alignment with concepts of the circular economy. The development and adoption of cleaner technologies also presents new business opportunities for organizations to contribute to social, economic, and environmental sustainability.

The International Energy Agency noted in its 2021 World Energy Outlook that up to half of the emissions reductions needed to reach net-zero will need to come from technologies that are not yet commercial, and called for a significant increase in clean energy innovation. Canada is responding to this call to action by collaborating with key stakeholders in the energy and innovation system to support breakthrough technologies and accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technologies needed to reach net zero emissions in an environmentally sustainable way.

SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth

Goal: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

SDG 8 aims to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all to drive progress, and improve living standards. Decent work means opportunities for all with work that is productive, delivers a fair income, has security in the workplace, and provides social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration.

Progress in Canada

Canada’s ambitions for this goal focus on ensuring that Canadians have access to quality jobs and contribute to and benefit from sustainable economic growth. Canada’s prosperity will increasingly depend on developing innovative policies and programs. These will help all participants in the Canadian labour market access good-quality jobs, decent wages and social protections, reducing systemic barriers to employment, and create a culture of innovation, inclusion, skills development and lifelong learning.

Canada was significantly impacted by the effects of pandemic-related restrictions, but data from 2021 shows labour market indicators are trending back towards pre-pandemic levels.

Overall, Canada is pursuing SDG 8 from a strong foundation. With support from a highly-skilled and educated population, Canada enjoys the world’s ninth-largest economy as measured by gross domestic product (GDP). In 2020, GDP per capita in Canada, measuring the country's economic output per person, was just over $58 000^{Footnote 58}.

According to the Labour Force Survey, employment increased by 4.8% in 2021, following the 5.5% decline in 2020. Employment in 2021 was approximately 120,200 (about 0.6%) lower than in 2019 before the pandemic ^{Footnote 59}.

Canada’s unemployment rate is tied to economic growth trends, among other factors. Unemployment was declining during the sustained growth of the 2010 decade but rose sharply when COVID-19 led to workplace closures and restrictions in early 2020. According to the Labour Force Survey, Canada’s unemployment rate was 9.5% in 2020, well above the pre-pandemic rate of 5.7% in 2019. In 2021, the rate went back down to 7.5%, in line with the continuing recovery in the labour market.

Figure 17: Unemployment rate in Canada (excluding territories) ^{Footnote 60}

The proportion of youth (aged 15 to 29) not in education, employment or training (NEET) declined between 2015 and 2019, from 13% to 11%. In 2020 and 2021, this figure increased to 14%. This highlights the impacts of the global pandemic on youth education and labour force participation.

Figure 18: Proportion of youth not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Canada ^{Footnote 61}

Similarly, the rate of involuntary part-time work, which measures people who are working part-time but would like to work full-time and are unable to for a variety of reasons, was higher during the pandemic than in 2019. Contributing factors to involuntary part-time work include caring for children, other personal or family responsibilities, and inability to find full-time work. After reaching a low of 19.5% in 2019, from 26.3% in 2015, the involuntary part-time rate increased to 23.3% in 2020, then settled back to 21.3% in 2021^{Footnote 62}.

Figure 19: Rate of involuntary part-time work in Canada (excluding territories) ^{Footnote 63}

Taking action

Domestic actions

The Government of Canada aims to ensure that Canadians have access to quality jobs and that they are able to contribute and benefit from sustainable economic growth. It is implementing several initiatives aimed at promoting job creation, skills training, employment supports and addressing systemic barriers to labour market participation to support inclusive and robust economic growth.

Across Canada, several organizations are implementing initiatives that support inclusive access to the labour market and sustainable economic growth.

In 2019, the Government of Alberta established the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation (AIOC) to facilitate Indigenous investments and job creation by providing up to $1 billion in loan guarantees to reduce the cost of capital for Indigenous groups, and to support their ability to raise capital to invest in natural resource projects. In 2022, the mandate of the AIOC was expanded to create additional opportunities for Indigenous investment in major agriculture, telecommunications and transportation projects and related infrastructure. The AIOC supports productive activities and decent job creation, and encourages the formalization and growth of Indigenous enterprises and partnerships through access to financial services. To date, the AIOC has backstopped $160 million in loan guarantees to support Indigenous investment in 3 major natural resource projects:

• $93 million to a group of 6 First Nations for the Cascade Power Project
• $40 million to 8 Indigenous communities in the Wood Buffalo region to finance the Northern Courier Pipeline System
• $27 million to Frog Lake First Nation to invest in Strathcona Resources’ Lindbergh Cogeneration facility

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

Internationally, the Government of Canada aims to promote inclusive growth that works for everyone. The International Labour Organization (ILO) plays a central role in implementing the 2030 Agenda, and in particular SDG 8.

Canada, as an active member of the ILO, play a key role in contributing to the advancement of the ILO's Decent Work Agenda, notably the Global Call to Action for a human-centred COVID-19 recovery, and the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC).

Additional details and examples of Government of Canada’s international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Although Canada enjoys a strong economy, as measured by gross domestic product, some issues related to decent work and economic growth stand out. These issues are largely related to unequal distributions of skills and opportunities. Based on the 2021 Labour Force Survey, unemployment rates are higher for specific underrepresented groups. These groups include recent immigrants, Indigenous peoples and racialized groups. Recent immigrants and Indigenous peoples also have lower wages than other groups.

Prior to the pandemic, the unemployment rate among Indigenous peoples was 1.8 times the rate among non-Indigenous population (respectively 10.2% and 5.6% in 2019)^{Footnote 64}, reflecting long-lasting disparities in labour market conditions. The economic recovery has also been more challenging for Indigenous peoples ^{Footnote 65}. In 2021, the unemployment rate among Indigenous peoples was still 1.6 times the rate among non-Indigenous population (respectively 11.6% and 7.4%).

The global pandemic also brought a shift towards online learning and work. This transition to digital services enabled students and workers to continue learning or working throughout the pandemic. However, the reliance on online services also highlighted Canada’s digital divide and the unequal access to technology across the country. Devices and internet access are expensive and beyond the reach of many people.

People with lower income also need to spend a larger share of their income toward telecommunications services. It represents 9.1% of total expenditures for the bottom 20% income-earning households (or households with income less than $32,914). This is compared to 1.8% of total expenditures for the top 20% income-earning households (or households with income more than $132,809)^{Footnote 66}.

SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Goal: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

SDG 9 aims to spur inclusive and sustainable industrialization, together with the innovation and infrastructure that combine to generate jobs and income. It sets ambitions that emphasize the potential benefits of new technologies, more robust international trade and more efficient and sustainable use of resources.

Those include resilient infrastructure, inclusive and sustainable industrialization, especially in least developed countries, and improved access to financial services for small-scale enterprises. It calls for enhanced scientific research and technological capabilities, complemented by greater access to information and communications technology.

Progress in Canada

Canada has achieved some progress when it comes to some of the indicators identified in the CIF for SDG 9, including proportion of Canadians having access to broadband Internet and to the latest generally deployed mobile technology. However, continued investments will be needed in order to make more significant progress in other areas, such as spending on research, development and innovation, including in environment-related technology.

New digital technologies are transforming existing industries, creating new business models, empowering innovation, and driving growth in Canada ^{Footnote 67}. However, Canadian firms tend to be relatively slow adopters of new technology, ranking low compared to other countries with similar economies. Firms in Canada also struggle to scale up to their full potential. This is particularly challenging in an era of increasing global competition for leadership in digital and data-driven sectors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on skills, training, and employment for various age groups and sectors, which has affected workforce planning for Canadian companies. The COVID‑19 pandemic has also disproportionately impacted women entrepreneurs in affected sectors such as retail, hospitality and food services, sectors where women entrepreneurs are most present^{Footnote 68}. In addition to typically operating smaller businesses and having less access to capital, many women business owners also still bear a disproportionate share of domestic work, caregiving and child care.

Canada’s total domestic expenditures on research and development as a percentage of gross domestic product decreased gradually from 1.9% to 1.6% between 2006 and 2019, and increased to 1.7% in 2020.

Figure 20: Gross domestic expenditure on research and development intensity in Canada (excluding territories) ^{Footnote 69}

The proportion of innovation in environment-related technology in Canada remains largely unchanged since 2003. With some fluctuations over the years, this proportion was 9.7% in 2016. With continued investments in clean technology, this proportion is expected to grow.

Figure 21: Proportion of innovation in environment-related technology in Canada ^{Footnote 70}

The number of electric vehicle charging and refuelling stations for clean fuels (for example natural gas and hydrogen) has increased significantly since 2017 to 2018, and reached 837 in 2019 to 2020. Growth for natural gas and hydrogen powered stations remains low. The increase in electric vehicle chargers in Canada is expected to continue with government investments in additional infrastructure to support zero emission vehicle deployment across Canada.

Figure 22: Number of low carbon recharging and refueling stations under development and completed along major highways, and in rural and urban areas across Canada ^{Footnote 71}

Taking action

Domestic actions

The Government of Canada is aiming to enhance skills, jobs and access to sustainable technologies and high-speed internet services to create more opportunities for Canadians and innovative businesses across the country. SDG 9 recognizes that innovation builds the foundation for industries and infrastructure to be major sources of economic strength.

The Government of Quebec’s Sustainable Development Act and the Government Sustainable Development Strategy accelerate the development of innovative practices and solutions aimed at fostering a greener, lower-carbon and socially responsible Quebec.

For example, the Écoleader Fund was created in 2018. This Fund aims to reach out to Quebec businesses from all walks of life. It is supporting them in integrating a wide range of eco-friendly business practices and clean technologies. With an envelope of $18.5 million, the Fund is expected to contribute to the following by March 2023:

• a network of agents present in all regions of Quebec to support businesses by directing them to experts, sources of financing and tools. This will enable them to carry out a project that corresponds to their profile and needs
• a financing program to hire experts to implement eco-responsible practices or to prepare the acquisition of clean technologies
• resources to accelerate the transition to action: blog and directories to quickly find project ideas for the adoption of practices

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

The Government of Canada is promoting cleaner and more resilient economic growth through its international assistance programming. For example, investments in the Closing the Investment Gap initiative, the Global Infrastructure Hub and the Global Infrastructure Facility are helping to build capacity for infrastructure project identification and to develop quality infrastructure projects around the world. Canada also promotes quality infrastructure through its climate finance program in support of developing countries’ transition to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

While addressing challenges arising from the COVID‑19 pandemic has been and continues to be a priority for the Government of Canada, climate change remains a significant threat to Canada's economy. Addressing climate change, specifically the transition to a low-carbon economy, also presents key economic opportunities . Through actions to fight climate change and rebuild a more sustainable and resilient economy, new jobs and opportunities can be created for Canadians by investing in the development and adoption of clean technologies.

SDG 10: Reduce inequalities

Goal: Reduce inequality within and among countries

SDG 10 aims to reduce inequality both at home and abroad and is integral in ensuring that no one is left behind. It looks to address inequalities in income as well as those based on age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion and economic status within a country.

The goal also addresses inequalities related to representation, migration and development assistance. Sustainable development cannot be achieved if individuals and communities are excluded from better access and contribution to social, economic and political life.

Progress in Canada

Canada’s ambition for this goal is that Canadians live free of discrimination and inequalities are reduced. The CIF contains specific measures that help to demonstrate trends and progress.

Canada continued to experience a decline in income inequality in 2019 and 2020. This reduction was accompanied by a rise in median after-tax income in 2020 compared to 2019. Although wages have risen, gender inequality has not improved over recent years when it comes to wages for full-time employees.

The Gini coefficient is a standard way of assessing how equally income is distributed among the population, with 0 representing perfectly equal distribution and 1 representing perfectly unequal distribution. Applied to Canada, the Gini coefficient shows that income inequality among Canadians has generally experienced a slight decline in recent years when measured by adjusted after-tax income, though the decrease from 2019 to 2020 was mostly attributable to the unprecedented and temporary increases in government transfers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figure 23: Gini coefficient of adjusted after-tax income in Canada (excluding territories) ^{Footnote 73}

The decline in income inequality was accompanied by a rise in median after-tax income, which is the after-tax income level earned by those in the middle of 2 different income groups, where half of the population earns more and half of the population earns less. The median after-tax income of Canadians has been steadily rising over the past 2 decades. Between 2000 and 2019, it rose at an average rate of about 1.1% per year above inflation, increasing by more than $11,000. Additionally, adjusted after-tax income of Canadians in the bottom 4 deciles (the bottom 40% of the population) have similarly been rising steadily for more than 2 decades ^{Footnote 74}. In 2020, families in Canada were experiencing disruption in their lives as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many facing job loss and financial uncertainty. Yet the data for 2020 showed a substantial increase in median after-tax income from $62,400 in 2019 to $66,800 in 2020 as a result of increased government transfers during the pandemic. This increase in after-tax income was larger for lower-income individuals and families and was mainly driven by unprecedented and temporary income support programs put in place to assist Canadians impacted by the COVID-19 economic shutdowns ^{Footnote 75}. Specifically, led by the temporary COVID-19 relief programs, the median government transfer for Canadian families and unattached individuals doubled from $8,200 in 2019 to $16,400 in 2020.

Figure 24: Median household after-tax income in Canada (excluding territories) ^{Footnote 76}

Although wages have risen, gender inequality has not improved over recent years when it comes to wages. The median hourly gender wage ratio is an indicator that measures the proportion of a dollar that women earn for every dollar earned by men. Between 2015 and 2021, the gap between men’s and women’s wages has remained steady. The median hourly gender wage ratio for full-time employees returned to 0.88 in 2021, exactly where it was since 2015, after a brief increase to 0.89 in 2020, across all occupations (15 years and over). This means that women continue to earn over 10% less than their male counterparts^{Footnote 77}.

Statistics Canada provided Canadians with an opportunity to share their experiences of discrimination via a new crowdsourcing initiative throughout August 2020. Although the results cannot be generalized to the overall population, over one-quarter of participants reported experiencing discrimination or being treated unfairly in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this initiative, discrimination was reported by 30.8% of female respondents and 24.6% of male respondents. Those identifying as persons with disabilities were nearly twice as likely to report discrimination (48.3%) as persons without disabilities (24.6%)^{Footnote 78}.

The number of police-reported hate crimes increased by 7%, or 129 more incidents, in 2019 compared to the previous year. During this period, the number of police-reported crimes motivated by hatred of a race or ethnicity increased 10%, from 793 to 876. Much of this increase was a result of more hate crimes targeting the Black (+40 incidents) and Arab or West Asian populations ^{Footnote 79}.

Taking action

Domestic actions

Reducing inequalities is at the heart of our commitments to diversity and inclusion and truly leaving no one behind. It is essential in promoting both social and economic growth, a sustainable environment and upholding our commitments to equality and human rights. The Government of Canada is implementing a number of initiatives to address the root causes of inequality and their disproportionate impacts on individuals and groups who face social, political, and economic disadvantages. The Government of Canada also recognizes that Indigenous peoples continue to face significant socio-economic gaps and inequalities compared to non-Indigenous populations and is committed to advancing reconciliation.

More information on the Government of Canada’s approach to advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples can be found in Section 2 of the report covering the Government of Canada’s progress towards creating an enabling environment.

A number of governments and organizations are making contributions towards better understanding inequalities in Canada and help address them. This includes by collecting disaggregated and alternative data or developing initiatives for targeted groups.

For example, the province of New Brunswick’s has partnered with service providers to create a new cooperative governance model for providing employment services to persons with a disability. This responds to stakeholders as documented in the provincial 2020 to 2024 Disability Action Plan for Persons with a Disability: Accountable Path Forward to an Equal Opportunity (DAP). The DAP contains 43 recommendations that reflect the views and priorities of disabilities stakeholders across the province. Following extensive consultation with stakeholders and service providers, New Brunswick is implementing a new employment service delivery model.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

The promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of Canadian efforts abroad. As part of this commitment, Canada champions the values of inclusive and accountable governance, peaceful pluralism and respect for diversity and human rights including the rights of women and refugees. Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy aims to protect and promote the human rights of marginalized groups and those in vulnerable situations, and increase their participation in equal decision-making. It commits to an intersectional and feminist approach to international assistance as the most effective way to address the root causes of poverty and inequality.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Although there has been a decline in Canada’s income inequality, discrimination and racism continue to limit progress and opportunity for marginalized groups and those in vulnerable situations. According to the 2021 report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty, poverty reduction measures and actions need to address inequity, systemic racism and discrimination to make the greatest impact. The report outlines a number of recommendations to address inequality in Canada.

The report focuses on areas where we are falling behind such as food security and housing as well as poverty for Indigenous peoples, immigrants, refugees, ethno-cultural and racialized groups, persons with disabilities, 2SLGBTQQIA++ people and people experiencing homelessness. It calls for more socio-demographic data collection and systems to support decision-making. The report sees an immediate need for the implementation of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the Calls for Justice from Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

On the opportunity side, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples Act (UNDA), which came into force June 2021, requires the Minister of Justice, in consultation and cooperation with Indigenous peoples and with other federal ministers, to prepare and implement an action plan to achieve the objectives of the Declaration. The action plan must include measures to “address injustices, combat prejudice and eliminate all forms of violence, racism and discrimination, including systemic racism and discrimination, against Indigenous peoples and Indigenous elders, youth, children, women, men, persons with disabilities and gender-diverse persons and two-spirit persons (UNDA s. 6(1))”. It is anticipated that items suggested by Indigenous peoples for the action plan will include measures aimed at reducing inequalities experienced by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis in Canada. The finalized action plan is expected to be completed by June 2023.

Furthermore, Statistics Canada’s Disaggregated Data Action Plan aims to increase statistical information for specific population groups, such as women, Indigenous peoples, racialized populations and people living with disabilities. This initiative will lead to increased analytical insights on diverse groups of people, shed light on inequities and promote fairness and inclusion in decision-making.

SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities

Goal: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

SDG 11 aims to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. It reflects that the world is becoming increasingly urbanized. Since 2007, more than half of the world’s population has been living in cities, a share projected to rise to 60% by 2030^{Footnote 80}. Cities and metropolitan areas are powerhouses of economic growth – contributing about 60% of global gross domestic product. However, they also account for about 70% of global carbon emissions and over 60% of resource use. In Canada, 82% of the population lives in urban communities^{Footnote 81} – Canadian cities rank among the most livable in the world^{Footnote 82}. They are places where dynamic economic, cultural and social exchanges converge to support our economic performance and social progress.

Progress in Canada

Canada’s ambition for this goal is to ensure Canadians have access to quality housing, and live in healthy, accessible, and sustainable cities and communities.

Everyone should have a place to call home, yet access to affordable and acceptable housing is becoming increasingly challenging for many Canadians. Housing affordability issues disproportionately impact low-income and equity-seeking groups. Demand for all types of housing has increased, and more housing, including affordable housing, must be created to address housing needs, especially in fast-growing cities. Building more homes and making housing more affordable across the country are priorities for the Government of Canada, and will contribute to inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable communities.

In 2018, 1.6 million households in Canada lived in dwellings considered unsuitable, inadequate or unaffordable, and had incomes that were too low to meet the expenses of an acceptable, local alternative ^{Footnote 83}. More than 74% of these households saw affordability as an issue. An estimated 123,000 individuals accessed an emergency shelter during that year. While some may not have had a permanent residence, others sought shelter for reasons such as domestic violence.

In order to protect the health of Canadians from air pollution, Canada has developed the Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards, which are intended to drive continuous improvement in air quality over time. Canada’s target is for at least 85% of Canadians to be living in areas where air pollutant concentrations are less than or equal to the air quality standards by March 2030.

Progress has been achieved over the last decade. Between 2005 to 2007 and 2011 to 2013, the proportion of Canada's population living in areas meeting air quality standards was around 64%, reaching 70% in 2013 to 2015. It then climbed to 77% for 2 periods (2014 to 2016 and 2015 to 2017), before declining to 68% in 2016 to 2018 ^{Footnote 84}. This decline was largely attributed to large wildfires, in western Canada and the United States, that negatively affected air quality in Alberta and British Columbia for the 2016 to 2018 period.

Figure 25: Percentage of the population living in areas where air pollutants concentrations are less or equal to the 2020 Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards in Canada ^{Footnote 85}

Waste disposal trends in Canada show a shift with increased attention to waste reduction and diversion by households, businesses, institutions, and governments. A positive factor is the increasing access to waste diversion programs such as recycling and composting services. However, Canadian landfills accounted for 23% of Canada’s methane emissions in 2019^{Footnote 86}.

Figure 26: Waste disposal per capita ^{Footnote 87}

Taking action

Domestic actions

The National Housing Strategy Act (NHS Act), passed in 2019, requires the Government of Canada to develop and maintain a national housing strategy that furthers its housing policy, taking into account key principles of a human rights-based approach to housing. The NHS Act also created the National Housing Council, an advisory body that promotes participation and inclusion in the development of housing policy, and the Federal Housing Advocate, whose role is to promote and protect housing rights across Canada. In 2017, the federal government launched Canada’s first ever National Housing Strategy, a 10-year, $72+ billion plan that will give more Canadians a place to call home.

The Addressing Air Pollution Horizontal Initiative (AAPHI) is the cornerstone of the federal government’s efforts to address air pollution. It aims to improve air quality, reduce impacts of air pollution on health and the environment, and provide Canadians with the tools to make informed decisions to reduce their exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollutants. Activities include developing air quality standards to limit the amount of pollution in outdoor air, developing and implementing regulatory and non-regulatory instruments to reduce air pollutant emissions, providing Canadians with information to help them reduce their exposure to air pollutants, and contributing to measures for better indoor air quality (for example, the use of technologies).

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities has multiple projects advancing these objectives. For example, the Green Municipal Fund (GMF) provides local governments with a unique mix of funding, resources, and training they need to build resiliency and create better lives for Canadians. Four new funding streams were developed in 2020 to accelerate deep GHG reductions and are now fully operational:

• Sustainable Affordable Housing (SAH): Deep energy and operating savings in existing and new affordable and community housing ($300 million)
• Community Efficiency Financing (CEF): Establishment of local residential retrofit programs to accelerate deep GHG reductions ($300 million)
• Community Buildings Retrofit (CBR): Energy optimization in community buildings, from audits to capital upgrades ($167 million)
• Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3): 7 endowment funds to fund local GHG reduction programs and projects ($183 million)

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

Canada played an active role in the adoption of the New Urban Agenda at the UN’ Habitat III Summit in Ecuador in 2016. Governments around the world, including Canada, strengthened their commitment to make a meaningful contribution to the sustainable development of towns, cities and human settlements for the next 20 years.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Strategic investments in core public infrastructure can create long-term growth; improve the resilience of communities and transition to a clean growth economy; and, improve social inclusion and the socio-economic outcomes of Canadians ^{Footnote 88}. Strong partnerships across public, private, and non-profit sectors can help ensure Canada’s infrastructure development is sustainable and resilient to a changing climate.

Long-term infrastructure planning will support Canada’s progress to achieve its ambitions under this SDG. Considerations of equity, diversity, and inclusion will also need to be at the core of efforts made toward sustainable cities and communities.

SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

Goal: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

SDG 12 aims to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. It is about doing more and better with less. It is also about decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation and harms to human health, increasing resource efficiency and promoting sustainable lifestyles. This is tied to the concept of a circular economy, a transformative economic model that provides a framework for sustainable management of materials and energy across the economy.

Progress in Canada

Canada aspires to improve resource consumption and related environmental footprints by promoting more sustainable business models and consumer choices, such as the purchase of zero-emission vehicles, and by extending service life of products through value-retention processes, which include remanufacturing, refurbishment, repair and reuse. The Canadian ambition for SDG 12 in the CIF is “Canadians consume in a sustainable manner.” It has 1 target: “Zero-emission vehicles represent 100% of new light duty vehicle sales by 2040.”

Work is underway in Canada to develop strategies to improve sustainability in business operations, sustainable procurement by governments and companies, and commitments to address responsible investment. As a natural resource-rich country, Canada needs a circular economy approach adapted to its unique economic, environmental, and social conditions to ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns.

The Government of Canada is committed to advancing SDG 12 through initiatives that reduce waste (for example in the areas of plastics and food loss and waste), promote sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources (for example forests), and support the sound management of chemicals and waste.

Responsible consumption and production is a shared responsibility across society, and actions are being taken across public, private, and civil society sectors. Canadian consumers are increasingly prioritizing sustainability and resource use in making decisions about the goods and services they purchase. For example, in a Future Consumer Index Price survey completed in 2021^{Footnote 89}, most consumers (61%) said they plan to pay more attention to the environmental impact of what they consume. Consumer choices and behaviours in areas such as food and beverages, clothing, transportation, and resource use are shifting toward consumption that is more economically, environmentally, and socially responsible.

Over the last few years, the proportion of new zero-emission light duty vehicle sales has been rising, reaching 3.5% in 2020, compared to 2.9% in 2019, however overall sales remain low as zero-emission vehicles are relatively new in the Canadian auto market. As governments and the auto sector have identified zero-emission vehicles as a significant way to address Canada’s climate goals and to meet consumer demand for transportation with reduced environmental impacts, it is expected that their market share will continue to rise with continued investments.

Figure 27: Proportion of new light duty vehicle registrations that are zero-emission vehicles in Canada (excluding territories) ^{Footnote 90}

Businesses in Canada are responding to increased consumer demand and preferences for sustainable products by taking action to reduce the material footprint of their goods, services, and operations. They are developing and commercializing innovations that will create opportunities for sustainable economic growth. In 2018, 90% of businesses in Canada had adopted environmental protection activities and management practices. In 2020, 71% of companies listed on the S&P/TSX Composite Index were reporting on sustainability, increasing from 58% in 2019. This indicates that many companies are responding to investors who are asking for these types of disclosures ^{Footnote 91}.

Efforts are being made across the country to limit waste. Waste diversion per capita, the key indicator measuring success in the transition to more sustainable production and consumption, has been increasing slightly since 2010. Actions are being taken to limit waste going to landfills, to improve recycling programs. There is also an increase in the number of web-based platforms to give or sell used clothes, and a range of household and other products.

Taking action

Domestic actions

The Government of Canada is also taking action to make it easier to choose cleaner technologies. For example, the Government has invested more than $1 billion in measures to help increase zero-emission vehicle adoption.

To contribute to the sound management of chemicals, under the Chemicals Management Plan, the Government of Canada assesses and manages risks to human health and the environment posed by chemical substances that can be found in food and food products, consumer products, cosmetics, drugs, drinking water and industrial releases.

Many organizations and institutions are making contributions to advancing responsible consumption and production. For example, McGill University’s Climate & Sustainability Strategy 2020 to 2025 contributes to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda by setting in motion a plan to reduce the University’s carbon and waste footprints. It also encourages the McGill community to participate in creating a more sustainable world. As of February 2022, the Strategy is 33% complete, with the greatest progress occurring in the Procurement, Research and Education, and Community Building categories.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

In September 2021, Canada hosted the World Circular Economy Forum 2021, virtually organized by Canada and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, in collaboration with partner organizations. The Forum attracted over 8,900 people from 160 countries and all 7 continents and focused on the key actions and systemic changes needed in the next 5 years to raise circular ambition globally, to bring in new allies and to introduce new voices into the conversation.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Measuring progress on SDG 12 is a complex task given the breadth of activities that can be captured. Responsible consumption and production spans across multiple areas of work, including resource use in food systems, packaging of food and beverage, clean technology adoption, and sustainable resource use. For example, Canada’s enhanced approach to responsible business conduct includes improved data collection, measurement and reporting to help measure success and identify areas to further support the responsible business practices of Canadian companies abroad. Public, private, and civil society sectors are collectively working toward improved measurement of progress across the diverse components of SDG 12.

Federal action is being taken to collect the data necessary to report on the indicators necessary to track trends such as changes in Canada’s material footprint (the amount of raw materials used in production and consumption), food loss and waste reduction, and increasing waste diversion through recycling, reuse and other approaches.

SDG 13: Climate action

Goal: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

SDG 13 aims for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. It calls on governments to integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning, improve knowledge and awareness of how we can deal with climate change, and strengthen resilience to climate-related events and natural disasters. This SDG is the centrepiece for developed countries to work with and assist developing countries on climate change.

Progress in Canada

Canada’s ambitions under the CIF are to support Canadians to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, and to ensure that Canadians are well equipped and resilient to face the effects of climate change.

Canada’s legally-binding process to set 5-year national emissions-reduction targets is laid out in its national legislation, the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. This Act enshrines in legislation the Government’s commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. It establishes the 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reductions target, as Canada’s Nationally Determined Contribution, of 40% to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030.

In Canada, the impacts of climate change are already being felt, from extreme weather events, increased risk and severity of forest fires, floods, droughts, pest infestations, a reduction in Arctic ice, and an acceleration of glacial melting. Meanwhile, rising sea levels, along with less visible effects such as increased acidity and reduced levels of oxygen in the oceans, are damaging ecosystems and the vitality of traditional industries, such as fisheries.

According to Canada’s Changing Climate Report published in 2019, “the effects of widespread warming are evident in many parts of Canada and are projected to intensify in the future.” Observed warming in Canada is, on average, approximately double the magnitude of global warming, with northern parts of the country experiencing the greatest rates of change ^{Footnote 92}.

Resource-dependent, northern and Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by climate due to factors such as remoteness and inaccessibility, cold climate, aging and inefficient infrastructure, and a reliance on diesel for electricity generation and space heating. As a result, Indigenous and northern communities face many challenges including managing the impacts of a changing climate, such as impacts on health, addressing the high and often fluctuating costs of energy and promoting sustainable development that balance considerations for environmental, social and economic well-being.

To strengthen the global response to climate change, Canada formally ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016, which sets forth a long-term goal of limiting global temperature rise to well below 2° Celsius, and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5° Celsius. Canada recognizes that it needs to deepen reductions of global greenhouse gas emissions, increase adaptation and resilience, and provide support to developing countries to support their efforts toward Paris Agreement temperature goal and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

In August 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published the first volume of its sixth Assessment Report ^{Footnote 93}. Based on new advanced model simulations and analysis methods, IPCC affirms for the first time in the report that “it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.”

Emissions in 2019 were lower than 2005 emissions, with a decrease of 9 Mt CO2 eq or 1.1%. Emissions from public electricity and heat production by utilities showed a large decrease in emissions, 56 Mt CO2 eq or 45%. Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 were 9.3% (69 Mt) lower than they were in 2005, the baseline year against which Canada’s climate efforts are measured under the Paris Agreement. 2020 was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, coinciding with a decrease in emissions of 66 Mt, or 8.9% from 2019 across numerous sectors ^{Footnote 94}.

Figure 28: Greenhouse gas emissions in Canada ^{Footnote 95}

Since 2016, the Government of Canada has made an intensive national effort to put in place the measures needed to significantly reduce emissions by 2030 ^{Footnote 96}, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, while ensuring Canadians and the Canadian economy thrive in the transition to a low-carbon economy. These actions build on other significant efforts in recent years, including submitting an enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) in July 2021.

This enhanced target, to reduce emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030, enshrined in federal legislation, in June 2021, Canada’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Along with an enhanced target, Canada established the Net-Zero Advisory Body to provide the Government of Canada with independent advice with respect to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Significant other commitments were also made in Budget 2021.

Figure 29: Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions pathway to 2030, measured in megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2 eq) ^{Footnote 97}

LULUCF = Land-Use, Land Use Change and Forestry. NBCS = Nature-Based Climate Solutions.

Note: Totals may not add up due to rounding.

These actions build on previous actions such as the strengthened climate plan released in 2020, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, as well as full implementation of the 2016 Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.

Municipal organizations are also factoring climate change adaptation into their decision-making process for selected core infrastructure assets. The proportion of municipal organizations varies depending on the type of asset, whether it is drinking water, stormwater, solid waste, or wastewater. As of 2018, climate change adaptation is defined as changes in processes, practices, and structures to moderate potential damages or to benefit from opportunities associated with climate change ^{Footnote 98}.

Figure 30: Proportion of municipal organization who factored climate change adaptation into their decision-making process ^{Footnote 99}

Taking action

Domestic actions

The Government of Canada is committed to leading the advancement of ambitious action on climate change and clean growth, at home and abroad, by implementing resilient climate-smart policies that address adaptation and mitigation, and initiatives that are grounded in science and evidence-based decision-making. At the same time, provincial and territorial governments in Canada are also taking action to fight climate change. As part of commitments made in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, federal, provincial and territorial governments continue to report annually on progress made in implementing joint and individual climate change actions.

Through its action to respond to climate change, Canada is also committed to working in partnership with Indigenous peoples and supporting Indigenous climate leadership. Mobilizing Indigenous Knowledge in decision-making can increase the viability of Canada’s response to the various dimensions of climate change, including food and water security; resource co-management; the conservation of lands, waters and ice; economic development; community infrastructure; and health and well-being. Creating space for Indigenous-led processes, governance, decision-making, and knowledge systems will be important to the success of Canada’s response to climate change.

In 2021, Canada continued the development of its first National Adaptation Strategy, working with governments, Indigenous peoples, experts, and other key partners. The Strategy aims to advance an equitable, whole-of-society approach to climate preparedness by establishing a shared vision for climate resilience, key priorities for increased collaboration, new actions, and a framework for measuring progress at the national level. Also in 2021, Canada continued adaptation programming, including renewing the federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund with $1.375 billion over 12 years earmarked for structural and natural infrastructure projects to increase resilience at the community level.

Other levels of governments are implementing initiatives to support the fight against climate change across Canada. For example, in October 2021, the Government of Nova Scotia passed the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act (EGCCRA). It will guide Nova Scotia towards sustainable prosperity, over the next 10 years and beyond. In the context of Nova Scotia, this means raising awareness and acting on Netukulimk^{Footnote 100}, sustainable development, circular economy and equity. It also means working in partnership with businesses and Nova Scotians to act on 28 legislated goals that will address:

• climate action
• lands and forestry
• clean air
• clean water
• environmental assessments
• aquaculture
• food
• circular economy and waste
• procurement
• supporting businesses
• youth
• training
• education
• diversity, equity and inclusion

These goals work towards the same outcomes as their SDG counterparts.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

Canada plays an active and constructive role in the UNFCCC. Canada was also a strong voice in the negotiations towards the establishment of the Paris Agreement in 2015 and the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact. Canada also supports climate change action through engagement in other multilateral fora and bilateral programming, among other mechanisms. This includes Canada’s international climate finance commitment, which was doubled in 2021 to $5.3 billion over the next 5 years.

Canada is a strong supporter of the Montreal Protocol, which is the Multilateral Environmental Agreement that has achieved the highest greenhouse gas emissions reductions to date, and stands to avoid up to 0.4° Celsius in warming by 2100 through the implementation of its Kigali Amendment on the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons, powerful greenhouse gases used as coolants.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, will substantially determine the scale of climate change over the next century. As a result, lowering anthropogenic sources of emissions is a priority to help mitigate future climate change. The 2021 IPCC report warns that without deep reductions to emissions, a warming of between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius is expected to be exceeded this century. Canada is specifically experiencing warming at 2 to 3 times the global rate, and this rate is even greater in the North. In 2018, Canada ranked as the 10th highest GHG emitting country/region, although Canada’s share of global emissions is expected to decline as further mitigation measures are taken ^{Footnote 101}.

Canada’s Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) released a retrospective report in 2021 to document Canada’s actions to address climate change^{Footnote 102}. The report sets out lessons learned and opportunities for action. Among others, the continued need for strong leadership and coordination across all orders of government was highlighted. Other lessons focus on the need to reduce dependence on high-emission industries, learning to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate, raising public awareness, and investing in a climate-resilient future.

It is well understood that Canada’s changing climate exacerbates existing challenges and health stressors for Canadians, and is having disproportionate impacts on Indigenous peoples, northern, rural, remote, and coastal communities, younger and older generations, people with health issues or persons with disabilities, low-income groups, women, and those at the intersection of these identities^{Footnote 103}.

Knowledge gaps and data limitations make it difficult to assess and measure how climate change has already affected, and will continue to affect, health equity in Canada. The Government of Canada will continue to apply Gender-Based Analysis Plus to inform the design and implementation of its policies and programs to assess how diverse groups of people may experience both the impacts of climate change and initiatives being implemented to address it.

The Government of Canada has put in place comprehensive plans to reduce emissions, and build resilience. At the same time, it is clear that though these efforts will lead to benefits of a growing low carbon economy, additional efforts will be needed to ensure Canadians benefit equitably from this transition. To that end, the Government of Canada is taking action needed to help limit future climate damage, while reducing the vulnerability of its people to the impacts that can no longer be avoided, and supporting access to the opportunities in the emerging low carbon economy.

SDG 14: Life below water

Goal: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

SDG 14 aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. It recognizes that the health of oceans and seas directly affects rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in our air. SDG 14 aims to achieve results such as significantly reduced marine pollution, more sustainable management, protection and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems, and an end to overfishing.

Progress in Canada

Canada’s ambition for this goal is to protect and conserve marine areas and sustainably manage ocean fish stocks, while continuing to support sustainable economic growth in the ocean space. As a country that has the world’s longest coastline, the goals of SDG 14, and healthy marine environments, are particularly relevant to Canada. Aside from their immense environmental importance, Canada’s marine and coastal areas support numerous jobs, livelihoods, and communities. The blue economy in Canada contributed approximately $31.7 billion in gross domestic product in 2021 and accounted for close to 300,000 jobs ^{Footnote 104}.

Canada continues to make progress on marine conservation, and has exceeded its commitment to conserve 10% of its marine and coastal areas by 2020. Canadians see the importance of the health of our oceans and the species in them. They have witnessed the impacts of declines of fish stocks such as cod in the Atlantic and salmon in the Pacific as well as pollution issues such as ocean plastics. More generally, rising sea levels, increasing water temperatures, ocean acidification, and thinning sea ice have impacts on both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities along our coasts.

The approach to advancing this SDG must take into account a number of interconnected variables, such as competing resource demands, human population growth, climate and environmental change, scientific and technological advances, international responsibilities and obligations, shifting economic paradigms, traditional funding of high value/high visibility species, and societal demands. These factors will need to be better understood to ensure the long-term viability of marine resources, and health of marine ecosystems.

Canada has committed to conserve 25% of its oceans by 2025, and 30% by 2030. Since 2015, this proportion has increased significantly, from 1% to almost 14% in 2020.

Figure 31: Proportion of marine and coastal areas conserved in Canada^{Footnote 105}

Comparing harvest levels of key fish stocks with established, science-based harvest limits offers 1 measure of fishing pressure on wild fish stocks. From 2012 to 2020, the percentage of stock harvested above approved levels has been consistently low. By 2027, Canada aims to have all key fish and invertebrate stocks managed and harvested at or below a removal reference or other approved harvest level.

Figure 32: Proportion of fish stocks that are sustainably harvested in Canada ^{Footnote 106}

Initiatives to reduce marine pollution, including from land-based activities, complement other efforts to sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems, and to address ocean acidification. They all build on Canadian progress over recent decades to deal with pressures on ocean fisheries and the health of the marine environment.

Taking action

Domestic actions

In 2021, the Government of Canada made a historic investment to protect the health of our oceans, including close to $1 billion in funding over 5 years to reach ambitious marine conservation targets. By taking a whole-of-government approach, these targets will be achieved through the establishment and effective management of marine protected areas and other area-based conservation measures, including marine refuges. As of the end of 2021, 13.9% of Canada’s coastal and marine areas were recognized as conserved through a network of marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures ^{Footnote 107}.

The Government of Canada works with Indigenous peoples to establish and manage marine protected areas to ensure Aboriginal rights and title are respected, given their unique knowledge of and relationship with their environment .

Through the $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan, Canada is creating new governance arrangements with Indigenous peoples and local communities in marine planning, monitoring and protection activities. For example, Canada and 13 Indigenous communities and organizations across the country partnered for a pilot project to test a new web-based system that increases access to a range of maritime information, including accurate and nearly real-time marine traffic information to increase monitoring capacity.

Canada has also focused research on the impact on Canadians’ quality of life, especially in coastal communities, from dangers such as marine pollution, and the introduction of aquatic invasive species from marine sources.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

Canada plays an active role in supporting international negotiations and initiatives aimed at conserving and sustainably using our oceans. For example, since 2018, Canada continues to champion the Ocean Plastics Charter, a global framework that asks endorsees to take a resource-efficient and lifecycle management approach to tackling plastic pollution. To date, almost 30 governments and over 70 businesses and organizations from around the globe endorsed the Charter. To advance the objectives of the Charter, Canada is delivering $100 million to support developing countries in their efforts to reduce plastic pollution and waste, spark innovation, and support public-private partnerships.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Our oceans have all experienced pronounced physical and biological changes in recent years due to climate change, biodiversity loss, and human activity. Temperatures are rising, habitats are degrading, species distributions are shifting, and food webs are being transformed.

Pollution of our oceans comes from several sources. Contaminants and debris from the land require local and regional actions. For chemicals transported across long distances in the atmosphere, or marine debris moving around in the sea, global actions are more relevant.

Some of the main challenges of making progress on SDG 14 are reversing the decline in ocean and coastal habitat health, and restoring the health and sustainability of living marine resources. To achieve this, international cooperation, governance, and coordination, through legal and institutional frameworks, will be of primary importance.

SDG 15: Life on land

Goal: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

SDG 15 aims to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. The 2030 Agenda sets a number of targets for protecting the planet from degradation, including through the sustainable management of land and water ecosystems and combatting poaching and trafficking of protected species.

Progress in Canada

Canada has 3 ambitions under SDG 15:

• Canada ensures all species have healthy and viable populations
• Canada conserves and restores ecosystems and habitat
• Canada sustainably manages forests, lakes and rivers

Canada is home to a diverse range of terrestrial ecosystems, from the High Arctic tundra of Nunavut to the Carolinian zone ecosystems in Ontario’s most southern regions. Canada has many globally significant ecosystems in its boreal and deciduous forests, prairies and other natural environments across the country. It has made progress to increase conserved terrestrial areas, paramount to safeguard biodiversity for present and future generations, by reducing stresses from human activities.

An estimated 80,000 species exist in Canada, of which 30,000 have been assessed to determine their risk of disappearing from Canada. Approximately 80% of 34 different taxonomic groups in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of Canada assessed to date have been ranked as secure or apparently secure. However, the remaining 20% fall within the categories of vulnerable, imperiled, or critically imperiled^{Footnote 109}.

Healthy wildlife populations are an important part of biodiversity. In Canada, some species that have experienced population declines, or are naturally rare, are now in danger of disappearing. Recovery or management actions are put in place to protect wildlife species that are identified as being at risk and are in danger of disappearing. Ensuring the successful recovery or management of a species at risk can be a long-term process involving various measures to stop or reverse the decline in the species, and improve the likelihood that it will persist in the wild. Of the 141 species at risk for which trends could be determined by May 2021, 58 species (41%) show progress toward their population and distribution objectives, 16 species (11%) show mixed evidence, and 67 species (48%) do not show progress^{Footnote 110}.

Canadians, their governments, and civil society have a long tradition of land protection. Terrestrial area conserved has increased by 68% in the last 20 years and by 11% in the last 5 years. As of the end of 2021, approximately 13.5% of terrestrial areas and inland water have been conserved or protected in Canada, through a network of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures. Canada has committed to conserving 25% of its lands and inland waters by 2025, working toward 30% by 2030.

All lands and waters, whether formally protected or not, are relevant to the health of biodiversity in Canada. Beyond conserved areas, slightly less than half of forested Canada’s land area^{Footnote 111} is certified under sustainable forest management standards established by the Canadian Standards Association, Forest Stewardship Council, and Sustainable Forestry Initiative. These processes identify well-managed forest areas that benefit from forest management planning and forestry practices that meet independent standards. The proportion of forest management certifications has remained more or less stable in the last 5 years.

Figure 33: Proportion of forest area under an independently verified forest management certification scheme in Canada ^{Footnote 112}

Taking action

Domestic actions

In 2021, the Government of Canada invested $2.3 billion over 5 years to enable Canada to reach its goal of conserving 25% of its lands and oceans by 2025, while strengthening the protection of species at risk and advancing reconciliation through Indigenous leadership in conservation.

The Government of Canada, with support from provincial and territorial governments, was the first industrialized country to ratify the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and has been the host of the Convention’s Secretariat since it was established in 1996. Cooperative work by all levels of government in Canada, with input from Indigenous groups and others, is advancing biodiversity conservation and ecosystem health in Canada. For example, the Government of Canada is working to establish 10 new national parks and 10 new national marine conservation areas (NMCAs) in the next 5 years, working with Indigenous communities on co-management agreements for these national parks and NMCAs.

Subnational governments also contribute in different ways toward the achievement of SDG 15. For example, the Prince Edward Island’s Greening Spaces Program provides high-quality trees, shrubs and seedlings in support of a variety of social, environmental and economic ventures designed to create environmentally friendly green spaces. The program integrates ecosystem and biodiversity values into local planning and development processes. Through the program, the provincial government is also able to improve the genetic traits of Acadian Forest tree species. In 2020 to 2021, the Greening Spaces Program provided 25,000 trees and shrubs for planting by volunteer and community groups to:

• diversify public properties
• buffer prevailing winds
• provide shade
• reduce noise
• protect lands along streams and rivers
• return abandoned farmland to forest cover
• control soil erosion
• provide wildlife habitats
• create outdoor learning areas (such as arboreta or tree and shrub nurseries)

Participant groups included:

• 25 Watershed Associations
• 7 Schools, Kindergartens and Daycares
• 6 Church and Community Groups
• 16 General Category Users including Habitat for Humanity, Stars for Life, the Island Nature Trust, and the United Way

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

The Government of Canada is working with other Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity to develop a post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that is expected to be adopted in 2022 ^{Footnote 112a}. Following the adoption of a new Framework, Canada will develop a domestic implementation plan covering all aspects of nature conservation and sustainable use, in collaboration with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments, and other partners and stakeholders.

Recognizing that urgent action is needed to address the interconnected crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, which disproportionately affect the poorest and those in vulnerable situations, the Government of Canada announced that it will allocate at least 20% – or more than $1 billion – of its $5.3 billion climate finance commitment to projects that leverage nature-based climate solutions and projects that contribute biodiversity co-benefits in developing countries^{Footnote 113}.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Human pressures on the environment are increasing and are affecting the planet’s biodiversity. There is mounting evidence that human demands on natural systems are accelerating, and could be undermining the stability of these systems^{Footnote 114}. These pressures include our urban centres, agricultural lands, transport networks, and the people who are ultimately responsible for all economic output^{Footnote 115}.

There is a growing need to find a sustainable balance between exploitation and environmental conservation of terrestrial systems. This ought to be supported by a combination of stringent legislation and properly aligned incentives to conserve biodiversity and the quality and viability of natural ecosystems, and promote sustainable land use and wildlife harvesting practices.

Reforestation will have important implications in meeting the global challenge of mitigating climate change, ending habitat decline, and ensuring food security. Available land management options will help to capture greenhouse gases, and offer clear advantages to increase the viability of native biodiversity.

SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

Goal: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

SDG 16 aims to achieve peaceful, just and inclusive societies and is foundational to the achievement of all SDGs. People and communities can more easily engage in the actions necessary to achieve the SDGs when they feel a sense of personal safety, enjoy fundamental freedoms and have opportunities to participate in public life.

This SDG includes many longer-term goals in terms of:

• reducing violence
• promoting access to justice
• building an inclusive society free from racism
• ensuring more effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions

It addresses challenges such as terrorism, organized crime, and corruption. By 2030, the goals under this SDG are to:

• significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows
• strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets
• combat all forms of organized crime
• provide legal identity for all, including birth registration

Progress in Canada

Canada ranks among one of the most effective legal systems in the world, based on criteria such as independent judges, well-trained lawyers, predictable laws, and an open court process^{Footnote 116}.

In Canada, constitutional responsibility for the administration of justice is shared among federal, provincial and territorial governments and the justice system. However, achieving equal access to justice for everyone requires collaboration from a broader range of partners and stakeholders within various sectors, including justice, health, social services, and education.

Canada’s ambitions for this goal are to ensure that Canadians are safe and secure, in person and online; have equal access to justice; and are supported by effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions. A key focus of these efforts is to build a more inclusive society free from racism and discrimination.

While most Canadians reported feeling very safe or reasonably safe when walking alone in one’s neighborhood after dark, women were less likely to feel this way (83%) than men were (92%) in 2019.

Figure 34: Proportion of Canadians who reported feeling safe walking alone in their neighborhood after dark in Canada ^{Footnote 117}

After 5 years of increases, police-reported crime, as measured by the overall Crime Severity Index, decreased by 8% between 2019 and 2020. In contrast, the number of police-reported hate crimes in Canada increased by 37% during the first year of the pandemic, rising from 1,951 incidents in 2019 to 2,669 in 2020 ^{Footnote 118}.

Figure 35: Crime severity index in Canada ^{Footnote 119}

The incidence of cyber-crime has been on the rise in recent years. It was still trending upward in the first year of the pandemic (2020), albeit at a slower pace. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in Canadians increasingly turning to the Internet to stay connected with others and to facilitate work, school, shopping and health care, increasing the risk for different types of criminal offences related to the Internet.

Figure 36: Incidence of cyber-crime ^{Footnote 120}

Over-representation of Indigenous peoples in correctional settings remains one of Canada’s most pressing human rights issues. For instance, in 2020 to 2021, Indigenous adults accounted for 31% of admissions to provincial/territorial custody and 33% of admissions to federal custody, far higher than their share of approximately 5% of the Canadian adult population ^{Footnote 121}.

Taking action

Domestic actions

The Government of Canada seeks to advance all aspects of SDG 16 through a range of initiatives, including efforts to prevent and address gender-based violence, and improve access to justice for Indigenous peoples.

Organizations like the Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters (Action Committee) bring people from all corners of Canada's justice system together to support SDG 16. Their project “From JDGs to SDGs: Understanding the International Context of Access to Justice in Canada” consisted of a series of regional seminars to raise awareness on the SDGs within the Access to Justice (A2J) community. The A2J community is a collaborative entity made up of formal and informal legal institutions, academics, professional organizations, civil society, and the private sector.

During the seminars hosted by the organization, civil society organizations, particularly those representing marginalized groups and others in vulnerable situations were able to bring their perspectives to the discussion. It was also an opportunity to learn about the SDGs as a framework for greater impact.

The project:

• increased awareness of the SDGs and engaged A2J actors in the 2030 Agenda
• identified local points of action for collaborative efforts to advance the 2030 Agenda
• expanded the network of people and organizations engaged in collaborative efforts to improve access to justice, thereby advancing Agenda 2030
• recorded local and Indigenous knowledge on the needs, ideas and approaches to advance A2J and general equitable development aligned with the SDGs

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

The Government of Canada supports SDG 16 objectives and targets on peace, justice, and inclusive institutions through international assistance guided by Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy. International assistance programming focused on inclusive governance promotes and protects human rights; increases equitable access to a functioning justice system; enhances participation in public life; and ensures that public services work for everyone. Adopting a human rights-based approach helps support the fulfillment of Agenda 2030’s commitment to leave no one behind.

In December 2021, as part of its submission to the Summit for Democracy, the Government of Canada committed to supporting a people-centred approach to justice to advance equality, legal empowerment, and a better understanding of the legal needs of all the people of Canada. These efforts are advanced in partnership with other countries and international organizations including the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Organization of American States, the Quintet and Five Eyes, and the OECD.

Similarly, Canada is active in international efforts such as the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, and is the leading donor on this issue, with 11.3% of Canada’s official development assistance contributing to programs to end violence against children. Canada is a member and funding partner, through the Inclusion, Diversity and Human Rights fund, of the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, a multi-stakeholder coalition advancing SDG 16 and the 2030 Agenda.

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Timely access to a fair and effective justice system, as well as access to information, resources and informal services, will help support the wellbeing of individuals and communities. Various factors can be barriers to access to justice, including lack of awareness of legal rights and options, inability to access culturally relevant supports in a traditional language, the absence of acknowledgement of the role trauma may play in an individual’s life, insufficient financial means, or discrimination against marginalized groups. Initiatives to advance SDG 16 are addressing these challenges through research, funding programs, and partnerships.

Applying an intersectional Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) lens to federal initiatives also supports SDG 16 ambitions by promoting consideration of gender and diversity impacts in order to better meet the needs of diverse groups. Greater transparency, accountability, and access to information help to strengthen Canadians’ faith in the justice system and improve access to justice.

The contributions of governments, Indigenous law organizations, courts, legal professionals, legal aid and public legal education and information organizations, academics, civil society, and front-line service providers are all critical to advancing a people-centered approach to justice. They will need to be continuously supported and strengthened to achieve the full realization of SDG 16.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals

Goal: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

SDG 17 aims to revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development in support of the ambitious goals of the 2030 Agenda. A successful development agenda requires inclusive partnerships – at the global, regional, national and local levels – built upon a shared vision, common principles and values, with people and the planet at the center. Bringing together national governments, the international community, civil society, the private sector and other actors, SDG 17 targets a broad range of issues, including finance, science and technology, trade, partnerships, data, and transparency.

Progress in Canada

Canada’s ambition for this goal is to foster collaboration and partnerships to advance the SDGs, recognizing the catalytic potential of SDG 17 to help accelerate progress on all other SDGs. Canada is seeking to increase cross-sectoral collaboration domestically and abroad, including through its participation in multilateral fora and delivery of international assistance.

Everyone can participate and benefit from turning the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into reality. This is true for all levels of government, Indigenous peoples, civil society, the private sector and our academic, non-profit and volunteer communities.

To capture progress, Canada has identified two indicators as part of the CIF. The first indicator has a domestic focus, and tracks the number of open datasets published by the Government of Canada. The second indicator is global in focus, measuring progress through the total official support for sustainable development (see the international section of this chapter).

Open data is defined as structured data that is machine-readable, freely shared, used and built on without restrictions^{Footnote 123}. In a time of constant change, open data is an important mechanism for enhancing transparency, and ensuring evidence-based dialogue and collaboration between governments and civil society.

In Canada, open data helps foster multi-stakeholder collaboration to better understand and contribute to solving public challenges. Open data also provides critical information to help achieve the SDGs and to measure progress in meeting them. These insights can inform priorities and help determine the most effective paths for driving innovation and action to resolve issues. The quality and relevance of available open datasets is of particular importance for informed decision-making.

All levels of government are working to make data more available to the public. As of December 2021, 10 provinces and 2 territories have Open Government programs, and 62 municipalities have open data portals in Canada ^{Footnote 124}. Open data from 6 provinces and territories and 13 municipalities has been integrated at the national level for easier search and discovery. At the federal level, since the Open Government Portal was relaunched in June 2013, more than 80,000 datasets have been published. Following a series of consolidations of small data sets into more comprehensive series, individuals can now access more than 30,000 open data and information assets online.

Figure 37: Number of open datasets published by the Government of Canada ^{Footnote 125}

Taking action

Domestic actions

In Moving Forward Together: Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy, launched in February 2021, the Government of Canada outlines a plan to foster an environment for ongoing dialogue and participation so that all Canadians can contribute to building a better world. It involves collaboration across all levels of government and with Indigenous peoples, civil society, the private sector, academia, international partners, and other relevant stakeholders. Through the launch of regular webinars dedicated to the SDGs to foster engagement and promote exchanges of knowledge and experience with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the Government is connecting numerous partners on a regular basis to foster collaboration and partnerships for the goals.

In Canada, many organizations implement partnership initiatives that connect sectors, audiences and geographies, and foster synergies between stakeholders. For example, the Canada SDG Youth Awards, led by the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation, is a new national youth-led initiative recognizing the contributions of young people across Canada towards achieving the United Nations SDGs. The awards were funded by a 1-year grant from the Government of Canada’s SDG Funding Program.

The Canada SDG Youth Awards were created by-youth-for-youth, with 5 categories of awards, spanning all 17 SDGs:

1. Environmental sustainability and climate action
2. Community health and well-being
3. Social justice and inclusivity
4. Education and economic development
5. Innovation and system change-making

The awards are not owned by one organization, but are recognized as an all-of-society national collaborative effort, and are housed online.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

International actions

Canada is working through innovative and inclusive partnerships, collaboration across public, private and civil society sectors, and support for local innovators, including women and girls, to increase the effectiveness of international assistance in support of the SDGs. Through these partnerships, the Government of Canada also contributes actively to global efforts to eradicate poverty and build a more inclusive, prosperous and peaceful world. Canada deployed $10.8 billion in Total Official Support for Sustainable Development in 2020, of which $1.7 billion supported SDG 17, to help improve the lives of billions of people, amplify the voices of the marginalized, and address inequality around the globe ^{Footnote 126}.

Figure 38: Canada's support to the Sustainable Development Goals ^{Footnote 127}

According to OECD data, Canada’s official development assistance represented 0.31% of gross national income in 2020. The percentage is similar to the average for Development Assistance Committee countries (0.32%).

Examples of other international initiatives can be found in Annex B.

Challenges and opportunities

Partnerships require an inclusive perspective to ensure reaching those furthest behind and those at risk of being left behind. This includes giving a voice and a role to marginalized groups at risk of being overlooked in the implementation of the SDGs, such as people living in poverty and other vulnerable situations, including children, youth, persons with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS, older persons, Indigenous peoples, refugees and internally displaced persons, and migrants. Geopolitical tensions, insufficient financing, trade barriers, and systemic constraints can undermine the mobilization of resources, and the space needed to create partnerships.

To ensure evidence-based decision-making, it is critical to have access to high-quality, open, timely, and disaggregated data, and to support inclusive collaboration and partnerships. Canada exerts sustained efforts to provide more data and higher quality data, and to disseminate it to Canadians. The Statistics Canada Disaggregated Data Action Plan will ensure that Canadians have access to high quality granular data. In addition, there is a focus on advancing the multi-stakeholder, whole-of-society approach to achieving the SDGs. Globally, there are still opportunities to further develop the capabilities of organizations to obtain and use disaggregated data, and to support more inclusive engagement approaches to support decision-making.

Lastly, the pandemic further demonstrated how interconnected countries, communities, and socio-economic issues are. It reminded the global community that it is critical, more than ever, to strengthen multilateralism and partnerships to tackle pressing issues. For the 2030 Agenda, Partnerships offers this opportunity to leverage the interconnections between the 17 goals to enhance and accelerate progress towards the goals.

Fostering leadership, governance and policy coherence

Federal leadership

Canada is committed to realizing the 2030 Agenda at home and abroad and to accelerating progress on the SDGs throughout the UN Decade of Action.

This leadership is demonstrated by Prime Minister Trudeau, who is co-chairing the UN Secretary General’s SDG Advocates Group, alongside Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, for the next 2 years (2022 to 2024) ^{Footnote 128}. The SDG Advocates Group works to raise global awareness of the SDGs and the need for accelerated action by using their respective platforms. As co-chair, the Prime Minister will work with Prime Minister Mottley and the other members of the Advocates Group to raise awareness and support for the SDGs, and advocate for priority issues including climate action, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, access to education, and diverse and inclusive partnerships to achieve the SDGs.

At the federal level, Employment and Social Development Canada leads the coordination of Canada’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda for the SDGs. A Sustainable Development Goals Unit was established in 2018 within the department, and leads efforts on the implementation of Moving Forward Together and Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda.

Global Affairs Canada is also working to advance the SDGs with a broad range of country partners and within international fora. Canada is implementing the 2030 Agenda through its Feminist Foreign Policy, including Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy and its inclusive approach to trade. Global Affairs Canada also supports coherence between international and domestic efforts to support the advancement of the SDGs, recognizing that the Goals go beyond International Assistance, or a traditional international development mindset.

Statistics Canada also plays a key role both domestically and internationally on the SDGs. As a founding member and co-chair of the UN Inter-Agency Expert Group on SDG Indicators, Statistics Canada has worked diligently to ensure the development of a robust GIF that measures the 169 global targets. Statistics Canada is also the focal point for coordinating and reporting on Canada’s data for the GIF as well as the CIF.

All other federal ministers and departments/agencies are responsible for integrating the 2030 Agenda into their work and advancing the SDGs that fall within their respective areas of responsibility. Federal departments and agencies should consider the goals and principles of the 2030 Agenda when developing and implementing federal programs and initiatives. They are also responsible for reporting to Canadians on how their programs and initiatives contribute to advancing the SDGs that fall within their mandate.

Fostering leadership, policy coherence and governance

The Government of Canada is fostering policy coherence by helping departments to coordinate their efforts on the SDGs. Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda (FIP) was released in June 2021. The Plan enhances federal coordination and leadership to advance the SDGs. It also provides a governance structure, to better advance the SDGs, notably by identifying departmental leads.

Leads and co-leads for each of the 17 SDGs. Key contributing federal departments and agencies are also identified for each SDG.

Horizontal leads for 3 cross-cutting objectives of leaving no one behind, advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, making a positive impact through Canada’s international implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Horizontal leads help all departments and agencies in ensuring that the cross-cutting objectives are being considered in their work to advance the SDGs.

Horizontal leads for enabling functions to successfully implement the 2030 Agenda. This includes, the central agencies, which are collectively responsible for advancing policy coherence and ensuring that the SDGs are considered, accounted for, and reflected in the Government of Canada’s priorities. It also includes Statistics Canada’s, the National Statistical Office, enabling function with respect to data and reporting.

Other mandatory federal processes, such as the consideration of GBA Plus in all federal policies, programs, and initiatives, further support policy coherence and leaving no one behind.

Efforts have also been made to strengthen institutional mechanisms to support policy coherence across each federal department. For instance, the SDGs have been integrated into the annual Departmental Plans (DP) and Departmental Results Reports (DRR). These 2 documents are key components of the government’s annual planning and resource management cycle. They are tabled in Parliament, and made available to all Canadians. They describe departmental priorities, strategic outcomes, programs, expected results and the resources needed and used to achieve those results. For the latest DPs and DRRs, federal departments and agencies are reporting on their contributions towards advancing the SDGs. This also ensures consistent and transparent reporting on the SDGs.

The Government is also integrating the 2030 Agenda in major policies, such as the Quality of Life Framework, introduced in 2021. The Quality of Life Framework sets out the government’s approach for taking into consideration quality of life impacts into budget and decision making. Another example is the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, which addresses Federal Sustainable Development from an environmental perspective. Other examples of federal policies, strategies, initiatives and programs that incorporate and align with the SDGs include:

• Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy
• Canada’s First Poverty Reduction Strategy – Opportunity for All
• The Food Policy for Canada
• Gender Results Framework

The Government of Canada also uses its presence in international fora, including the G7, G20, OECD and UN, to advance the SDGs globally. This is done through references to SDGs in Ministerial statements, outcome documents and communications products.

Canada is also a member of the OECD Informal Network of National Focal Points for Policy Coherence. The network is open to all OECD country members to share information and best practices to strengthen the capacity of governments to implement and monitor coherent and integrated policies for sustainable development.

Contributions from partners and stakeholders

Subnational actors are also demonstrating local leadership on the SDGs. Some have started using the SDGs to frame their governance structure. Others are developing tools to help localize the SDGs. This contributes to the creation of an enabling environment for action at the local and regional level.

Not-for-profit organizations have also started to incorporate the SDG framework. For example, the United Way Centraide Canada (UWCC) notes that the SDGs provides an opportunity to frame their work in a common, global language driven by the SDG agenda, targets and indicators. The organization has started to map their investments to the SDGs. This exercise has been helpful in bridging the gap between theoretical understanding of the SDGs and their implementation on the ground.

Through a number of activities, including awareness raising activities, training, and organizational alignment with the SDGs, UWCC has:

• strengthened understanding of SDGs within the organization and its ability to integrate SDG within their language
• improved its capacity to articulate the SDG frameworks and engage stakeholders
• increased its ability to identify populations at greater risk of being left behind as we strive to achieve the SDGs

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

Raising awareness, engagement and partnerships

Moving Forward Together aims to create and foster an enabling environment for ongoing dialogue, participation, and collaboration to encourage all those living in Canada to learn about the SDGs and take action in their own ways to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

The Government of Canada regularly engages with Canadians, stakeholders and partners on their experience in implementing the SDGs. This is done through:

• high-level outreach
• leveraging federal-provincial-territorial fora
• bilateral engagements with provinces and territories
• outreach to municipalities and local levels of government

Since its launch in 2019, the SDG Funding Program has supported 130 projects for approximately $22 million, including projects that aim to:

• increase public awareness of the SDGs
• support new partnerships to advance action
• identify and implement innovative initiatives to drive progress on the SDGs

To enable engagement and promote the exchange of knowledge and experience with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the Government of Canada launched the SDG Action Networking Series in January 2022. Through regular webinars, the series brings together federal departments and agencies, partners and stakeholders from the provinces and territories, municipalities, civil society organizations, for-profit organizations, Indigenous organizations, and academia. The speakers share their perspectives, best practices, and lessons learned on their contributions towards implementing the 2030 Agenda and achieving the SDGs.

Internationally, Canada also continues to engage international partners on the 2030 Agenda. Canada participated in the 2021 UN High-level Political Forum. Canada was represented by a diverse and inclusive delegation reflective of the diverse nature of Canadian society. It included representatives from all levels of government, Indigenous peoples, civil society, academia, youth and the private sector. During the Forum, Canada delivered a side event focusing on the Care Economy. The discussion explored social barriers to decent work in the care economy; the burden of unpaid work on women and girls; gaps exposed by the pandemic; and, ways to facilitate women’s equal participation in the economy including, through investments in early learning and child care and in supportive care.

The Government of Canada, through Global Affairs Canada, works in partnership with a broad range of partners and stakeholders supporting a variety of networks and programs to:

• facilitate knowledge-sharing
• increase local capacity for data generation
• promote global education on international development
• raise awareness on the SDGs

Canada also supports meaningful and active engagement with civil society, and continues to be a strong advocate for fostering a safe enabling environment in which civil society can thrive around the world. These priorities are affirmed in Canada’s Policy for Civil Society Partnerships for International Assistance: A Feminist Approach, which outlines Canada’s commitment to working in cooperation with civil society.

Canada is also an active member of the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA). The IDIA is a multi-stakeholder platform of public and philanthropic international development funding organizations working together to explore and promote innovation as a means to help achieve sustainable development.

Furthermore, Statistics Canada plays a leading role internationally for the measurement of the SDGs. As a founding member and now Co-chair of the UN Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDG), Canada was instrumental in the development of the GIF and the 2020 Framework review. Other work of the Group included leading the work on the interlinkages and intersectionality of SDGs.

Statistics Canada is also a founding member of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Steering Group on Statistics for SDGs. This group aims to advance the robust measurement of SDG data and statistics. This group has developed the Roadmap on Statistics for SDGs. The roadmap provides guidance to those working in national statistical systems and other stakeholders on how to best navigate the complex task of measuring the achievement of the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda. By doing so, it strives to strengthen reliable data-based national information systems and support efforts to achieve the Goals.

Raising awareness, engagement and partnerships through communications channels

To raise public awareness and foster broader partnerships, the federal government has leveraged a number of communications channels. An example is the creation of a dedicated webpage to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda under the title “Canada takes action on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals”. This website serves as a hub for knowledge and resource sharing, promoting key federal government initiatives and disseminating key publications.

From February 2021 to December 2021, this web page was visited almost 30,000 times^{Footnote 129}. Moving Forward Together had almost 10,000 views and over 3,000 downloads. The Federal Implementation Plan had over 7,000 views and was downloaded over 2,500 times.

The Government of Canada has also leveraged social media as an outreach platform in order to further raise awareness and engagement for the 2030 Agenda. This was done through:

• a reinforced and constant presence on select platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, to raise awareness and inspire action. In 2021, the ‘Canada 2030 Agenda’ twitter published 253 original tweets and 109 retweets from key partners and stakeholders, and 290 posts on the ‘Canada 2030 Agenda’ Facebook page, reaching over 97,000 users
• the use of established hashtags, such as #Can2030Agenda and #SDG, to increase reach and build engagement around the SDGs
• continued collaboration with key partners to develop clear, compelling and relatable messages to raise awareness of SDG-related content and to reach new audiences

Contributions from partners and stakeholders

Across Canada, a number of projects are being carried out by civil society to raise awareness for the SDGs. Many projects are leveraging that awareness strategically to create and foster partnerships and networks to move the SDGs forward. Diverse stakeholders are coming together, learning from each other and seeing the links across their interests through an SDG perspective. Networks are emphasizing that no one must be left behind and valuing the voices and perspectives of people from various groups. Projects are also testing new and innovative approaches to action for sustainable development.

For example, a group of University of Calgary students formed the Sustainable Development Goal Alliance (SDGA) in 2017. Guided by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this student-run and community-centered alliance of more than 20 student sustainability clubs works closely with students and faculty to provide programs, events, and support to raise awareness and action for the 17 SDGs.

The SDGA hosts an annual networking and SDG conference, the SDG Summit. The SDG summit connects students with local stakeholders to explore the interaction between the SDGs and to develop innovative solutions to local and global issues.

As well, many of the student projects that the SDGA coordinates include projects aimed at celebrating the work of women leading responsible consumption initiatives. Additionally, the SDGA hosts an annual speaker series titled Storytelling the SDGs, and the Sustainability Leadership Innovation Program. This Program matches students with a mentor and funding to bring their SDG project to life.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

Accountability, transparency, measurement and reporting

In 2021, the Government of Canada took a number of critical steps to reinforce accountability, transparency and reporting mechanisms, notably through the release of 2 key documents:

• Moving Forward Together: Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy:
  • emphasizes the importance of strong, shared accountability and transparency to achieve the 2030 Agenda
  • highlights the need for regular reporting on progress to Canadians, and publicly available data on the SDGs
  • commits to report on progress towards the implementation of Moving Forward Together, and advancing each of the SDGs
• Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda:
  • contributes to enhancing accountability by establishing federal leads and co-leads for each of the 17 SDGs
  • identifies federal leads for cross-cutting themes cross-cutting themes for Canada’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda, including leaving no one behind, advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and Canada’s international efforts

Strong measurement

Measurement is a key component of the domestic implementation and essential for monitoring progress towards the SDGs. The key to success in measuring Canada’s trajectory towards the SDGs is to rely on statistically robust data. Publicly available and disaggregated data are also important mechanisms for enhancing transparency. Publicly available data also ensures evidence-based dialogue and collaboration between governments and all stakeholders.

To strengthen transparency and reporting, Statistics Canada has developed and is developing a number of initiatives.

To support domestic monitoring and reporting of the 17 SDGs, Statistics Canada, in collaboration with federal departments and agencies, developed the CIF. The CIF is a refined set of indicators that aligns more closely with Canada’s domestic priorities related to sustainable development. A preliminary version was released in June 2019, and was followed by a revised version in June 2021.

The CIF, which complements the GIF, encompasses the 17 SDGs, and adds Canadian ambitions and targets. Following the example of the UN, where the GIF is revised periodically to address emerging issues and update measurements in light of new data availability, Statistics Canada will perform a strategic review of the CIF every 3 years.

GIF and CIF data is made available through Data Hubs, hosted by Statistics Canada:

• GIF data is made available through the SDG Data Hub. The hub contains accurate and reliable data and statistics that are essential to measure and monitor progress on the SDGs in Canada
• the Canadian Indicator Framework for Sustainable Development Goals Data Hub, an open source platform and interactive data tool, provides the most recent data for the CIF. Where possible, disaggregated data for marginalized groups has been made available

Statistics Canada is continuing to examine data sources that may be useful for reporting on the indicators for both the CIF and the GIF. Further data disaggregation, statistics, and data visualisation features to enhance the experience of data users are being added on a continuous basis.

Statistics Canada is also developing a progress measure to summarize Canada’s progress towards achieving the SDGs. The measure will assess trends and provide a snapshot of progress for Canadian indicators, targets, ambitions and the 17 SDGs that will be made available on the SDG Data Hubs.

Contributions from partners and stakeholders

Achieving the SDGs requires local action and local monitoring. A Voluntary Local Review (VLR) is a data-driven review, initiated by a municipality or region, with the support of local actors (Universities, industries, Civil Society Organizations) on where a community stands in relation to the 17 SDGs. In addition to tracking progress within a local region to advance the SDGs, the VLRs also inspire local action by sharing experiences, challenges and lessons learned when implementing the SDGs at the local level.

For example, the City of Winnipeg submitted to the UN its Voluntary Local Review of Progress 2021. The VLR was developed in collaboration with the International Institute for Sustainable Development and United Way Winnipeg. It shares the city’s progress towards localizing the SDGs. It also contains deep insights into well-being trends, including how the pandemic has reshaped life for Winnipeggers.

The City of Winnipeg’s VLR combined key indicators on well-being with real life stories from community organizations that work daily on the front lines to build a more sustainable and inclusive city. The International Institute for Sustainable Development also developed a VLR Handbook for Canadian Communities. The Handbook helps communities find existing tools for VLR development, with a special focus on resources for the inclusion of Indigenous peoples in the VLR process and integrating Reconciliation and SDG implementation at the local level.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

Reconciliation and the 2030 Agenda

Reconciliation is a whole-of-government, and whole-of-society endeavour, meaning all federal departments and Canadians have a role to play. All federal departments have their own unique relationships with Indigenous peoples and can contribute to advancing reconciliation and the SDGs. Moving Forward Together identified advancing reconciliation as a core objective for engagement and action to advance the 2030 Agenda. In addition, Canada’s Federal Implementation Plan for the 2030 Agenda highlights that advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is a cross-cutting objective and must be considered across all SDGs.

All 17 SDGs are relevant to Indigenous peoples and directly linked to the human rights commitments outlined in the:

• UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples
• Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Calls to Action
• Calls for Justice arising from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

In recent years, the Government of Canada has undertaken significant actions to renew its relationship with Indigenous peoples, working together to improve quality of life, advance self-determination, address gaps, and move towards substantive equality.

Notable efforts have also been made over the last year to support and align the advancement of reconciliation with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. This includes adding a reference in the preamble of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples Act (UNDA), which came into force June 2021. The preamble highlights that the Declaration can contribute to supporting sustainable development and responding to growing concerns about the impact of climate change on Indigenous Peoples. The UNDA is an important step in moving Canada’s relationship with Indigenous Peoples forward.

To support partnerships and advance reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, priorities under the SDG Funding Program includes projects led by Indigenous and/or with a significant Indigenous engagement component to contribute to reconciliation efforts put forward by the 2030 Agenda. In addition, Canada has funded, starting in 2020, 3 National Indigenous Organizations, namely the Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, and the Métis National Council, to:

• help develop partnerships
• raise awareness of the SDGs
• ensure that Indigenous peoples’ priorities and perspectives are reflected in Canada’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda

Contributions from partners and stakeholders

Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) is undertaking an internal engagement to increase awareness of the 2030 Agenda, and identify the potential alignments between their initiatives and the SDGs. This work intents to pave the way for further collaboration to tackle the SDGs more effectively. Throughout these engagement and awareness raising activities, ITK noted that Inuit priorities align on a global scale, and that certain indicators to measure progress on the SDGs need to be adjusted to take into consideration and to reflect Inuit perspectives. ITK is drafting a report on these internal engagement sessions. The report intends to contribute towards Canada’s implementation of the 2030 agenda by illustrating opportunities for further engagement to advance the SDGs and identify gaps and areas of improvement.

Additional examples of programs and initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

Investing in the SDGs

The Government of Canada is committed to investing in the SDGs.

Domestically, Budget 2018 committed to provide $59.8 million in funding over 13 years (2018 to 2031) to the SDG Funding Program to support the whole-of-society implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Since its launch in 2019, the SDG Funding Program has supported 130 projects for approximately $22 million. This includes funding for a number of projects that help to:

• find innovate solutions to financing the SDGs
• collect data on the sector’s commitments to sustainability and on opportunities and barriers
• increase awareness of the SDGs with private sector leaders
• develop new and innovative partnerships that link governments, the private and non-profit sectors, research communities and philanthropic organizations
• support partnerships with the business community to encourage SDG implementation in the private sector

In addition to the SDG Funding program, a number of federal programs are supporting partnerships under various SDGs. For example, the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy supports organizations with a social or environmental purpose, which help to collectively address all 17 SDGs. One of the foundational elements of the Strategy is the $50 million Investment Readiness Program. The program builds capacity to access social finance and to help grow, and make more inclusive, the larger social innovation and social finance ecosystem. The program has funded organizations working across all SDGs. In particular, over $22 million in funding has supported 528 projects contributing to SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 3 (Good health and well-being), SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities), and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). In 2021, the Government also took the first step in launching the Social Finance Fund, which will inject $755 million in capital over the next 10 years in support of organizations collectively addressing all SDGs.

Internationally, Canada remains at the forefront of global financing for development discussions. Canada has demonstrated leadership on engaging new stakeholders and establishing innovative partnerships. Since 2016, Canada has co-chaired the UN Group of Friends of SDG Financing. In 2020, in response to growing financing needs, Canada, Jamaica and the UN Secretary General launched the Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond Initiative. This initiative provided a seat at the table for countries often excluded from global economic governance discussions.

Canada continues to invest significant funding to support the achievement of the SDGs. In 2020, Canada’s provided $10.8 billion in Total Official Support for Sustainable Development to partner developing countries to advance:

• gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
• human dignity
• growth that works for everyone
• environment and climate action
• inclusive governance
• peace and security

Canada’s development finance institution, FinDev Canada, supports the private sector in developing countries with a focus on SDG 5 (Gender equality), SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy), SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth), SDG 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) and SDG 13 (Climate action).

Budget 2018 committed $1.59 billion over 5 years (cash basis), starting in 2018 to 2019, for the International Assistance Innovation Program and the Sovereign Loans Program. These programs expand Canada’s suite of development finance tools to mobilize additional public and private financing to support sustainable development.

The Private Sector Engagement for Sustainable Development Strategy seeks to reinforce Canada’s contribution to the SDGs. It recognizes the need to engage all actors and resources in order to leave no one behind. It reflects the Government of Canada’s commitment, as outlined in Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, to develop more effective and innovative partnerships with the private sector in order to better leverage its knowledge, expertise, and innovation towards the realization of the SDGs, as well as Canada’s inclusive approach to trade and investment.

Contributions from partners and stakeholders

The private sector is also working toward achieving the SDGs by:

• raising awareness on the SDGs
• encouraging SDG implementation
• increasing commitments to sustainability
• finding innovate practices and solutions to financing the SDGs

For example, the Impak Finance Inc and their project ‘Democratization and Awareness of the SDGs for citizens, businesses and investors’ aimed to channel capital towards businesses with a positive social or environmental impact. It also triggered traditional businesses’ potential of transformation. It used the impact assessment as an incentive to mitigate negative impacts and create positive ones.

Examples of other initiatives implemented in Canada can be found in Annex A.

SDG 1: No poverty

Goal: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

The Government of Canada has introduced a number of initiatives to support low-income individuals and families. These include the initiatives listed below.

The Canada Child Benefit (CCB), introduced in 2016, provides support for low- to middle-income families with children. The CCB may include the Child Disability Benefit, which is a tax-free monthly payment made to families who care for child under age 18 with a severe and prolonged impairment in physical or mental function. The CCB provides support to about 3.5 million families and over 6 million children. The program provides over $25 billion, tax-free, each year to Canadian families. Because it is tax-free and based on income, the benefit provides more support to those who need help the most.

The CCB is having a significant positive impact on families and has played a key role in reducing the number of children living in poverty. The poverty rate for children decreased from 16.3% in 2015 to 9.4% in 2019, and to 4.7% in 2020. Although the decrease in children’s poverty between 2019 and 2020 is largely attributed to unprecedented and temporary COVID-19 emergency benefits (including additional payments made through the CCB), the poverty rate for children has been decreasing since 2015.

The Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) is a refundable tax credit that supplements the earnings of low-income workers, letting them take home more money while they work. The CWB also has a disability supplement. Budget 2021 expanded the benefit, beginning in the 2021 tax year, to support about 1 million additional Canadians in low-wage jobs. This aims to bring the total number of recipients to 3 million per year, both employed and self-employed. The CWB will now also allow the secondary earner in a household to exclude up to $14,000 of their working income when determining eligibility for the benefit. This exemption helps couples and encourages the workforce participation of women, who make up 75% of secondary earners.

The On-reserve Income Assistance Program supports eligible First Nations on reserve residents to cover the costs of their daily living and provides funding to access pre-employment supports.

To support future seniors, the Government of Canada, in collaboration with provincial partners, has enhanced the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). The Government of Canada’s enhancement to the CPP (2019 to 2025) will increase the replacement rate by one-third, from 25% to 33.3% and the maximum retirement benefit by 50% over time. It will also include an increase to the maximum disability pension and survivor’s pension.

Through the Old Age Security pension (OAS), seniors who are 65 or older receive a monthly payment. In July 2022, the OAS pension will increase by 10% for seniors aged 75 years and older to give seniors greater financial security as they advance in their retirement. Seniors with little or no other income than the OAS pension are eligible for additional assistance through the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), which was increased in 2016.

Through Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, the Government has invested in targeted income support to individuals, business, key sectors, and community organizations on the frontlines of serving Canadians to help reduce social inequalities and support those in vulnerable situations, most affected by the global pandemic.

To support the long-term financial security of individuals with severe and prolonged disabilities, the Government of Canada has introduced a number of enhancements to the Canada Disability Savings Program. Changes introduced in Budget 2019 mean that grants and bonds are no longer required to be repaid when a beneficiary ceases to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit. Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs) have also been exempted from seizure in bankruptcy, with the exception of contributions made in the 12 months before the filing.

Other changes have been introduced to make the program more accessible. These include expanding the list of medical practitioners authorized to sign off on a Disability Tax Credit application form, and an expanded list of individuals who can serve as plan holders. Efforts to increase awareness and uptake of the program are ongoing. Since the inception of the program in 2008, the federal government has contributed a total of $4.77B in matching grants and bonds to RDSPs (as of December 2021).

SDG 2: Zero hunger

Goal: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Canada is investing in ways to increase sustainable production, access, and consumption of safe and nutritious food. Canada is continuing to develop programming that promotes food security, including in Indigenous and remote communities through financial assistance for local and community initiatives.

Working toward sustainable food systems and food security requires collaboration. For example, in partnership with provinces, territories, civil society and industry, as well as Indigenous governments and organizations, the Government of Canada launched the Food Policy for Canada to tackle food issues that matter to Canadians. The Food Policy’s vision is that all people in Canada are able to access a sufficient amount of safe, nutritious, and culturally diverse food. In addition, the Policy’s goal is to produce a food system that is resilient and innovative, sustains our environment and supports our economy.

Recognizing that greater collaboration is essential to make meaningful progress on complex and systemic food issues, the Canadian Food Policy Advisory Council was launched in February 2021 as a central piece of the Food Policy for Canada. The Council’s members bring together diverse expertise and perspectives from across the food system, including the agriculture and food sector, health professionals, academics, and non-profit organizations. The Council has been active over the first year of its mandate, to advance work plans for providing advice to the Minister on topics of: school nutrition, reducing food insecurity, reducing food loss and waste, and supporting sustainable agriculture.

As part of the Food Policy for Canada, the Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF) invests a total of $60 million to support resilient, integrated and sustainable food systems, and to facilitate access to safe and nutritious food for communities. To date, LFIF has supported 822 food security projects across Canada, such as community gardens and kitchens, refrigerated trucks and storage units for donated food, and greenhouses.

The federal government also launched the Emergency Food Security Fund (EFSF) in 2020 with an initial investment of $100 million, and with $230 million in additional funding by December 2021. This fund will help improve access to food for people experiencing food insecurity in Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) was provided with $30 million from this funding to bolster its Indigenous Community Support Fund. The EFSF helped to address the immediate needs of Canadians experiencing food insecurity by supporting more than 5,000 food initiatives across Canada, including over 1,100 initiatives directly supporting Indigenous organizations and communities. The fund helped to serve safe, healthy and culturally diverse meals to millions of Canadians during the pandemic^{Footnote 130}.

Recognizing the particular challenges faced by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis and by those living in Canada’s North, the Government of Canada has also launched several programs and initiatives to support Indigenous and Northern food security. Nutrition North Canada supports increased access and availability of nutritious food to residents of eligible isolated and remote communities in Canada’s North without year-round road, rail, or marine access. Budget 2021 provided funding to expand the Nutrition North Canada programming to support Indigenous partners, including Inuit Nunangat, and isolated communities in the provincial norths to address food insecurity.

Since 2003, federal, provincial, and territorial governments have collaborated through 5-year policy frameworks for agriculture. The current Canadian Agricultural Partnership spans 2018 to 2023 and the next policy framework will cover 2023 to 2028. Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers, through the November 2021 Guelph Statement, have agreed to a vision for the next framework that would see “Canada is recognized as a world leader in sustainable agriculture and agri-food production.” This includes tackling climate change and strengthening environmental protection to support greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and the long-term vitality of the sector while positioning producers and processors to seize economic opportunities from evolving consumer demands.

The Government of Canada launched the Agricultural Climate Solutions Program in March 2021 as a multi-stream program that will help to develop and implement farming practices to tackle climate change^{Footnote 131}. The program includes the Living Laboratories stream to support co-development, testing and enable the adoption of technologies and practices that sequester carbon and/or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Activities supported through the Agricultural Climate Solutions program are expected to reduce GHG emissions by more than 2 million tonnes by 2024, and by up to 1 million tonnes per year ongoing with the continuation of practices, compared to current projections.

In June 2021, Canada also launched the Agricultural Clean Technology Program to provide farmers and agri-businesses with access to funding to help develop and adopt the latest clean technologies to reduce GHG emissions and enhance their competitiveness. The Program focuses on 3 priority areas: green energy and energy efficiency; precision agriculture; and bioeconomy.

Several organizations are leading efforts to advance sustainable food systems in Canada, including those engaging with the food movement, enhancing food literacy in schools, and working in cross-cultural contexts to advance Indigenous food security.

Canadian Organic Growers’ (COG) project ‘Kick-starting a Food Secure Akwesasne and Promoting SDG across Canada and Beyond (KFSA)’ provided its expertise and worked with The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne to produce:

• cross-cultural, sustainable agriculture workshops
• a tri-lingual Akwesasne Agri-food Guide
• a practical guide for farmers on practices that support the SDGs
• an agriculturally productive educational site for traditional and innovative organic agriculture that “plants the seed” for food security in Akwesasne

In addition, COG uses its national and international network to run an intensive social and traditional media campaign to raise awareness of the 2030 Agenda. It also aims to increase the implementation of agricultural and other projects that address the SDGs.

SDG 3: Good health and well-being

Goal: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, it has dominated the lives of Canadians and created extraordinary challenges for the Canadian health system. The Government of Canada has been leading the domestic response to the pandemic. It provides national leadership to support and encourage sustainable and adaptable health care systems that ensures access for Canadians to appropriate and effective health care services, and promotes healthy behaviours^{Footnote 132}, ^{Footnote 133}.

Canada’s initiatives to improve mental health and wellness for all Canadians include improved access to home and community care, suicide prevention support, and improved access to mental health and addictions services. To address mental health and wellness for Indigenous communities, Canada supports Indigenous-led suicide prevention, life promotion and crisis response, including through crisis line intervention services and enhancing the delivery of culturally-appropriate substance use treatment and prevention services in Indigenous communities. Canada also supports community efforts to generate new evidence on culturally focused programs and interventions that address mental health and its determinants for Black Canadians.

Canada has invested $45 million over 3 years (included in Budget 2021) toward funding for community-based organizations that help make sexual and reproductive health care information and services more accessible to Canadians. This investment is in response to research and analysis showing that women, youth, LGBTQ2 people, visible minority Canadians, and Indigenous populations face the highest sexual and reproductive health risks and the greatest barriers to accessing support, information, and services.

The Government of Canada has made significant investments in maintaining essential health care services for Indigenous individuals, continuing to work in partnership to transform Indigenous health systems, responding to the health impacts of climate change, expanding support for mental health and wellness on a distinctions basis and addressing systemic anti-Indigenous racism in health systems.

The Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund supports healthy living among Canadians who face health inequalities and are at greater risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. As of March 2021, over 4 million Canadians have participated in projects aimed at improving health behaviours such as physical activity, healthy eating, as well as prevention and cessation of tobacco use.

The Government of Canada continues to advance the Healthy Eating Strategy. Launched in 2016, the Strategy aims to improve the food environment to make it easier for Canadians to make healthier choices. This is achieved through initiatives to improve healthy eating information, to improve the nutritional quality of foods, and to protect vulnerable populations. This includes monitoring the marketing of foods to children, to understand the extent and nature of this important determinant of healthy eating. Other strategic investments were made, including collaboration with the University of Guelph to encourage greater access and availability to healthier food on campuses, with a particular emphasis on students who are food insecure.

SDG 4: Quality education

Goal: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

The Government of Canada is working with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide, community-based Early Learning and Child Care system. This system would provide families with access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care no matter where they live.

The Government of Canada made a transformative investment of over $27 billion over 5 years as part of Budget 2021 to build a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care system with provinces and territories. This investment will allow governments to work together towards achieving an average parent fee of $10-a-day by 2025 to 2026 for all regulated child care spaces, starting with a 50 percent reduction in average fees for regulated early learning and child care spaces by the end of 2022. This investment will also allow governments to work together towards creating more high-quality, affordable, regulated child care spaces. It will also value the early childhood workforce and their work by providing them with the training and development opportunities needed to support their growth and the growth of a quality system of child care.

The Government of Canada has also implemented a number of other initiatives to support the cost of education including improvements to the Canada Student Financial Assistance (CSFA) Program. The CSFA Program offers grants and loans to full-time and part-time students. Additionally, the Government of Canada provides support to help manage the cost of a child’s full- or part-time studies after high school. It does so by encouraging early planning and saving for education using Registered Education Savings Plans (RESP), through savings incentives, such as the Canada Education Savings Grant and the Canada Learning Bond (which targets children from low-income families).

In April 2019, the Government of Canada launched a new policy and approach to support students in First Nations-operated elementary and secondary schools. The funding provided is comparable to funding in provincial education systems, plus additional funding for language and cultural programming and kindergarten for children age 4 and 5 at First Nations schools. This approach was informed by close work with First Nations between 2016 and 2018.

Following a comprehensive and collaborative review of federal programs supporting Indigenous students who wish to pursue post-secondary education, Budget 2019 announced investments for distinctions-based Indigenous post-secondary education strategies. This funding is aimed at increasing the access and success of Indigenous students. The federal government is also investing in school facilities to support quality learning environments that are safe and healthy.

Furthermore, through the Supports for Student Learning Program (SSLP), the Government of Canada is funding critical programming to support learners, particularly students from Indigenous and other historically underserved groups, to complete high school, transition to, and succeed in, post-secondary education through equitable access to opportunities. Working with a broad range of organizations at the national, regional, local and grassroots levels, the SSLP funds projects to provide learners with financial and non-financial supports.

In addition to the federal, provincial, territorial and Indigenous governments, there are a number of stakeholders are also working towards advancing SDG 4.

EcoSchools Canada’s environmental certification framework provides independent reporting and recognition for schools, reaching about 1 million students annually. EcoSchools Canada is a bilingual, environmental certification program for kindergarten to Grade 12 schools in Canada. The core of the certification framework is an online platform, featuring over 45 unique SDG connected environmental actions, allowing schools to create their own environmental action plans. EcoSchools assess all completed action plans and schools can receive an internationally-recognized certification level from Bronze to Platinum:

• all 45+ unique sustainability-focused actions in their online platform that are connected to the SDGs and offer young people an opportunity to understand how they can contribute to Canada’s targets in a way that is practical and tangible
• the platform allows schools to see their impacts and serves as a high-level data collection tool, quantifying schools’ actions into statistics and visuals to showcase participation and multi-level sustainability values
• information from the platform is used to share individual and collective impact with schools, inform national and regional reports, and share key metrics with partner organizations

EcoSchools also developed a report, Furthering Sustainable Development Goals with EcoSchools Canada. The report explores how participation in the EcoSchools Canada program contributes to the Government of Canada’s achievement of the global SDG targets for 2030. Participation in the EcoSchools program directly contributes to Canada’s achievement of the targets outlined in a number of other SDGs, including SDGs 6 (Clean water and sanitation), 7 (Affordable and clean energy), 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), 12 (Responsible consumption and production) and 13 (Climate action).

The Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en opérationnalisation du développement durable (Interdisciplinary Research Centre on the Operationalization of Sustainable Development - CIRODD) is a research, development and reference centre in the operationalization of sustainable development. CIRODD’s Summer School in Societal Transformation is an intensive, experiential, interuniversity and graduate-level accredited training. This annual training aims to accelerate the transfer of transdisciplinary knowledge and skills in education for sustainability. The training develops the 5 key skills for the operationalization of the SDGs for a systemic vision of sustainable development, while offering the opportunity to locate the issues through real case studies. The Summer School:

• offers new opportunities to learn of the objectives of sustainable development and how to operationalize them
• raises awareness among students and young professionals of the SDGs
• contributes to the training of future highly qualified personnel who are competent and committed to the SDGs and sustainability objectives

SDG 5: Gender equality

Goal: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

The Government of Canada continues to strengthen the implementation of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) through the development of responsive and inclusive initiatives that advance gender equality and all other SDGs. GBA Plus is an analytical tool used by the Government of Canada to support the development of responsive and inclusive initiatives, including policies, programs, and other initiatives.

GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. Moreover, GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography, language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.

GBA Plus has been integrated into key federal decision-making processes through the Canadian Gender Budgeting Act. This Act promotes the principle of gender equality and greater inclusiveness in society as part of the annual federal budget, in support of Canada’s long-term economic growth and prosperity. It also enshrines the Government’s commitment to decision-making that takes into full consideration the impacts of economic and social policies on all types of Canadians. The act requires the Minister of Finance to report to Parliament on these impacts in terms of gender and diversity of all new budget measures, whether as part of the budget, or shortly thereafter.

Announced in June 2017, It’s Time: Canada’s Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence (GBV Strategy) is the Government of Canada’s response to gender-based violence. It brings together the gender-based violence-related efforts of federal departments and agencies for a whole-of-government approach to end GBV in Canada. Progress under the federal GBV Strategy is published. Since April 2020, the Government of Canada has committed $300 million in emergency COVID-19 funding to front-line organizations supporting those experiencing gender-based violence.

To date, emergency funding has been provided to over 1,300 organizations, including women’s shelters, sexual assault centres and other organizations providing supports and services to those experiencing gender-based violence. This funding ensures the continuity of services and enhances the capacity of organizations that provide critical and often life-saving services and supports for women, girls, LGBTQ2 (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Two-Spirit), and gender non-binary people experiencing violence. Because of this funding, more than 1.3 million individuals had a safe place to go and access supports across Canada. The Government of Canada continues to build on the foundation laid by the federal GBV Strategy and advance the development of a National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, with a focus on ensuring that anyone experiencing GBV has reliable and timely access to protection and services.

In 2018, the Government of Canada introduced the Gender Results Framework (GRF), which represents its goals with respect to gender equality. The GRF includes gender equality goals within 6 main areas:

• education and skills development
• economic participation and prosperity
• leadership and democratic participation
• gender-based violence and access to justice
• poverty reduction, health, and well-being
• gender equality around the world

Since 2015, the Government of Canada has worked across departments towards a Canada free of violence against Indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA+ (Two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, plus). In June 2021, the product of collaborative work between the federal government, provincial and territorial governments, and Indigenous organizations and governments was released. The 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan contains key priorities and actions to end this violence. The Government will accelerate work with Indigenous partners to address the national tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people through the implementation of the Federal Pathway and the National Action Plan.

Families, survivors and communities are at the center of the Government’s efforts including direct support for family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people. Together with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners, the federal government is responding to the issues identified in the Calls for Justice, as part of the whole-of-Canada response to the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

COVID-19 has affected all Canadians, but its impacts have been unevenly felt as it amplified gender inequality. In fact, women and gender diverse people, in particular those from systemically marginalized communities, were disproportionately impacted. A Task Force on Women in the Economy was created in 2020 to help guide a robust, inclusive, and feminist economic recovery from COVID-19 and to help address long-standing systemic barriers.

Several partners and stakeholders are developing initiatives to help advance gender equality in Canada. For example, the Government of New Brunswick has incorporated GBA Plus into their planning and reporting processes. Since 2016, GBA Plus has been required for all Cabinet decision-making. Starting in 2020, New Brunswick has incorporated GBA Plus into the budget process and is committed to improvements every year. In preparing their budget requests, all provincial departments must consider how decisions will positively, negatively, and differentially impact genders and marginalized groups.

Gender responsive budgeting acknowledges and seeks to reduce gender inequalities by implementing measures that directly aim to improve lives and help make New Brunswick more vibrant and sustainable for everyone. Other measures taken by New Brunswick to increase capacity for GBA Plus across government include establishing GBA Plus Champions in each department and mandating GBA Plus training.

Canadian Women in Local Leadership is a 3-year project (2021 to 2024) that is part of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ portfolio of social inclusion initiatives. The project aims to increase the participation and retention of women in municipal leadership and support a more diverse, inclusive and equitable environment in municipal governance processes. The project prioritizes underrepresented women, including Indigenous, Black and other racialized women, as well as youth and members of the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community.

The project leverages the success of Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Toward Parity in Municipal Politics (2018 to 2020) and Diverse Voices (2016 to 2018) initiatives and will build on the results of the Toward Parity project which include:

• improved knowledge and understanding of local governments on gender equality
• active participation of Provincial and Territorial Municipal Associations
• increased collaborations across the sector
• a knowledge hub launched with over 100 resources
• implementation of 19 locally responsive initiatives
• 25+ webinars promoting women’s participation and retention in local government

SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation

Goal: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

A key component of the Government of Canada’s commitment to close the socio-economic gaps that exist between Indigenous and most non-Indigenous peoples in Canada is to address the challenges in accessing clean water and sanitation in First Nation communities. Through investments since 2016, the Government of Canada has made over $5.6 billion in commitments to First Nations to build and repair water and wastewater infrastructure and support effective management and maintenance of water systems on reserves. Investments also support water operator training and innovative First Nations-led technical service delivery models.

Several actions are being taken to reduce the risks related to access to drinking water. For example, the Government of Canada continues to engage and support the Assembly of First Nations on the Safe Drinking Water Legislation and the Long-Term Water and Wastewater Strategy. Aligned with the Safe Drinking Water for First Nations Class Action Settlement Agreement, the Government of Canada will make all reasonable efforts to develop and introduce, in consultation with First Nations, proposed new safe drinking water for First Nations legislation by December 31, 2022.

Through joint efforts with the Government of Canada and First Nations communities, all First Nations communities have access to trained personnel (community-based drinking water quality monitor or an environmental public health officer) to sample and test drinking water quality at the tap. The Government of Canada provides advice and guidance about drinking water safety and wastewater disposal, and can help review infrastructure project proposals from a public health perspective.

As of September 30, 2021, the Government of Canada has funded 796 First Nations water and wastewater projects, of which 437 are complete. These projects will benefit 583 communities serving approximately 464,000 people. Of these 796 water and wastewater projects, 611 projects are new water and wastewater treatment plants or lagoons, or renovations and upgrades to existing water and wastewater systems. Furthermore as of December 31 2021, First Nations, with support from the Government of Canada, have lifted 126 long-term drinking water advisories and 205 short-term drinking water advisories. Initiatives are underway to address all remaining long-term drinking water advisories on public systems on reserves.

Many water and wastewater projects were impacted by COVID-19 causing delays to expected completion dates and the cancellation of all Annual Performance Inspections due to public health restrictions. The Government of Canada has worked to ensure First Nations communities facing a drinking water advisory continue to have access to safe drinking water either through bottled water or other means throughout the pandemic.

In 2017, the Government of Canada invested $70.5 million over 5 years to protect the Great Lakes and the Lake Winnipeg Basin. The Government of Canada is currently committed to establishing a Canada Water Agency and implementing a strengthened Freshwater Action Plan, including a historic investment to provide funding to protect and restore large lakes and river systems, starting with the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River System, Lake Simcoe, the Lake Winnipeg Basin, the Fraser River Basin and the Mackenzie River Basin.

There are other investments and programming across federal departments and agencies that support Canada’s implementation of SDG 6. For example, the $180 billion Investing in Canada Plan provides support for infrastructure solutions including treating water and wastewater, managing storm water and mitigating the impacts of flooding and other risks.

SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

Goal: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

To make progress toward affordable and cleaner energy, Canada is transitioning to a larger proportion of clean energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and cleaner fuels like biofuels. The federal government is adopting cost-effective method sand technologies to reduce electricity consumption; and expanding infrastructure and upgrading technology to provide clean energy. Canada is also making use of new technologies like energy storage and hydrogen to provide further flexibility in the energy system.

The Government of Canada invests in energy research, development, and demonstration (RD&D), accelerating efforts in energy innovation and clean tech programming that supports a wide range of Canadian organizations, utilities, industry, and other firms, all in support of Canada’s energy innovation and climate change goals. The Energy Innovation Program and other federal initiatives support hundreds of energy (RD&D) projects through a suite of programs and tools, including collaborative investments, prize-based challenges and focused RD&D. In 2020 to 2021, energy RD&D programming supported over 298 RD&D projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in key areas such as clean electricity, renewable energy, energy-efficient buildings, and value-added advanced materials for the energy, transportation and manufacturing sectors ^{Footnote 134}.

The Government of Canada continues to support Indigenous, rural and remote communities’ transition off diesel to clean energy. In 2020, the Government of Canada, through the Strengthened Climate Plan, announced an additional $300 million over 5 years to support federal efforts in this space. Canada’s Growth Plan invests $2.5 billion toward renewable power generation and storage and to transmit clean electricity between regions and communities. Upgrades to existing fossil fuel energy systems in the north are also supported by the Arctic Energy Fund. Indigenous Services Canada is supporting First Nations to transition from fossil fuel to clean, reliable and affordable energy systems through a combination of alternative energy projects featuring solar, hydroelectric, wind and others. Indigenous Services Canada is also supporting First Nations community infrastructure through upgrades and energy efficiency projects.

The Northern Responsible Energy Approach for Community Heat and Electricity (REACHE) program works to reduce Northern communities' reliance on diesel for heating and electricity by increasing the use of local renewable energy sources and energy efficiency. This contributes in environmental, social and economic benefits to support developing healthier, more sustainable Northern communities.

In May 2021, following a commitment to invest $2.6 billion, the Government of Canada launched the Canada Greener Homes initiative. The initiative helps homeowners make energy efficient retrofits to their homes by providing up to 700,000 grants of up to $5,000, supported by EnerGuide energy assessments. Support for recruitment and training of EnerGuide energy advisors will create new jobs across Canada. This effort will be complemented by a future low-cost loan program.

The Government of Canada, through the Emerging Renewable Power Program (ERPP), is investing $200 million to expand the portfolio of commercially viable renewable energy source in Canada. The program is supporting 6 emerging power projects including bi-facial solar, geothermal and tidal developments. Over $165 million in program funding has been announced and the first project was completed in winter 2021.

Through the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs), the Government of Canada is investing $964 million over 4 years to advance the deployment of smart renewable energy and grid modernization projects that will enable the clean grid of the future. The program has approved 72 renewable energy and grid modernization projects so far, including wind, solar, geothermal, storage, and other renewables, which can provide essential grid services while supporting Canada’s equitable transition to an electrified economy. The first 6 projects signed contribution agreements in winter 2021.

The Government of Canada invested $1.5 billion in the Clean Fuels Fund to de-risk the capital investment required to build new or expand existing clean fuel production facilities, establish sustainable biomass supply chains, and address gaps and misalignment in codes, standards and regulations related to the production, distribution and use of clean fuels.

Advancing the transition toward cleaner and more affordable energy sources requires actions across multiple sectors. Governments, companies, institutions, and non-profit organizations are taking action toward this goal.

Women on the Move Inc.’s project ‘Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Assessment and Sustainability Tools for Mining and Metals’ gathered case studies to develop business cases for the mining industry to align with SDGs.

The project:

• hosted a roundtable with senior mining and metal executives
• established a comprehensive report informed by the roundtable
• developed a strategy and action plan for women-owned businesses in mining and metals to support SDG alignment

The overarching objectives of the University of Windsor’s ‘Diverse and Dynamic Curriculum to Support Canada’s Clean Energy Transition’ proposed a research program to inform clean energy curriculum development. It aimed to encourage women to pursue clean energy careers to ultimately advance Canada’s preparedness for continued transition to a clean energy economy. The project was achieved through engagement with a broad and diverse cross section of clean energy sector stakeholders.

The purpose of the engagement was to gain perspective on the skill sets and experience that will support this transition. The insights collected were used to inform how post-secondary institutions can better prepare highly qualified persons (HQP) that will be entering this sector upon graduation.

The project included:

• stakeholder identification
• survey of stakeholders
• catalogue of current clean energy curriculum in Canada
• catalogue of opportunities and organizations to support women in the sector
• development of curriculum framework and promotional materials

SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth

Goal: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Promoting diversity and inclusion is an integral part of implementing the Government of Canada’s commitment to eliminating discriminatory barriers to labour market participation for all Canadians.

The Black Entrepreneurship Program (BEP) is a partnership between the Government of Canada, Black-led business organizations, and financial institutions. With an investment of up to $265 million over 4 years, it will help Black Canadian business owners and entrepreneurs grow their businesses and succeed now and into the future.

The Aboriginal Entrepreneurship Program increases access to affordable capital for Indigenous entrepreneurs by providing them with equity (non-repayable contributions) and business support services.

The Government of Canada created a Task Force on Women in the Economy to help guide a robust, inclusive, and feminist recovery and to help address long-standing systemic barriers for women in the labour market.

The Employment Equity Act Review Task Force was established by the Government of Canada to provide valuable advice and input to the Minister of Labour on a range of workplace equity, diversity and inclusion issues.

The Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) represents a whole-of-government approach to increasing women-owned businesses' access to the financing, talent, networks and expertise they need to start up, scale up, and access new markets. The WES programs have contributed to creating an entrepreneurship ecosystem that is inclusive and responsive to the diverse needs of women entrepreneurs. This includes the Women Entrepreneurship Fund (funded 321 projects), the WES Ecosystem Fund (supported 52 projects) and the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub (led by Ryerson University, and supported by 10 regional hubs and a network of over 300 organizations).

Each year, the Government of Canada provides over $3 billion for individuals and employers to obtain skills training and employment supports through bilateral labour market transfer agreements with provinces and territories. These include the Labour Market Development Agreements and the Workforce Development Agreements. Over a million individuals and employers benefit from programming funded by these agreements each year.

The Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program is a distinctions-based program designed to help Indigenous people improve their skills and work towards their long-term career goals. It provides funding to Indigenous service delivery organizations to provide Indigenous people with training and supports to improve their skills and secure employment. The Indigenous Growth Fund, announced in Budget 2019, was established to enable Indigenous lenders to support more Indigenous entrepreneurs. The fund is under the management of the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA), with a lead investment from the Government of Canada.

The Racialized Newcomer Women Pilot Program helps racialized newcomer women find good, well-paying jobs that set them up for success in Canada. The initiative addresses the barriers they may face – gender and race-based discrimination, precarious or low income employment, lack of affordable child care and weak social supports.

The Government is implementing a number of programs to support young Canadians. For example, the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy helps young people (aged 15 to 30), particularly those facing barriers to employment, get the information and gain the skills, work experience and abilities they need to make a successful transition into the labour market.

Another example is the Student Work Placement Program. The program supports the creation of work-integrated learning opportunities for students of all ages enrolled in any post-secondary education program at a college, university or polytechnic in Canada. It supports post-secondary students to better prepare for work, employers to hire and develop talent, and post-secondary institutions to keep pace with changing on-the-job expectations.

Provinces and territories as well as organizations are working towards advancing the SDG 8. Lifelong learning is critical in helping workers’ develop new skills for decent work throughout their careers. It calls for innovative ways to enable recognition of worker skills and learning by training and educational institutions.

For example, in 2020, Ontario launched its Skilled Trades Strategy. The Strategy seeks to break stigmas and attract more people, including those in under-represented and marginalized groups, to the skilled trades, simplify the apprenticeship system, and help employers harness more talent.

Another example is the Ontario Micro-credential Strategy. It sets the foundation for life-long learning by normalizing micro-credentials as a permanent feature of the Ontario postsecondary education and training system. It ensures learners have access to a postsecondary education system that offers maximum flexibility to pursue learning opportunities and acquire the skills they need to be job-ready. Amongst other outputs, the strategy has created a Challenge Fund. The Fund accelerates the development of micro-credentials that respond to regional labour market needs. It also strengthens partnerships between postsecondary education institutions and training providers and employers.

Provinces and territories also have policies on Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition for mature students. These aim to provide learners with enhanced pathways to secondary-school graduation and on to postsecondary education, apprenticeships, or sustainable employment.

Another example of other organization efforts that contribute to advance SDG 8 is the Comprehensive Wealth (CW) developed by International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The Comprehensive Wealth is a measure of the foundation of future wealth, to better guide policy decision making to increase human well-being in Canada and around the world. It measures the country’s produced, natural, human, financial and social capital. Initially developed to provide a measure for Canada’s long-term prosperity, IISD is now collaborating with international and country-level experts in Ethiopia, Trinidad and Tobago and Indonesia to establish broader concepts and indicators for measuring sustainable development. The Comprehensive Wealth project advances the theory and practice of expanded wealth measurement through IISD’s 2018 Report Comprehensive Wealth in Canada 2018 – Measuring What Matters in the Long Term.

SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Goal: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

The Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan is a major redesign of the innovation policy landscape in Canada designed to make Canada a world-leading centre for innovation, to create well-paying jobs and foster the participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, such as women and Indigenous people, in the innovation economy. The Plan targets investments at all points along the innovation continuum, starting with people and skills and extending to fundamental science, to commercial applications and new technology adoption, and to accessing markets at home and abroad. Some programs under the Innovation and Skills Plan include:

• Innovation Superclusters Initiative
• Strategic Innovation Fund
• Innovative Solutions Canada
• Clean Growth Hub

Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) helps Canadian companies develop and demonstrate competitive, clean technology solutions, to address some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges: climate change, clean air, clean water and clean soil.

The Government of Canada’s strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, commits to support Canadian industrial innovation and conduct Canada’s first-ever national infrastructure assessment to prepare for a net-zero emissions future.

Under the $75 million Clean Technology Challenges, part of the Impact Canada Initiative, Canada continued to support initiatives for sustainable aviation fuel, alternatives to diesel in Indigenous communities, new rock crushing technologies for mining, modernizing power grids, female-led innovation in the cleantech sector, and battery innovation.

Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) provides essential community infrastructure funding for First Nation communities for a variety of needs through the First Nation Infrastructure Fund, including Internet connectivity. ISC coordinates efforts with Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) Canada to advance the Government of Canada’s plan to connect all Canadians to high-speed internet.

Canada began the development of a Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) Strategy and of a funding call for federal and external research, development and demonstration (RD&D) projects to help advance commercial viability of CCUS technologies.

The Clean Growth Program continued to advance emerging clean technologies towards commercial readiness, with 43 projects underway and 3 projects completed that will help natural resource operations better reduce their impacts on air, land, and water, while enhancing competitiveness and creating jobs.

The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Demonstration Program continued to support the demonstration of innovative solutions to technical challenges and other barriers for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including in multi-residential buildings, for cold-weather operation, public transit, autonomous vehicles and hydrogen trucks. As of 2020 to 2021, the program had supported 29 projects.

Through the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy, the Government of Canada is also making significant investments in Canada’s social innovation ecosystem, to promote more inclusive and sustainable economies. To date, the Investment Readiness Program has invested $50 million to build key innovation and social finance capacities, with an additional $50 million being deployed over the next 2 years. In 2021, the government took the first steps in launching the Social Finance Fund, which will inject $755 million in capital over the next 10 years, to accelerate the growth of Canada’s social finance market; and, a permanent Social Innovation Advisory Council will be appointed to guide government in future initiatives to catalyze and scale social innovations in Canada.

Several organizations, governments, and private sector companies are helping advance the capacity of Canadian firms to develop and implement innovative approaches to industry development. Together they are helping to grow a sustainable and inclusive economic growth in Canada.

Competent Boards’ project ‘Executive SDGs Roadshow – Engaging Board Members and Executives in Delivering the 2030 Agenda’ contributes to sustainable economic growth. Competent Boards conducted 5 online panel discussions to engage Board Members and Executives in delivering the 2030 Agenda. More than 300 participants engaged in the panel discussions. They discussed how to leverage the SDGs to achieve a sustainable and competitive Canadian economy post-COVID-19. Participants were engaged by sharing and capturing their views during each event, including views on government incentives and the need to further develop Competent Boards training material on the SDGs. Competent Boards continues to educate executives and board members from around the globe on the SDGs and the opportunities they present in their ESG Competent Boards Certificate and Designation Program.

SDG 10: Reduce inequalities

Goal: Reduce inequality within and among countries

In 2019, Building a Foundation for Change: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2019 to 2022 was released. The strategy seeks to increase equity of access and participation among racialized communities, religious minorities, and Indigenous peoples in the areas of employment, justice, and social participation. Components include providing additional funding for the Community Support, Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Initiatives Program.

The passage of the landmark Accessible Canada Act (ACA) in 2019 was a critical step in advancing diversity and inclusion in that it aims to realize a barrier-free Canada through the proactive identification, removal and prevention of barriers to accessibility in 7 priority areas:

• employment
• design of programs and services
• information and communication technologies (ICT)
• communication other than ICT
• the built environment
• procurement of goods and services
• transportation

Under the ACA, entities within federal jurisdiction such as banks, national transportation service providers, and the Government of Canada will be required to develop accessibility plans, explaining how they identify, remove and prevent barriers, and report on their progress on an annual basis.

GBA Plus is an analytical tool used by the Government of Canada to support the development of responsive and inclusive initiatives, including policies, programs, and other initiatives. Moreover, GBA Plus is an analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as:

• age
• disability
• education
• ethnicity
• economic status
• geography
• language
• race
• religion
• sexual orientation

In 2020, the LGBTQ2 Secretariat launched a comprehensive engagement process with LGBTQ2 communities across Canada to inform the development of the first federal LGBTQ2 Action Plan.

The Government of Canada has committed to introduce and implement a Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), as announced in the 2020 Speech from the Throne. The DIAP will take a human rights-based approach, underpinned by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the SDGs. The plan will be achieved through action across 4 pillars: financial security, employment, accessible and inclusive communities, and a modern approach to disability.

The DIAP will include a new Canadian Disability Benefit, a robust employment strategy for Canadians with disabilities, and a better process to determine eligibility for Government disability programs and services. The development of the DIAP included significant stakeholder engagement with the disability community. This includes roundtables and many bilateral discussions on disability inclusion. A public survey conducted in summer 2021 on the framework of the DIAP received thousands of responses from persons with and without disabilities, and confirmed a strong public support of the DIAP. Early investments made include:

• support to improve accessibility and inclusion through the Enabling Accessibility Fund
• support for employment through programs such as the Opportunities Fund
• funding to increase access to accessible reading material

In April 2020, the COVID-19 Disability Advisory Group was created to provide advice and ensure a disability-inclusive approach to the Government of Canada’s response to the pandemic in keeping with a “Nothing Without Us” approach. With a renewed mandate, the Advisory Group will continue to provide expert advice on disability inclusion within Government priorities and on implementation of Government programs and policies.

Supports for persons with disabilities provided during the pandemic included a one-time, non-taxable and non-reportable payment of up to $600 that provided a total of $815 million to just over 1.75 million Canadians with disabilities. It also included an additional $890,000 in funding to national disability organizations to enhance communications on COVID-19.

The Government of Canada is implementing a number of initiatives supporting diversity and inclusion. These include the work currently in place with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide, community-based Early Learning and Child Care system. This includes investments under the Enabling Accessibility Fund to make Early Learning and Child Care systems more accessible and inclusive for persons with disabilities. Through the Social Innovation and Social Finance Strategy the Government of Canada is also supporting social purpose organizations (charities, non-profits, social enterprises, co-operatives, businesses with a social mission) working to address complex socio-economic challenges.

The Pay Equity Act came into force on August 2021. It establishes a proactive pay equity regime for approximately 1.3 million workers.

Through the Social Development Partnerships Program, the Government of Canada makes strategic investments to support government priorities related to children and families, people with disabilities, the voluntary sector, Black Canadian communities, official language minority communities and other vulnerable populations by playing a unique role in furthering broad social goals. As part of the Government of Canada’s efforts to combat anti-Black racism, the department established the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative in 2019. This initiative provides and supports targeted measures to build capacity and foundational infrastructure in Black Canadian communities.

On June 21, 2021, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples Act received Royal Assent. The Act affirms the Declaration as a universal international human rights instrument with application in Canadian law and provides a framework for the Government of Canada's implementation of the Declaration. Specifically, the Act requires the Government to work in partnership with Indigenous peoples to take measures necessary to ensure federal laws are consistent with the Declaration, and to develop an action plan to achieve its objectives. Collaborating with First Nations, Inuit and Métis on the action plan is an opportunity to put in place concrete measures to address injustices, combat prejudice and eliminate all forms of violence, racism and discrimination, including systemic racism and discrimination. The First Nations Fiscal Management Act, its institutions and the on-going enhancements to the regime are contributing towards addressing historical barriers and gaps experienced by Indigenous people, including jurisdictional, capacity, and access to capital gaps, and they are contributing to SDG 10 to reduce inequality.

As part of their project, Inclusive monitoring to leave no Canadian behind, the International Institute for Sustainable Development conducted research on available data to monitor the wellbeing of marginalized people living in Canada. The project found that data gaps aside, the views, values, and priorities of marginalized groups and their resulting perceptions of marginalization are not always adequately represented. As part of the project:

• There has been an awareness of the need to develop more inclusive measures of marginalization and include alternative data sources
• Support was provided for development of the local immigration partnership portal with data and information about immigrants across Canada
• Canadian civil society organizations participated in an international peer-exchange on cross-sector data partnerships for SDG implementation
• upcoming articles will inform Canadian SDG practitioners of tools and practices to use alternative data for inclusive and appropriate monitoring
• Support was provided for the international Leaving No One Behind Partnership to make the voices of marginalized groups in other countries heard and count

SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities

Goal: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Canada launched the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles Program in May 2019. This program helps Canadians and Canadian businesses overcome the higher upfront purchase price of zero-emission vehicles, and as of the end of 2021 had already helped nearly 130,000 Canadians and Canadian businesses make the switch to zero-emission vehicles. Canada’s investments to increase adoption of zero-emission vehicles also include supporting the build out of a coast-to-coast network of electric vehicle fast chargers, natural gas stations along key freight corridors, and hydrogen stations in metropolitan centres. In 2021, these investments had supported projects that will result in more than 16,500 new electric vehicle chargers, 10 hydrogen stations, and 20 natural gas stations.

Canada’s National Housing Strategy (NHS), launched in 2017, is a 10-year, $72+ billion plan to give more Canadians a place to call home. It addresses needs across the entire housing continuum, from shelters and transitional housing, to community housing, to affordable rental, to homeownership. The NHS has ambitious objectives to reduce chronic homelessness by 50%, build 160,000 new housing units, repair 300,000 existing housing units, and provide affordability support to 300,000 households, over 10 years.

NHS initiatives seek to address the housing needs of the most vulnerable people; promote community building by aligning housing with significant public investments in job creation, transit, infrastructure, and federal climate change and accessibility commitments; and encourage partnerships between all orders of government, including Indigenous governments, the community housing sector, the private sector, and other organizations, to address housing needs and build thriving communities for all.

Federal, provincial and territorial governments are primary partners in housing. In 2018, federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for housing endorsed a multilateral Housing Partnership Framework, which commits to achieving better housing outcomes for Canada. The framework asserts a shared vision for housing and sets the foundation for bilateral agreements through which provinces and territories deliver and cost-match federal funds from the NHS.

Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy is a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada. This program provides funding to urban, Indigenous, rural and remote communities to help them address their local homelessness needs.

The Government of Canada, including Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs is committed to co-develop distinctions-based housing strategies with First Nations, Inuit and Métis. Three distinctions based strategies are being funded for a total of $1.5 billion: $600 million for a First Nations-led housing Strategy, $400 million for an Inuit-led housing strategy, and $500 million for a Métis Nation housing strategy.

The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program provides long-term, stable funding to help communities, including Indigenous communities:

• reduce air and water pollution
• provide clean water
• improve public transit systems
• increase resilience to climate change and create a clean-growth economy
• build strong, dynamic and inclusive communities
• and ensure all families in Canada have access to modern, reliable services

The Natural Infrastructure Fund aims to support projects using natural or hybrid approaches to protect the natural environment, support healthy and resilient communities, contribute to economic growth, and improve access to nature for Canadians.

Through the Permanent Public Transit Program, the Government of Canada will provide $14.9 billion in funding over 8 years with $3 billion per year starting in 2026 to 2027 to support the expansion of permanent public transit systems, and active transportation networks across Canada. This funding builds on the $20 billion in funding already available for transit across the country through the Public Transit stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. These investments will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide health benefits, and better serve disadvantaged groups including women, seniors, youth, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, and those with low incomes. The $14.9 billion provides funding for major projects as well as for the Zero Emission Transit Fund, Active Transportation Fund, and the Rural Transit Solutions Fund.

The Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund provides funding for structural and natural infrastructure projects to increase the resilience of communities that are impacted by natural disasters driven by a changing climate.

The Climate Resilient Built Environment is a 5-year initiative to advance the integration of climate resilience in public infrastructure by providing improved and climate-informed guidance, standards, and tools.

The Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program funds energy efficient, lower carbon, more resilient, and higher performing new and retrofitted community buildings, in particular in areas with populations experiencing higher need.

The Addressing Air Pollution Horizontal Initiative (AAPHI) is the cornerstone of the federal government’s efforts to address air pollution. It aims to improve air quality, reduce impacts of air pollution on health and the environment, and provide Canadians with the tools to make informed decisions to reduce their exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollutants. Activities include developing air quality standards to limit the amount of pollution in outdoor air, developing and implementing regulatory and non-regulatory instruments to reduce air pollutant emissions, providing Canadians with information to help them reduce their exposure to air pollutants, and contributing to measures for better indoor air quality (for example, the use of technologies).

Canada benefits from a vibrant and highly engaged civil society, where stakeholders, advocacy groups, academia, think tanks and other actors contribute to building inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable communities through advocacy, research, and policy ideas.

Through the Municipal Asset Management Program (MAMP), the Federation of Canadian Municipalities continues to support municipalities with the funding, skills, and tools to build stronger, data-driven asset management programs. With MAMP funding, local governments and organizations have been able to collaborate to build the capacity of rural and remote local governments on asset management.

For example:

• the Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick (AFMNB) has supported and will continue to support municipalities in the use of an innovative tool to geographically visualize municipal infrastructure data in a geoportal. This initiative helps participating municipalities more easily access the information and data that guide infrastructure decision-making
• NAMS Canada provides a Professional Certificate course in Asset Management Planning to participants. The course provides participants with the knowledge and tools to be able to develop and interpret an asset management plan
• Asset Management Ontario (AMONTario) delivers hands-on training that integrates climate change planning, into the asset management process to more effectively address climate change impacts. Training on climate change planning includes options for incorporating green infrastructure

Clayoquot Biosphere Trust’s ‘Clayoquot Sound Biosphere SDG Knowledge Exchange’ project was developed to raise awareness and build support for the 2030 Agenda locally, nationally, and internationally. It applied the SDG lens throughout Clayoquot Biosphere Trust’s work and scaling impact through networks of community foundations and Biosphere Regions.

The Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Region encompasses 9 rural and remote communities including 2 municipalities and 7 First Nation communities from 5 Nuu-chah-nulth nations.

Outcomes of the project include:

• increased awareness and support for the 2030 Agenda in Canada
• new collaborative partnerships across disciplines, cultures, and boundaries working together towards a shared understanding of sustainability
• an increased number of youth, civil organizations, businesses and local Indigenous and non-Indigenous governments that are aware of and engaged in the SDGs and local sustainability issues and priorities this includes many organizations that provide support for marginalized groups, such as low income individuals and families, women, youth, and seniors
• new online resource materials about sustainability

SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

Goal: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

The Government of Canada is working actively across departments, levels of government, and society to take action on increasing responsible consumption and production. The Government of Canada is implementing initiatives to reduce plastic waste and pollution, facilitate the transition to cleaner technologies, reduce food loss and waste, increase sustainable practices within the public sector, and reduce environmental and human health risks of substances such as chemicals, minerals, and metals.

The Government of Canada is working with provinces and territories through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment to implement the Canada-wide Strategy and Action Plans on Zero Plastic Waste. This work takes a life-cycle and circular economy approach to addressing plastic waste and pollution.

Key federal actions include investing in research through Canada’s Plastics Science Agenda, promoting innovation through the Canadian Plastics Innovation Challenges, and supporting sector-based solutions and community action through the Zero Plastic Waste Initiative. The government has also committed to ban select harmful single-use plastic items where there is evidence that they are prevalent in the environment, are often not recycled, and have readily available alternatives. Finally, the government works in partnership with organizations and industries to develop solutions to reduce waste and increase the recovery of plastic waste in Canada.

To support Canadians and businesses in reducing food loss and waste, as part of the Food Policy for Canada, the federal government launched the Food Waste Reduction Challenge in November 2020 as a call for innovators to deliver high-impact solutions to food waste in Canada. The Challenge attracted over 500 applications from innovators across Canada and around the world, including start-ups, entrepreneurs, and researchers. About 2 in 5 applications are from women and/or visible minorities, working on developing effective, innovative and scalable solutions to prevent, divert or transform food waste throughout supply chains, from farm to fork.

Protecting the health and safety of Canadians and the environment is the Government of Canada’s top priority when it comes to nuclear energy and radioactive waste. To this end, the federal government is committed to modernizing its radioactive waste policy so that it continues to meet international standards based on the best available science and reflects the values and principles of Canadians. Over a period of 7 months, from November 2020 until May 2021, federal departments with responsibilities for radioactive waste, undertook an inclusive engagement process to solicit the views and perspectives on how to modernize Canada’s radioactive waste policy.

Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) supports the sound management of chemicals, by reducing the risks posed by chemicals to Canadians and their environment. The CMP assesses existing chemicals in use in Canada, as well as new substances entering the Canadian market, to identify chronic and acute health and environmental risks that may occur (through chemical exposures in air, water, food, cosmetics, pesticides, etc.), and takes measures to manage those risks. Research, monitoring and surveillance, as well as collaboration, outreach and engagement are also conducted under the CMP in order to help protect the health of Canadians and their environment.

SDG 13: Climate action

Goal: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

On July 12, 2021, Canada submitted its enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UNFCCC. This enhanced target, to reduce emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030, represents a substantial increase in ambition over Canada’s original NDC under the Paris Agreement. This new and ambitious goal is consistent with the results of a survey of Canadians’ perspectives on what Canada’s new target should be – wherein the vast majority of respondents called for increased climate ambition for 2030. Canada’s enhanced NDC Submission reflects input received from provincial and territorial governments, as well as from First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Canada is among one of the first countries to include substantive input from subnational bodies and Indigenous peoples into the NDC Submission to the UNFCCC.

The Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act received royal assent on June 29, 2021. It codifies the process for setting national emissions reduction targets, reporting and successively deeper emissions reduction targets and the tabling of an Emissions Reduction Plan for each target. In addition, the Act also established the Net-Zero Advisory Body to provide the Government of Canada with independent advice with respect to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

In December 2020, the Government of Canada announced A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy – Canada’s strengthened climate plan. Building on the Pan-Canadian Framework, this plan contains 64 strengthened and new federal policies, programs and investments to cut pollution and build a stronger, cleaner, and more resilient and inclusive economy. It will do this through 5 pillars:

1. cutting energy waste
2. providing clean, affordable transportation and power
3. pricing carbon pollution
4. building a clean industrial advantage
5. embracing nature-based solutions to support healthier and resilient communities

The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change (2016) was developed with the provinces and territories and in consultation with Indigenous peoples, youth, businesses, non-governmental organizations and the public to meet emissions reduction targets, grow the economy, and build resilience to a changing climate. It includes a pan-Canadian approach to pricing carbon pollution and measures to achieve emissions reductions across all sectors of the economy. It also includes actions to advance climate change adaptation and build resilience to climate impacts across the country. This includes Indigenous, northern, and coastal communities that are disproportionately affected as well as enhancing access to climate information and support through the Canadian Centre for Climate Services.

The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) was launched in fall 2020 to help withstand the economic and job impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on onshore and offshore oil and gas workers, and to help the sector reduce methane and other greenhouse gas emissions. The ERF also supports decarbonizing oil and natural gas by deploying technologies and capital infrastructure, and researching innovations in emissions-mitigating technologies.

The Government of Canada implemented the 2 Billion Trees (2BT) Program under the Natural Climate Solutions Fund, investing $3.2B to plant 2 billion trees by 2030. This will reduce GHG emissions by a projected 12 megatons per year by 2050, create an estimated 4,300 jobs, encourage and support Indigenous participation, decrease the risk of wildfire and flooding to rural communities, and support biodiversity. The Natural Climate Solutions Fund also includes programming to reduce emissions while benefitting biodiversity on agricultural lands, grasslands, wetlands and other areas using nature-based solutions.

Significant investments in fighting climate change were made in Budget 2021 to address emissions from heavy industry and from buildings. Canada has adopted a whole-of-government full suite of policy and program measures including, for example:

• Net Zero Challenge for Large Emitters
• Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) Net Zero Accelerator
• Clean Fuels Fund

The Government of Canada supported the oil and gas sector’s efforts to reduce emissions through a $1.7 billion oil and gas well reclamation plan and the $320 million support for the offshore energy jobs and emissions reductions. These investments will help adapt Canadian oil and gas sectors into the cleanest global petroleum sector.

Progress has been made through the Climate Change and Health Adaptation Program (CCHAP), which funds First Nations and Inuit communities' efforts to build capacity to adapt to the health impacts of climate change. In addition, the Emergency Management Assistance Program reduces the impact of climate-related disasters for on-reserve First Nation communities by strengthening community resilience and promoting mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-relate planning.

The Government of Canada's 3 climate change adaptation programs (First Nation Adapt, Climate Change Preparedness in North and Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring Program) support Indigenous and northern communities in adapting to climate change impacts. These programs include climate change risk assessments, adaptation-planning projects and support projects that facilitate the collection and co-application of scientific data and Indigenous knowledge for community-based climate monitoring.

Canada and the United States have also worked together under an environmental and climate partnership to identify key areas in which joint work could accelerate environmental and economic progress.

Federal health organizations are working together, in collaboration with other levels of government and stakeholders, to address key impacts of climate change on health and the health system., For example, the Government of Canada, supports the expansion of heat alert and response systems across Canada, and raises awareness of heat-related health risks among Canadians and health professionals through targeted promotional materials, guidance and publications.

In addition, the Government of Canada’s capacity building program (HealthADAPT) has supported 10 health authorities across the country prepare, prevent, and respond to the impacts of climate change on the health system by assessing their climate change vulnerabilities and identifying adaptation options for their regions. The Government is also advancing action on climate-driven infectious diseases, including through the Infectious Disease and Climate Change Program and Fund to support surveillance and monitoring, risk assessments, modelling, laboratory diagnostics, as well as health professional education and public awareness activities.

The Government of Canada is also advancing our knowledge and understanding of how climate change is impacting Canada now, and in the future. Canada in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action is a national assessment process that includes reports on climate change impacts in Canada as well as vulnerabilities and adaptation measures.

Provincial and territorial governments have also continued to take action. For example, the Government of Saskatchewan’s Prairie Resilience Climate Change Strategy is a system-wide approach to preparing for a changing climate.

This resilience-based approach ensures greenhouse gas emissions are decreasing while strengthening the province’s ability to adapt and thrive in a changing climate. The Government of Saskatchewan uses the Climate Resilience Measurement Framework to track and report on 25 measures across 5 key areas:

• natural systems
• physical infrastructure
• economic sustainability
• community preparedness
• human well-being

The third annual Resilience Report, released in May 2021, indicated that 17 measures are in good standing and 8 measures are in fair status, with no measures considered in poor standing. Highlights include increased energy savings from SaskPower’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation program, as well as emissions reductions in greenhouse gases produced in association with oil.

SDG 14: Life below water

Goal: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Indigenous peoples in Canada have strong historical and cultural ties to Canada's coasts and oceans. They exercise fisheries-related Aboriginal and treaty rights, and have co-management roles, as part of the nation-to-nation, Inuit-Crown and government-to-government relationship.

To ensure sustainable development, research on cumulative effects of marine shipping has helped improve understanding of regional marine shipping related issues and concerns, and how they impact coastal communities. In addition, through the National Strategy to Address Abandoned and Wrecked Vessels, 780 vessels have been addressed as of December 31, 2021, including 432 that have been removed from Canadian waters.

As part of the federal zero plastic waste agenda, several Canadian Plastics Innovation Challenges were launched and awarded to Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop approaches to address marine plastic litter resulting from the marine transportation and the fishing and aquaculture sectors.

Through the Whales Initiative investment of $167.4 million in 2018 and additional funding since, the Government of Canada has taken action to address key human-caused threats to endangered cetaceans, with a focus on protecting North Atlantic right whales, Southern Resident killer whales, and St. Lawrence Estuary belugas. These measures have been implemented through collaboration with Indigenous communities and stakeholders to support the recovery and protection of these endangered whale populations. The Government of Canada is continually reviewing the best-available information generated through this Initiative to help inform fisheries and vessel management measures aimed at reducing threats of entanglements, underwater noise, insufficient prey and vessel strikes to support protection and recovery of endangered whales, and is adapting these measures over time as needed.

Canada has worked to support coastal restoration projects and initiatives through its Coastal Restoration Fund, which is anticipated to have restored over 650,000 square meters of aquatic habitat at the end of its mandate (March 2022). In addition, the fund will have contributed to the survival or recovery of threatened or endangered species.

An enhanced Sustainable Fisheries Solutions and Retrieval Support Program – the ”Ghost Gear Fund” – supports domestic and international initiatives that retrieve ghost gear, dispose of fishing related plastic waste and test improved fishing technologies. To date, the fund has successfully removed more than 1,259 tonnes of abandoned, lost, or otherwise discarded fishing gear and 125 kilometers of rope from Canada’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Thus far, 616 retrieval trips have been completed, retrieving 6,590 units of lost gear.

Additionally, the Government of Canada continues to advance Marine Spatial Planning in 6 areas by working with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments to coordinate how marine spaces are used and managed to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives.

SDG 15: Life on land

Goal: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

The Government of Canada is committed to taking ambitious action to restore and protect biodiversity. Recent historic investments have put Canada on the path towards conserving 25% of its land, lakes and oceans ^{Footnote 135}. In addition, Canada is protecting wildlife and promoting the recovery of species at risk, and developing and implementing nature agreements with provinces and territories. The investments will also support Indigenous-led conservation through establishment of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, the delivery of the Indigenous Partnerships and Indigenous Guardians initiatives. It will also enhance Canadians access to nature, and create jobs in nature conservation and management.

The development of a Framework for Aquatic Species at Risk Conservation is underway to guide multi-species, place-based and threat-based approaches to species at risk recovery and protection. Since 2018, as part of the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk, 9 priority places have been identified across Canada as a focus for targeted recovery and protection stewardship actions. In these areas, 42 projects have been funded that target over 75 populations of aquatic species at risk.

Invasive Alien Species have been identified by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) as 1 of the 5 main direct drivers of biodiversity loss across the globe. The Government of Canada is taking action to address this threat, working in collaboration with provinces and territories to revitalize the Canadian Action Plan to address the threat of aquatic invasive species and fill policy and knowledge gaps, for example with regards to invasive alien species-related expenses incurred by Canadian municipalities.

The State of Canada’s Forests annual report provides information to help us manage our forests more sustainably, allowing decision-making based on robust historical data sets and key sustainable forest management indicators. The report provides a snapshot of the social, economic and environmental status of forests and forestry in Canada. The Government of Canada will carry out research to continuously increase knowledge and refine its world-leading practices for the sustainable management of its forests.

The Government of Canada will also help protect old growth forests, notably in British Columbia, by advancing a nature agreement with British Columbia, establishing a $50 million British Columbia Old Growth Nature Fund, and ensuring First Nations and Métis, local communities and workers are partners in shaping the path forward on nature protection.

In early 2022, the Government of Alberta finalized the expansion of the Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park. This expansion adds to the largest contiguous area of protected boreal forest in the world. Collaboration between the Alberta government, federal government, Indigenous communities and industry made the expansion possible. The total area of the Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland is now more than 775,000 acres. This represent about 6 times the size of Waterton Lakes National Park.

The expansion of Alberta’s Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park supports Indigenous peoples’ traditional activities and creates recreation opportunities for Albertans. It also helps protect the landscape, watersheds and conserve critical habitat for wildlife, including bison and woodland caribou. The expansion adds to contributions made by the original Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park to increase watershed protection in support of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) Outstanding Universal Values of the Peace-Athabasca Delta. The expansion also supports alignment with the UNESCO Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site. This initiative directly protects and promotes the sustainable use and management of the landscape, watersheds and area wildlife. It also supports Indigenous peoples’ traditional activities, including the exercise of treaty rights.

The Prince Edward Island’s Carbon Capture Tree Planting Program was launched with funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Fund. This program enables landowners to have native trees planted on priority areas such as high-sloped lands, watersheds with low forest cover, and sites with sensitive soils. In addition to trees, landowners are eligible for a one-time payment of $650 per hectare. Provincial reforestation efforts have the measurable goal of planting in excess of 1 million trees per year, with plans to further expand tree-planting efforts. An increase in forested area leads to increased carbon sequestration; greater soil stability; more opportunities for forest product development; protection of riparian ecosystems; and improvements in the quality and contiguity of wildlife habitats.

SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

Goal: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Peaceful communities are fostered through major initiatives as varied as addressing gun violence, promoting crime prevention and combatting human trafficking.

A commitment to safe and peaceful communities also finds expression in action and partnerships to prevent and address gender-based violence. This has included additional funding to assist organizations such as women’s shelters and sexual assault centres to deal with COVID-19 impacts.

The Government of Canada’s priority commitment to advance reconciliation and renew the relationship with Indigenous peoples, based on recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership, also aligns with the aspirations of SDG 16, for example:

• measures to improve access to justice for Indigenous peoples take aim at systemic discrimination in the justice system, such as supporting engagement with Indigenous communities and organizations in the development of an Indigenous justice strategy to address systemic discrimination and the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the justice system
• measures to enhance supports for culturally-sensitive policing and safety and Indigenous-led programs and services in Indigenous communities
• to help address the Calls for Justice outlined in the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, a National Action Plan and Federal Pathway to end violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people has been released, including commitments to improve access to justice supports through a human rights and an Indigenous rights lens

Budget 2021 includes funding for the Enabling Accessibility Fund to improve accessibility in shelters serving victims experiencing all forms of violence, which will help respond to the growing accessibility needs of shelters across Canada. Some activities also benefit children, who have been the target of focused initiatives to address violence and sexual exploitation directed at them.

The Government has also taken action to modernize the family justice system. Further efforts designed to promote access to justice and inclusion include support for Community Justice Centre (CJC) pilot projects in British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario (with plans to expand these centres across Canada). CJCs bring together justice, health, employment, education and social services to collectively address the root causes of crime, break the cycle, and improve public safety and community well-being. New federal funding also supports supervision services for divorced and separated parents with regard to parenting time and transfers, as well as providing access to free legal advice and legal representation for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence.

Promoting empowerment through funding for public legal education programs, which allow people to know and understand their rights, is also key. For newcomers to Canada, the Government funds information and orientation services, in part to help them better understand Canadian values, our legal system and the realities of Indigenous people in Canada.

Mindful that inclusion extends to those contributing to Canada’s economic and social well-being, the open work permit for vulnerable workers seeks to protect migrant workers if they face workplace mistreatment.

The Court Challenges Program, administered independently by the University of Ottawa, funded 57 cases in 2020 to 2021 with the objective of providing individuals and groups in Canada with financial support to access the courts for the litigation of test cases of national significance. This support is intended to clarify and assert certain constitutional and quasi-constitutional official language rights and human rights in Canada.

The importance of building strong institutions finds voice in Canada’s membership to the Open Government Partnership since 2012. Canada has implemented 4 National Action Plans to date. National Action Plans on Open Government set the direction for the open government movement in Canada and in more than 70 countries around the world. These plans are a way for the government to communicate to citizens about the ways it is responding to their priorities and concerns. National Action Plans also allow citizens to hold the country accountable for its progress.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals

Goal: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

In Canada, Open Government is about making government more transparent, accountable, and participatory. The Open Government Portal provides a single point of entry for open data and information published by Government of Canada organizations, as well as from some provinces and territories. It supports high quality open data and metadata through standardized data templates and rich metadata standards. On average, 205,774 uniquely identified clients visited the Open Government Portal each month in 2021 ^{Footnote 136}.

Open government is also fostering inclusive collaboration and partnerships, which helps to advance the SDGs. In Canada, this collaboration is exemplified through engagement with the public on commitments in Canada's national action plans on open government, and through Canada's Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Open Government, which supports ongoing dialogue between government and civil society. Open government also promotes collaboration and partnerships domestically with provincial stakeholders from across jurisdictions, as well as at the international level. This includes collaborating with partners and stakeholders on national action plan commitments related to the SDGs, such as promoting a peaceful and inclusive society.

Statistics Canada supports transparent reporting of data and statistics that help Canadians better understand their country – its population, resources, economy, society and culture through publishing thousands of data tables where the public can select variables of interest to them and create customized data tables. In addition, the Canadian Indicator Framework data hub is an open source platform that reports the most recent data for the Canadian SDG indicators.

The SDG Funding Program was established to develop and utilize innovative approaches to address sustainable development and the social, economic and environmental issues and challenges, and support the important work of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. In 2020 to 2021, the Government of Canada provided 46 grants and 12 contributions to organizations to support recipients in their work to advance the SDGs.

In October 2020, Statistics Canada produced 17 fact sheets that tracked the country’s progress on the SDGs. Moreover, the updated CIF, a result of a renewed consultation with the federal departments and agencies responsible for advancing the SDGs, was released in June 2021 to track progress on the SDGs in a Canadian context.

The Government of Saskatchewan and the province’s postsecondary education institutions created the SaskAlliance Group on International Research, Development and the SDGs. The Group has:

• increased awareness of the SDGs in Saskatchewan
• promoted the role of global citizenship education
• enabled best practices to be shared and led to multi-stakeholders partnership for the SDGs

Through this group, the Government of Saskatchewan and the postsecondary education institutions have come together to develop a provincial approach towards sustainable development. This partnership has led to the development of an International Education Strategy for Saskatchewan. It is focused on SDGs 4 (Quality education), 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 10 (Reduced inequalities), and 17 (Partnerships for the goals).

Impact200, the Bicentennial Student Sustainability Challenge, began in the summer of 2020 with the goal of uniting like-minded individuals in the McGill University community who are passionate about addressing sustainability issues. Teams of students worked together under the mentorship of McGill alumni and employees to develop transformative projects. Each project looked to implement solutions to local or global sustainability challenges, inspired by 1 or more of the 17 SDGs. Each finalist team was invited to a one-on-one meeting with experts from the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship, which helps develop and provide support to McGill entrepreneurs.

Moving forward, this collaboration will identify next steps for their projects, to ensure that these ideas continue to be supported after the challenge. In addition, the Chief of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) invited prize-winning teams to visit the UN in May 2022.

• Top prize went to creators of an information-sharing platform that connects small food banks, food donors, and people in need
• Second place went to a team that created a mental health application to assist users in gaining insights into self-awareness, empathy, and self-regulation
• Tied for third place: 1 team developed a mobile solar refrigerator to improve access to sustainable cooling in mobile clinics globally; the other team created an online educational platform that teaches youth about connections between environmental systems

The competition embodied the principle of SDG 17, Partnerships for the Goals, bringing together diverse students and fostering practical knowledge, collaboration, problem-solving, and innovation.

Contributions of partners and stakeholders towards creating an enabling environment

Fostering leadership policy coherence and governance

Subnational actors are also demonstrating leadership on the SDGs. They are localizing the SDGs, integrating the SDGs into their work, and taking ownership of 2030 Agenda.

Université Laval ‘s project Démarche transformationnelle d'intégration des objectifs de développement durable dans les collectivités locales (available in French only) helps cities meet the challenge of the SDGs. Building on the UN Habitat finding stating that 23% of global SDG indicators requires action at the local or urban level, the project notes that local governments and stakeholders play a central role in identifying and implementing the most relevant local initiatives to achieve the SDGs.

The local level is able to identify and respond to the needs of the most vulnerable people through the proximity of decision-making and the disaggregation and geolocation of data, which makes it possible to ‘leave no one behind’. The project allows to strengthen the role of local communities in ownership, planning, implementation and monitoring of the SDGs. The project’s approach also aims to be transferable across other communities and other levels of government. Outcomes of the project included, but are not limited to:

• develop, test and disseminate an approach to accelerate the adoption of local authority approaches
• contribute to the assessment and monitoring of the impacts of local approaches on the achievement of the SDGs and their contribution to Moving Forward Together: Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy
• empower municipal governments and civil society organizations to better intervene in the implementation and monitoring of the SDGs
• mobilize multidisciplinary expertise from Canadian universities, research institutes and civil society organizations around multiple partnerships
• develop and disseminate training on SDG integration into local governance

In addition, the project is currently supporting 1 indigenous community and 3 municipalities in Quebec to facilitate their ownership of the SDGs, and the inclusion of the SDGs in planning and monitoring tools.

Another project that aims to integrate the SDG lens to institutional practices is led by the Nova Scotia Community College. The College has established an SDG Committee to oversee this process. The committee has created an SDG Action Plan that currently assesses all of the College’s actions and initiatives that will contribute to the SDGs. As an educational institution, the college is also aiming to improve awareness of and engagement with the goals so that students are able to bring an SDG lens to their careers and industries after completing their studies. The College’s Sustainability Team is preparing a Climate Change Action Plan that will inform the College’s approach to capital planning over the coming decades, creating more resilient infrastructure through mitigation, adaptation, and knowledge and behaviour against current and future climate change pressures.

Raising awareness, engagement and partnerships

Volunteer Canada’s project the “Volunteer Factor and the SDGs: Increasing Awareness, Integration and Collaboration” aims to increase awareness and collaboration across sectors to promote and recognize the contributions of volunteers in helping to achieve the SDGs. The organization notes that the SDGs can be used to create a compelling message to recruit new volunteers and to mobilize existing volunteers. In addition, the SDGs offer a framework to recognize volunteer engagement by clearly demonstrating the impact of the volunteer’s efforts locally but also how they contribute globally to the SDGs.

Through a number activities, the project:

• raises awareness among non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and businesses of the SDGs and their relevance in Canada
• promotes the integration of the SDGs as a framework for volunteer programs in organizations, community-service involvement in schools, and corporate community investment strategies
• facilitates collaboration among non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and businesses to recognize the contributions of volunteers in achieving the SDGs

Future of Good’s project titled My 2030: Canada’s Top 100 Recovery Project for a Sustainable Decade developed a new visual communication medium. It allows individuals to increase awareness, be inspired everyday, and foster bridging efforts with new stakeholders on building the road to a sustainable decade post-pandemic. The project raises awareness of the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda in Canada among social purpose organizations. It also celebrates leaders that are tackling Canada’s recovery from the repercussions of COVID-19 in order to have a sustainable decade. The project reached over 20,000 people through marketing and crowdsourcing throughout Canada for nominations of local pandemic recovery projects that also contributed to addressing the SDGs.

Accountability, transparency, measurement and reporting

The Tamarack Institute supports communities to localize the SDG framework. Alongside the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Canada, the organization has established a monthly SDG Localization Community of Practice that gathers over 170 members from across sectors, to explore a range of topics including localizing SDG data and indicators. The organization has produced resources on localizing the SDGs including, a 10 – A Guide for Advancing the Sustainable Development Goals in Your Community that is a practical tool for communities looking to localize the SDGs. The guide outlines ideas for localizing the SDG framework, including conducting a Voluntary Local Review (VLR) to report on progress at the local level, and using the Canadian Indicator Framework to improve reporting and support efforts to feed into national reporting on progress towards the SDGs.

Reconciliation and the 2030 Agenda

Indigenous Leadership is at the core of the Advancing the SDGs 2030 Agenda in Nogojiwanong / Peterborough project led by the Kawartha World Issues Centre and GreenUP. Building on a 2019 SDG Community forum in which 5 local key priority action areas had been identified, community-working groups are generating a framework to localize SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 4 (Quality education), SDG 6 (Clean water and sanitation) and SDG 13 (Climate action). During the 2021 SDG Community Forum entitled, “Centering Indigenous Leadership and Diverse Perspectives to Advance the SDGs in Nogojiwanong / Peterborough”, community members assembled to deepen their understanding of how to advance the SDGs in a way that leaves no one behind and prioritizes Indigenous leadership. Collectively, Indigenous leadership was identified as critical to local success. A final report was drafted and published in 2021.

The Atlantic Council for International Cooperation’ project Indigenous Youth for the Sustainable Development Goals: Our communities, Our Voices aimed to build the capacity of Indigenous youth from the Atlantic Provinces to be SDG champions in their communities. It fosters and integrates Indigenous and local knowledge. It integrates input from Indigenous youth on how to effectively engage and connect them to Agenda 2030. The project aimed to amplify Indigenous youth voices through virtual engagement in domestic and international forums and provide concrete opportunities for Indigenous youth to lead projects on the SDGs in their own communities.

Provinces and territories are implementing Indigenous education policy frameworks. For example:

• Manitoba’s Mamàhtawisiwin program reflects Indigenous languages, cultures, and identities in teaching and classroom practices. The program supports First Nations, Inuit, and Métis learners towards holistic success
• other provinces have officials dedicated to Indigenous education and reconciliation within ministries of education. For example, Ontario’s Indigenous Education Office. The Office has the mandate is to build partnerships with communities, support student transitions, build educator capacity, and increase student success
• concerted efforts are made to recruit Indigenous students, such as in Nova Scotia, which has a strategic plan to recruit and retain Indigenous postsecondary students
• Saskatchewan implemented the Grants to Support Reconciliation Actions program. The program provides grants to fund initiatives such as Indigenous healing projects, education training, land-based learning, learning and promoting Indigenous languages, and Indigenous arts projects

Investing in the SDGs

Provinces and Territories are also investing in the SDGs. For example, the Government of Quebec Compétivert initiative, created in 2021, aims to make Québec more productive, innovative and green. It does so by encouraging businesses to adopt eco-responsible practices and clean technologies to support their competitiveness while reducing their environmental footprint. The initiative's funding envelope is $375 million. The initiative offers:

• financing solutions
• technological and strategic support
• industrial environmental performance diagnostics, and
• information sessions for companies

SDG 1: No poverty

Goal: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

In response to the pandemic, the Government of Canada has committed over $2.7 billion in international assistance since February 2020. Over half of these funds – more than $1.3 billion – will help facilitate equitable access to COVID-19 medical countermeasures through the provision of life-saving assistance and delivery of emergency health care. All of these investments aim to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, reduce to financial burden carried by marginalized groups and those in vulnerable situations and directly support the achievement of SDG 1 (No poverty) abroad.

SDG 2: Zero hunger

Goal: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

In addition to supporting improved access to nutritious food and improved sustainability of the agriculture sector domestically, Canada supports improved global food security and sustainable food systems through engagement in multilateral fora and bilateral programming with developing country partners, among other mechanisms.

Canada continues to play a leadership role in the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. Through the Global Research Alliance, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) scientists contribute to global expertise and research capacity, accelerating progress on international research on climate change that increase collaboration on practices and technologies that decrease agricultural emissions and build resilient production systems.

In the context of the UNFCCC, Canada continues to engage in work on more-sustainable approaches to food production and agro-ecosystem management, and has announced increased levels of climate finance funding support for developing countries.

In 2021, Canada provided more than $500 million in humanitarian food assistance internationally. In response to increasing hunger and food insecurity, as a result of factors that include COVID-19 disruptions, climate change, and increased conflict, Canada provided $306 million in humanitarian funding to the World Food Programme, Canada’s largest humanitarian partner, and helped reach 128 million people with food, cash support, and nutrition services.

Particular areas of programming supported by Canada in alignment with SDG 2 globally include advancing priorities such as supplementing vitamin A, iodine, iron and folic acid. In addition, Canada is supporting the scaling up of solutions that enhance sustainable agricultural production and improve availability of and access to safe and nutritious food through local and international agricultural research and nutrition intervention implementing partners.

SDG 3: Good health and well-being

Goal: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Canada is a longstanding leader in promoting global health, in line with its Feminist International Assistance Policy. The Policy seeks to improve the quality of health and nutrition services for the poorest and those in vulnerable situations and help make these services more accessible. Canada also supports key global platforms and organizations including the Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and Nutrition International.

Canada is committed to a robust international effort to stop the COVID-19 pandemic and to address its devastating health, social, economic and security impacts on people around the world. Canada is supporting equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics through the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator and the COVAX Facility. Since February 11, 2020, the Government of Canada has committed over $2.7 billion to the global response to COVID-19. The Government of Canada is working to ensure that international partners can maintain essential health services for vulnerable populations.

The International Health Grants Program (IHGP) facilitates the Health Portfolio’s participation in international activities, strengthens inter-sectoral collaboration and promotes increased awareness of current and emerging global health issues of priority to Canada. In 2020 to 2021, the IHGP provided $1.7 million to 13 projects that contribute to improved health and well-being abroad. Examples of project outcomes include supporting climate resilience, advancing sustainable waste management, responding to mental health, advancing the global sound management of chemicals, addressing air pollution and water quality, addressing opioid dependence, and enhancing effective responses to COVID-19.

SDG 4: Quality education

Goal: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

The FIAP commits Canada to supporting access to quality, inclusive and gender-responsive education and skills training for the world’s poorest and those in vulnerable situations, with a focus on women and girls. Crisis, conflict and fragility exacerbate existing inequalities in access to quality education and skills training for girls and women, especially those with disabilities. Internationally, the Government of Canada had positioned itself as a leader in the promotion of girls’ education in conflict and crisis settings.

In February 2021, Canada launched a global campaign; Together for Learning, to address the education crisis among refugees, other forcibly displaced, and host community children and youth. This included the creation of a Refugee Education Council, made up of youth advocates, community leaders, teachers and parents who have experienced displacement, to ensure their voices informed decision-making.

SDG 5: Gender equality

Goal: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Canada recognizes the potential of women and girls as transformative agents of change and advances gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. In the context of its Feminist Foreign Policy, Canada has launched:

• a Trade Diversification Strategy, taking an inclusive approach to trade and seeking to ensure that the benefits of trade are more widely shared, including with women
• the Feminist International Assistance Policy to eradicate poverty and build a more peaceful, inclusive and prosperous world by focusing on 6 action areas: promoting gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, including addressing sexual and gender-based violence and harmful practices, (core action area); human dignity (health and nutrition, education, humanitarian action); growth that works for everyone; environment and climate action; inclusive governance; and peace and security
• Canada’s 2nd National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, and the appointment of Canada’s first Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security
• Canada’s defence policy, ‘Strong, Secure, Engaged’ includes a commitment to increase the proportion of women in the Canadian military by 1% annually, moving from 15% in 2016 to 25% representation by 2026

SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation

Goal: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Between 2015 and 2020, the Government of Canada disbursed approximately $300 million in international assistance to water and sanitation programming. More than 60% of Canada’s bilateral water-related investments are in Africa. Women and girls are often the primary producers of food and providers of water, and heating and cooking fuel for their households, sometimes putting them at risk of violence if they have to travel far. This assistance supports women to increase drought resilience of their crops and to improve their access to clean water. Funding for water, sanitation and hygiene in schools has also supported girls to complete primary school and enter secondary schools.

From 2014 to 2017, Canada provided $7.5 million for the WinS for Girls (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools for Girls) project, a multi-country program and partnership, led by UNICEF and the UN Girls' Education Initiative, to increase the number of girls completing primary school and entering secondary schools by addressing menstrual hygiene management and cultural norms. Canada is the lead donor, funding WinS programming in 10 countries.

The Government of Canada is also providing $6 million to WaterAid Canada (2019 to 2023) for a project in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Pakistan, which aims to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women and adolescent girls by addressing their menstrual health and hygiene needs through access to improved water, sanitation and hygiene in school and health facilities.

SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

Goal: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Canada is a co-leader with the United Kingdom of the Powering Past Coal Alliance to accelerate global coal-fired electricity phase out, and complements this leadership role through significant climate finance investments in clean energy transition and coal phase out. This includes Canada’s contribution of up to $1 billion to the Climate Investment Funds’ Accelerated Coal Transition Investment Program. This program helps developing countries transition from coal-fired electricity to clean power, including retirement of coal mines and coal power plants. Moreover, Export Development Canada now has restrictions on financing for coal-fired power projects.

Canada has invested in international clean energy transition through multilateral development banks. For example, the Canadian Fund for the Private Sector in the Americas – Phase II will help Latin American and Caribbean countries reduce their carbon footprint and adapt to climate change while empowering women by catalyzing climate-friendly investments from the private sector.

Through Canada’s Cleantech International Business Development Strategy, the Government of Canada supports Canadian firms export clean technologies and clean energy solutions in areas such as hydrogen, energy storage, smart grid, and bioproducts, to help other countries to meet their 2030 Agenda commitments.

SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth

Goal: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Canada’s FIAP recognizes that, for women in developing countries to participate equally in contributing to economic growth, they must also have greater access to and control over assets, as well as labour rights and social protections from precarious work situations. Canada is committed to:

• promoting greater financial inclusion for women in its international assistance work
• supporting technical and vocational training for women
• helping address inequalities with respect to care work to protect the rights of paid, unpaid, and poorly-paid care workers and promote decent working conditions across the care workforce

In line with its approach to trade and labour, Canada has continued to negotiate comprehensive and enforceable labour provisions in free trade agreements to help ensure that trade and investment do not come at the expense of workers’ protections. Canada has also continued to provide technical assistance to partner countries to build their capacity to fulfill their domestic and international labour commitments, including the effective enforcement of domestic labour laws. The negotiation and implementation of trade-related labour provisions contribute to advancing Global Indicator Framework 8.8: “Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment.”

Canada is also very active in pursuing social security agreements with other countries in order to protect the income security and pension eligibility of individuals that have lived or worked in Canada and other countries, as well as to promote the competitiveness of Canadian companies operating abroad. Social security agreements recognize Canadian and foreign pension system creditable periods to establish eligibility to pensions and strive to reduce or eliminate restrictions based on citizenship or the payment of benefits abroad that may prevent individuals from receiving pensions. They also permit continuity of social security coverage when a person is sent to work temporarily in a partner country, and prevent situations where that person and their employer may have to contribute to the social security programs of both countries for the same work. To date, Canada has concluded bilateral social security agreements with 61 countries, of which 59 are in force.

In addition, Canada, as an active member of the International Labour Organization (ILO), plays a key role in contributing to the advancement of the ILO's Decent Work Agenda.

Canada was actively involved in the discussions at the ILO’s 2021 International Labour Conference that led to the adoption of a Global Call to Action for a human-centred COVID-19 recovery. It outlines a comprehensive agenda for member States to ensure their economic and social recovery is fully inclusive, sustainable and resilient. Canada has ratified all 8 core ILO Conventions, covering a range of fundamental rights and principles, such as the right to organize and collective bargaining, minimum age of employment, non-discrimination and the elimination of child labour and forced labour.

Organized by the ILO, OECD and UN Women, Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) is a strategic, multi-stakeholder partnership. Launched in 2017, it aims to assist UN Member States in achieving the SDGs, particularly target 8.5 that calls for equal pay for work of equal value by 2030.

SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Goal: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

The Government of Canada is continuing to work with the G20, the OECD, and international financial institutions to implement the G20 Roadmap to Infrastructure as an Asset Class, which aims to improve the quality of infrastructure investments and close the infrastructure investments gap through mobilizing private and institutional investors. In December 2021, G7 Leaders released a statement committing to a G7 Partnership for Infrastructure Investment to address infrastructure investment gaps in development countries that address SDGs and climate objectives.

Under Canada’s 2018 G7 Presidency, Ministers of Employment and Innovation convened in Montreal under the theme of Preparing for Jobs of the Future to discuss how governments can better support their citizens to adapt and thrive in the new world of work. Also in 2018, the Development Ministers endorsed the Whistler Principles to Accelerate Innovation for Development Impact and pledged to encourage innovations that can reinforce social and economic resilience for those in fragile states or at risk of extreme weather events and other natural hazards.

SDG 10: Reduce inequalities

Goal: Reduce inequality within and among countries

Canada ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2010 and acceded to its Optional Protocol in 2018. Since 2015, Canada has also been a member of the International Initiative for Disability Leadership (IIDL) forum. Canada is also a member of the Global Action on Disability Network, which seeks to enhance the inclusion of persons with disabilities in international development and humanitarian action. In 2021, the Prime Minister of Canada mandated the Minister of International Development to provide greater assistance to people with disabilities in developing countries.

Canada continues to actively promote and advance the human rights of LGBTQ2+ people internationally. Canada remains active in the Equal Rights Coalition by co-chairing the Thematic Group on National Laws and Policy. Canada has continued to implement the LGBTQ2+ International Assistance Program, which represents $30 million in dedicated funding over 5 years (2019 to 2024) to advance human rights and improve socio-economic outcomes for LGBTQ2I people in developing countries. In 2021 to 2022, the program achieved a number of milestones including establishing a community of practice for Canadian and international partners to share knowledge and inform program delivery.

SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities

Goal: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Canada has committed to actions under international commitments on waste such as the Basel convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal. In signing these international agreements, Canada made a commitment to develop national legislation to promote the environmentally sound management of hazardous wastes, hazardous recyclable materials and other waste. These international agreements and implementing domestic regulations represent significant steps taken to manage these wastes and materials on a global scale.

Since January 1, 2021, Canada implements the Basel Convention amendments on plastic waste through its Cross-border Movement of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations. These amendments have strengthened controls on the transboundary movement of hazardous plastic waste and certain non-hazardous plastic waste. The amendments exclude non-hazardous recyclable plastic waste.

Many air pollutants travel long distances and across national boundaries. International cooperation is an important component of Canada’s approach for improving air quality. Canada works with a number of countries and partners through the UN Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (Air Convention) to address transboundary air pollution, which has impacts on Canadian air quality. In 2017, Canada ratified the Gothenburg Protocol which commits Canada to reduce emissions of NO_x, SO₂, VOCs, and PM_2.5 below 2005 levels by 2020. Recent data show that Canada has met its targets ^{Footnote 137}. Canada also works bilaterally with the United States under the Canada-US Air Quality Agreement (AQA) to address acid rain and ozone.

SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production

Goal: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Canada is demonstrating strong leadership globally in relation to responsible consumption and production, including in the areas of reduction of plastic waste and the transition to a circular economy, among others.

Canada’s approach frames responsible business conduct (RBC) as increasingly central to business success, It also recognizes the role that the Government of Canada, through the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) and partners, can play in helping Canadian companies achieve world-leading responsible business practices and improve the sustainability of their social and environmental presence.

Since 2018, Canada continues to champion the Ocean Plastics Charter, a global framework that asks endorsees to take a resource-efficient and lifecycle management approach to plastic pollution. To date, the Charter has been endorsed by almost 30 government and over 70 business and organization from around the globe. To advance the objectives of the Charter, Canada is delivering $100 million to support developing countries in their efforts to reduce plastic pollution and waste, spark innovation, and support public-private partnerships.

With respect to chemicals management, Canada collaborates with other jurisdictions and international organizations to strengthen protections for the health of Canadians and the environment. By leading or participating in multilateral environmental agreements on chemicals and waste, Canada aims to promote and improve the sound management of chemicals globally, and to provide policy, technical and scientific support, guidance and advice on chemicals and air, water and soil pollution.

SDG 13: Climate action

Goal: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

In June 2021, at the Carbis Bay G7 summit, Canada doubled its climate finance commitment to $5.3 billion over the 2021 to 2026 period. The new funding envelope includes several targets: a minimum 40% allocation of funding to climate adaptation projects; at least 80% of projects integrating gender equality considerations; and at least 20% of funding to support projects that leverage nature-based climate solutions and projects with biodiversity co-benefits in line with the G7 Nature Compact. Canada is demonstrating its prioritization of adaptation with investments of up to $37.5 million in the Least Developed Countries Fund, $10 million to the National Adaptation Plan Global Network and $10 million to the Adaptation Fund.

Canada is delivering on its international climate finance commitments to support developing countries in their transitions to low-carbon, nature positive and climate-resilient economies in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Over 2015 to 2021, Canada delivered $2.65 billion to support developing countries. As of 2021, Canada’s climate finance investments have supported 128 projects, which are expected to reduce or avoid over 228 megatonnes of (GHG) emissions – the equivalent of removing about 47 million combustion-engine cars from roads for 1 year – and help at least 6.6 million people adapt to the effects of climate change.

Canada also demonstrated leadership on climate finance by co-leading with Germany the development of the Climate Finance Delivery Plan in the lead up to the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow in November 2021 to demonstrate developed countries’ commitment to the goal to jointly mobilize USD $100 billion dollars in climate finance per year from 2020 through to 2025.

Countries gathered in November 2021 at the Glasgow Climate Conference (COP26) to advance the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Canada came into COP26 having already made several important commitments in 2021, including a doubling of its international climate finance pledge for developing countries, enhancing its 2030 emissions reduction target, and legislating a 2050 net-zero target. During the COP26, Canada committed to apply a declining cap on its oil and gas emissions from current levels; to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector by 75% from 2012 levels by 2030; and up to $1 billion to help developing countries transition from coal-fired electricity to clean power.

Through the Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada promotes environment and climate action by supporting initiatives in developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change, advance women’s leadership and decision-making and create economic opportunities for women in climate activities, such as clean energy. Around the world, women with less access to resources, and greater responsibility for family and community welfare, are disproportionately feeling the effects of climate change.

SDG 14: Life below water

Goal: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Canada is also an active supporter of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The Ocean Decade provides an international platform upon which to advance ocean science in support of sustainable development and in alignment with SDGs through to 2030. Canada’s approach supports all Ocean Decade outcomes and challenges, including understanding the ocean-climate nexus and developing innovative science solutions to support a blue economy. In addition, Canada’s approach considers gender equity, Indigenous engagement and Indigenous knowledge, youth and early career ocean professional, and the Arctic.

As a member of the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, the Government of Canada has become a global leader in combatting ghost gear, and encourages other nations to join the Initiative and take action to reduce ghost fishing and fisheries related marine litter.

The Government of Canada is also working to implement the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Action Plan to Address Marine Plastic Litter from Ships.

In 2020, Canada endorsed the flagship Transformations document developed by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel), which includes actions to tackle ghost gear and other types of ocean plastic pollution. The 5-pillar framework found in Transformations, with actions under ocean wealth, ocean health, ocean equity, ocean knowledge, and ocean finance, is consistent with the existing target deadlines set in the SDGs. The framework recognizes that particular effort is needed for the unfulfilled 2020 targets.

To protect marine and coastal ecosystems, the Government of Canada is involved in international activities such as the International Coral Reef Initiative. It also works in collaboration with the International Maritime Organization to advance international action on underwater vessel noise and promote the adoption of quiet ship design standards and technologies in commercial shipping.

The Government of Canada is helping to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing throughout the world through investments that strengthen vessel detection, expand Canadian enforcement presence on the high seas, bolster capacity of developing countries, advance intelligence sharing, and increase support for leading non-governmental organizations. Additionally, Canada is proud to lead the Commonwealth Blue Charter Action Group on Ocean Observation, which advances opportunities to increase the innovation, development, and deployment of ocean observational technologies.

The Government of Canada is active in World Trade Organization negotiations and other processes to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies and increase the economic benefits of sustainable marine resources for Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.

SDG 15: Life on land

Goal: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Canada has supported sustainable forest management through the International Model Forest Network, first developed in Canada in the early 1990s. Today, 60 Model Forests in 35 countries cover an area of more than 70 million hectares.

As noted in the main report, the Government of Canada is actively working under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity to develop an ambitious post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that is expected to be adopted in 2022.

Canada is also a Party to many other Conventions related to this SDG, including:

• the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival
• the Convention on Wetlands (the Ramsar Convention), an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources

The Government of Canada is also working with Parties of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, which calls for global action “to combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.”

The Government of Canada, through its work with the Arctic Council working group on the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna, collaborates with other Arctic States and with representatives from Indigenous peoples in the Arctic Council, to address and support policy and decision making pertaining to Arctic biodiversity. The working group’s objectives are to develop common responses to biodiversity issues of importance to the Arctic, including monitoring and research, and to communicate findings to promote best practices to ensure the sustainability of the Arctic’s living resources.

SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions

Goal: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

Canada’s second National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security includes commitments from 9 Government of Canada partners. It guides the Government in advancing gender equality and protecting and promoting the human rights of women and girls in fragile and conflict-affected states through development assistance, humanitarian action and peace and security efforts. Canada supports the SDG call to reduce violence and related deaths through support to UN peace operations, many of which include protection of civilian’s mandate.

Canada was the eighth largest contributor to the UN-assessed peacekeeping budget in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, is 1 of the largest contributors of extra-budgetary funding, and deploys military, police and civilian officials to UN missions. Through the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations, Canada also leads innovative approaches to increase the meaningful participation of police and military women deployed to UN Missions, and through the Vancouver Principles, works to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers where United Nations peacekeeping missions operate.

Canada is active in international efforts such as the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children, and is the leading donor on ending violence against children, with 11.3% of Canada’s official development assistance contributing to programs to end violence against children. Canada is a member and funding partner, through the Inclusion, Diversity and Human Rights fund, of the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, a multi-stakeholder coalition advancing the SDG 16 and the 2030 Agenda.

Canada supports democracy, governance, and human rights in an inclusive manner through its international assistance programming, foreign policy advocacy and diplomacy activities. Democracy programming initiatives, such as the Promoting and Protecting Democracy Fund, strengthen democratic institutions, processes and participation, including by civil society, media, and marginalized groups and those in vulnerable situations.

SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals

Goal: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

In response to well-known gender data gaps, Canada is investing $5 million from 2021 to 2025 through Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) at the OECD, to enhance national statistical offices’ (NSOs) capacity to generate and work with high-quality gender disaggregated data. The data will be gathered across 15 countries spanning the Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) regions. The aim of this investment is to improve both the quality and availability of gender-disaggregated data in order to foster more inclusive, effective and evidenced based decision-making.

At the recent Democracy Summit, the Government of Canada committed to continue work to advance anti-racism, gender equity and 2LGBTQ+ rights globally. The Government of Canada, alongside the US and Mexico, committed to creating a North American Partnership for Racial Equity and Inclusion at the North American Leaders Summit. Canada remains committed to joint action and leadership, offering innovative and results-driven solutions. This includes attention to Canadian strengths in areas such as science and technology transfers and data transparency.

In January 2018, Canada launched its own Development Finance Institution, FinDev Canada, to support the private sector in developing countries with a focus on SDG 5 (Gender equality), 7 (Affordable and clean energy), 8 (Economic growth and decent work), 9 (Industry, innovation and infrastructure) and 13 (Climate action). FinDev Canada has since become a key implementer of Canada’s development agenda, particularly women’s economic empowerment and climate action in SSA, and LAC regions. As of December 2021, FinDev Canada has announced 29 investments (with 27 partners), for a total of USD $383.3 million.

In 2020, Canada strengthened alliances and forged new partnerships, including through the Development Ministers Contact Group on COVID-19, and the Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond Initiative.

Canada is committed to achieving the trade goals outlined in SDG 17. Since 2018, Canada has been leading discussions in the Ottawa Group on World Trade Organization reform on ways to ensure the multilateral trading system remains relevant for 21st century trade, including supporting SDGs and global economic recovery.

In 2020, Statistics Canada entered into a partnership with the World Bank to undertake the enormous task of translating the global indicator metadata (indicator methodology) into French. Using a World Bank developed tool, Statistics Canada is providing the French version of the metadata for all countries to use which enables French speaking countries to be better able to use the global SDG metadata to calculate the indicators for their countries.