Clean Canada: protecting the environment and growing our economy

Introduction

In December 2016, on a chilly Friday in Ottawa, Canada’s First Ministers came together to agree on the country’s first truly national climate plan, developed through a year-long negotiation with provinces and territories, with input from Indigenous peoples, and through engagement with Canadians, businesses and civil society across the country.

Clean Canada tells the story of how that plan – along with other actions to protect the environment and accelerate Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy – are setting us on the path to a cleaner, healthier and more prosperous future. It shows how people across Canada are coming together, rolling up their sleeves and finding new ways to protect nature, improve our health, and make our economy stronger and more sustainable. We’re generating cleaner, renewable energy and using it more efficiently to get around, heat our homes and fuel our industries – keeping life affordable, fighting climate change, and helping us build a better future for our kids and grandkids.

We’re also taking steps to make our communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change. In recent years, we’ve seen floods in urban and rural areas, from the National Capital Region to New Brunswick. In 2018, spring in Manitoba brought with it one of the worst droughts on record, sending feed prices through the roof for farmers. In the same year in Montréal, more than 50 people died from a summer heat wave. The forest fires that devastated parts of B.C. and Alberta and drove hundreds of thousands from their homes that year are still talked about, especially as each new spring brings the threat of yet another fire season.

Meantime, it seems like once a year we hear reference to ’the storm of the century.’ These events are becoming more frequent, more expensive to clean up, and more devastating for Canadians. Between 1983 and 2008, insurance claims from extreme weather averaged $400 million a year. Between 2009 and 2017, those costs quadrupled to an average of $1.8 billion a year. Insurance claims are expected to continue to increase, as is damage to personal and business property and public assets. We cannot just stand by and refuse to act.

Taking action on climate change will help address these growing costs. It’s also the key to succeeding in the new low-carbon economy. Meeting the global challenge of climate change is an opportunity to mobilize our skilled workers, natural resources and fast-growing tech sector to fight climate change while creating good jobs and opening up new opportunities for Canadians. Because the whole world is in search of new solutions, every clean approach we develop here at home can help our businesses compete and win, building a stronger, more sustainable economy.

Compared to business as usual, bold action on climate change is expected to add at least $26 trillion to the global economy by 2030, along with 65 million new jobs. Canada is ready to seize that opportunity and make the most of it to benefit families, communities and businesses.

Clean Canada offers a snapshot of how we’re coming together to build a cleaner, healthier, more affordable future that we can be proud to have our children inherit. It includes:

• putting a price on carbon pollution across Canada, so it’s no longer free to pollute
• phasing out traditional coal-fired power plants and investing in renewable energy
• expanding public transit in communities across the country
• investing in energy efficiency to help families and businesses save money
• investing in made-in-Canada technologies and clean solutions
• improving building codes and standards so our homes and buildings use less energy
• finding cleaner alternatives to diesel in remote communities
• raising standards so our cars run on cleaner fuels and cost less to operate
• doubling the amount of nature we protect
• keeping plastics in the economy and out of our environment.

These changes will make life better and more affordable for Canadians. For example, phasing out coal means fewer problems for people with asthma and other breathing difficulties. More efficient buildings mean lower costs for heating and cooling. And, just by using cleaner fuels in our cars, we can have an impact equivalent to taking millions of vehicles off the road by 2030.

Then there’s the economic impact: by taking action to build a cleaner future, we are helping Canadian companies to innovate, develop new and better technologies, reduce carbon pollution, strengthen competitiveness and create jobs. And let’s not forget that the global clean-growth market represents a multi-trillion dollar opportunity for the companies and countries that choose to lead it.

Clean Canada represents the combined efforts of provinces and territories, small and big businesses, cities and towns, Indigenous peoples, universities, schools and families – all working together to fight climate change, save money, create good jobs and position Canada as a leader in the clean economy of the 21st century. At its heart, it’s about people – especially our young people. We want them to look forward to a better, cleaner, healthier Canada with more jobs, less pollution and more opportunities. This plan shows the way.

Improving where we live and work

Making existing buildings cleaner and more efficient

• Households and businesses across the country are accessing rebates and incentives to offset the cost of energy retrofits. 268 programs are available, in every province and territory, helping people save money while reducing their environmental impact. For example, New Brunswick’s Total Home Energy Savings Program offers custom advice and thousands of dollars in support for homeowners.
• Budget 2019 included $1.01 billion in funding, to be delivered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, to support energy efficiency in residential, commercial, and multi-unit buildings, including support to improve efficiency in affordable housing developments.
• We’re investing in social housing upgrades, improving energy efficiency by at least 25%.
• We’re phasing-down HFCs, which are greenhouse gases used in appliances such as fridges and air conditioners. Tonne for tonne, they’re thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide.
• Canada is committed to leading by example on greening government operations and growing demand for cleaner solutions, and has set an ambitious target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from federal facilities and fleets by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030, and by 80% below 2005 levels by 2050. By 2018, the federal government had already reduced its emissions by 32% compared to 2005 levels.

Nova Scotia-based Carbon Cure is creating jobs and reducing carbon pollution by capturing emissions from industrial plants and plugging the carbon into concrete to make it stronger and greener. Its world-leading technology is being used by over 100 plants across North America, including a concrete supplier for California’s $64-billion High Speed Rail project.

Mohawk College in Hamilton has commissioned Canada’s largest net-zero-energy institutional building. The 96,000-square-foot Joyce Centre for Partnership & Innovation will be heated and powered by geo-exchange wells and solar panels. It’s been chosen as a national pilot project for the Canada Green Building Council, demonstrating its new net-zero energy carbon standard.

Working together

Making electricity cleaner + investing in renewables

Nunavut launched the Net Metering Program in April 2018 to encourage residential renewable energy systems installation. Nunavut’s Qulliq Energy Corporation partnered with Yukon College to analyze renewable energy possibilities within existing power plants.

Saskatchewan’s First Nations Power Authority helps Indigenous people get involved in the energy sector. It provides knowledge, expertise and links between the industry and Indigenous businesses, creating opportunities for investment, employment and sustainable development in Indigenous communities.

Getting around

More and more Canadians are choosing cleaner transportation. Between 1996 and 2016, the number of people taking transit to work increased by about 60 per cent. So did the number of people commuting by bike. Interest in zero-emission vehicles is growing. These choices save energy and money while protecting the environment. And building clean transportation networks brings good jobs and economic growth. That’s why we’re focusing on finding faster, cheaper, cleaner ways to get where we’re going

Cleaner fuels and cleaner vehicles

Using cleaner fuels in transportation, industry and buildings is one of the biggest steps Canada can take to reduce carbon pollution and make its economy cleaner and more competitive.

• Canada’s new Clean Fuel Standard will cut 30 million tonnes of pollution every year by 2030. That’s the equivalent of taking seven million cars off the road a year.
• We strengthened emissions standards so that heavy-duty vehicles like trucks will pollute up to 25% less.
• Canada is working with California to grow the market for cleaner passenger vehicles, like cars, trucks and SUVs. Canada’s goal is to have 100% of all new light-duty vehicles be “zero-emission” (hybrid, electric or hydrogen) by 2040.

More support for transit and electric vehicles

• Budget 2019 provides support to expand the network of zero-emission vehicle charging and refuelling stations, and commits $300 million over three years to create new incentives for people and businesses to purchase zero-emission vehicles.
• Canadians who buy or lease an eligible battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell, or plug-in hybrid vehicle will get an incentive of up to $5,000.
• More than 1,000 new electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations will make zero-emissions travel more convenient and reliable.
• We’re working with cities and communities to expand public transit networks, supporting 1,200 projects to date nationwide.
• We’re investing in new light-rail transit systems for Canadian cities. Calgary’s Green Line will create more than 20,000 jobs, while Ottawa’s system will result in the single greatest reduction of carbon pollution in the city’s history.

New Brunswick is the first fully connected province, with a fast charging network for electric vehicles spanning over 19 communities. New Brunswick installed 49 public charging stations in partnership with the Government of Canada and is adding 12 more chargers in provincial parks and historic sites in 2018. New Brunswick is also the fastest growing electric vehicle market in the country with a 124% year-over-year increase. The New Brunswick Government has also invested in electric school buses and electric vehicles for government travel.

Quebec’s Agrisoma turns the oil from a mustard-like seed called carinata into a powerful biofuel, used by Qantas Airlines for the first-ever commercial flight between the U.S. and Australia powered by a bio-based fuel. Bio-based jet fuels like Agrisoma’s could reduce emissions from air travel by up to 77 per cent.

Over the next 25 years, electric vehicles will become a key mode of transportation—making our cities healthier and less polluted. Winnipeg’s New Flyer Industries makes electric buses that run smoothly and quietly and with zero emissions. And the company is creating good middle- class jobs. Innovative companies, like New Flyer Industries, are creating jobs and helping build our green economy through clean transportation.

Creating jobs and economic growth

Along with our actions for fighting climate change, Clean Canada is a blueprint for building a stronger, more sustainable economy. The same innovations that reduce carbon pollution and improve our quality of life can drive economic growth, create jobs and help Canadian companies compete and win in the lucrative low-carbon economy.

Helping small and medium business

Support for clean tech

• Our new procurement policy gives emerging technology companies a foothold in the marketplace by having the federal government be their first customer.
• We’re providing financing and other help to companies – so we can all benefit from new innovations that cut pollution, create jobs and encourage energy savings.
• New international trade deals such as the new NAFTA, CETA and CPTPP highlight clean technologies, products and services to help our made-in-Canada industry grow. In 2017, clean-technology industries contributed $28.4 billion to Canada’s GDP, and employed over 183,000 Canadians. In addition, thanks in part to federal support and growing global demand for innovative clean solutions, Canadian clean-technology exports reached $9 billion in 2017, an 11 percent increase from the previous year.
• Business owners can now write off the full cost of new clean energy equipment immediately.

In 2018, Newfoundland and Labrador provided $235,000 in funding to support the SmartICE Sea Ice Monitoring and Information project. Through this investment, SmartICE will commercialize its SmartBUOY prototype instrumentation for measuring sea-ice thickness and establish a technology production centre in Nain to be operated by trained Inuit youth.

Enerkem Alberta Biofuels in Edmonton is the world’s first major collaboration between a large city and an innovative waste-to-biofuels producer. Every year it turns about 100,000 tonnes of household waste into millions of litres of ethanol and methanol. That ingenuity led to a $125-million deal to bring Enerkem’s technology to China.

Cleaner industry

Ontario-based VeriForm, a steel fabricator, earned $135,000 in annual energy savings by investing in simple retrofits like smart thermostats and automated receiving doors. The company’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 77% and the energy savings made it more competitive, allowing it to boost its workforce by 25%.

Manitoba’s Farmers Edge is developing technology that helps farmers find fuel and resource savings through easy-access data and analytics. The company’s “precision agriculture” platform has earned it tens of millions in investment, customers on almost every continent, and the prospect of reducing carbon pollution from the agricultural sector worldwide.

Reducing plastic pollution and protecting  nature

Plastic pollution is a growing problem in our environment, and a waste of a valuable resource. Instead of being reused or recycled, plastic waste ends up in our landfills and incinerators, litters our parks and beaches, and pollutes our rivers, lakes, and oceans – being eaten by and entangling birds, turtles, fish, and marine animals.

Without a change in course, the plastics thrown away in Canada will be worth $11 billion in 2030. However, by improving how we manage plastic waste and investing in innovative solutions, we can reduce 1.8 million tonnes of carbon pollution, generate billions of dollars in revenue, and create approximately 42,000 jobs.

With the longest coastline in the world and one-quarter of the world’s freshwater, Canada has a unique responsibility – and opportunity – to lead in reducing plastic pollution.

Keeping plastic out of the environment

• Canada will ban single-use plastics that cause harm as early as 2021 where supported by scientific evidence and when warranted, and is taking other steps to reduce plastic pollution.
• We are working with provinces and territories to develop Canada’s first-ever Canada-wide action plan to eliminate plastic waste, and develop consistent Extended Producer Responsibility programs so that all companies that produce plastic products are subject to the same rules for collection and recycling.
• By 2030, we will reduce plastic waste in our federal operations by 75% by eliminating the use of unnecessary single-use plastics – including straws, utensils, bags and bottles – in operations, meetings and events. We will also increase the amount of plastic we reuse, recycle or compost in government operations, buy more products made from renewable or recycled plastics, and reduce packaging waste.
• We banned plastic microbeads in toiletries, such as bath and body products, skin cleansers and toothpaste, to stop them from polluting our rivers and lakes and being eaten by fish. The complete ban is in effect as of July 1, 2019.
• We are providing over $10 million dollars to help small and medium-sized enterprises develop made-in-Canada solutions that reduce plastic waste from food packaging, construction waste, marine vessels, and fishing gear, improve plastic recycling through artificial intelligence and refine technologies for bioplastics.
• We are providing $1.5 million to support community-led action to keep our shorelines, bodies of water, parks, and other natural places free of plastic pollution.
• We are supporting ongoing scientific research into the lifecycle of plastics and how plastic pollution affects our health, wildlife, and the environment. Canada’s Plastics Science Agenda will support evidence-based decision-making and innovative approaches to sustainable plastics production, recycling, and recovery.
• From launching the Ocean Plastics Charter at the 2018 G7 Summit to investing in new Canadian technologies that turn plastic waste into valuable resources, we are taking action to make our economy stronger while protecting wildlife and the places Canadians love.

Protecting our lands and oceans

Nature is our most precious resource—yet it is increasingly under threat from climate change, industrial activity, and habitat loss. Since 1970, the world has lost approximately 60 percent of the populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians.

As home to the second-largest remaining wilderness area, one fifth of the world’s fresh water, and the world’s longest coastline, Canada’s leadership is essential to reverse the drastic loss of animals, plants, and habitat worldwide. The action we take today will ensure our kids and grandkids also have the opportunity to enjoy the wildlife and wilderness we cherish as Canadians.

• Budget 2018 launched the $1.3 billion Nature Legacy the single-largest investment to protect nature in Canadian history.
• The Government of Canada is working to double the amount of nature protected across Canada and continues to make swift progress toward our 2020 goal of protecting a total of 2.25 million km² of land and ocean.
• We’re finalizing Canada’s largest marine conservation area in Tallurutiup Imanga/Lancaster Sound in Nunavut.
• We enhanced the protection of the Greater Toronto Area’s Rouge National Urban Park, which became Canada’s first national urban park in 2017.
• In April 2019, the federal government announced the intent to establish four new national wildlife areas: one on Isle Haute, Nova Scotia; and three in St. Lawrence islands, in Quebec. Working in partnership with provinces, territories, and Indigenous peoples, we are also making significant progress toward establishing new national park reserves in Thaidene Nëné and the South Okanagan– Similkameen, and have announced the intent to establish new protected areas in Eastern James Bay and the Magdalen Islands.

The Edéhzhíe region in Northwest Territories was declared an Indigenous Protected Area in 2018, thanks to a partnership between the Dehcho First Nation and the Government of Canada. The step preserves lands,waters and wildlife that are integral to the Dehcho while contributing to Canada’s target of doubling the amount of nature protected in our lands and oceans.

Putting a price on carbon pollution

“I refuse to leave this problem to be dealt with by some other person at some other time. We have to deliver a safer, healthier, more prosperous future for Canadians and their families. We can, and we will.”
– Prime Minister JustinTrudeau

• It can no longer be free to pollute, anywhere in Canada. Governments from coast to coast to coast are putting a price on the carbon pollution that causes climate change.
• In Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, 97 percent of households that filed their taxes in the spring of 2019 received a Climate Action Incentive payment directly, to help them adjust to an economy in which carbon pollution is no longer free.
• Going forward, most families will get back more than they pay to help cover the cost impact of pricing carbon pollution. And there will be a 10% top up for people in small, rural, and remote communities.
• Through this plan, we will also increase our support for small and medium-sized businesses, municipalities, universities, schools, hospitals, non-profit organizations, and Indigenous communities - helping the environment, creating jobs, and strengthening local economies.

Helping communities adapt

Even as we work to fight climate change, Canadians are feeling its impacts. Canada’s Changing Climate Report, a study led by Environment and Climate Change Canada and released in the spring of 2019, provided an assessment of current knowledge about how and why Canada’s climate has changed, and what changes are projected for the future.

The reportfound that on average,Canada is warming about twice as fast as the globalaverage, and three times faster in the North. Science shows that warming is influenced by human activities in the past, present and future.

In the last decade, insurance claims related to severe weather in Canada have averaged $1.8 billion ayear – four times higher than in 2008. Every dollar invested in preparing for the impacts of climate change saves up to 40 dollars, not to mention the benefits to our health. So we’re taking action to help our country and communities adapt and prepare for what’s ahead. That includes:

• a new Canadian Centre for Climate Services, giving everyone better access to climate science and information. In connection to the CCCS, the government has created ClimateData.ca, a new climate data portal, which equips public health professionals, engineers, planners, and others with detailed climate change data to help Canadians understand and adapt to climate change.
• a Climate Lens to ensure that future climate impacts are considered and addressed in federally funded infrastructure projects.
• a $2 billion Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund to help communities manage risks and prevent disasters.
• stronger codes and standards to ensure that the buildings and infrastructure of the future can withstand the impacts of climate change.

We’re also working with Indigenous communities to better understand our changing climate through the Indigenous Community Based Climate Monitoring Program. It’s one more example of how strong partnerships can help create a better future for all people.

Working together globally

In the 1980s, Canada played a key role in developing the Montreal Protocol to phase out the use of chemicals depleting the ozone layer. Now, as part of the same agreement, we’re joining other countries to phase-down the use of HFCs – greenhouse gases with thousands of times the impact of carbon dioxide. We’ve also made a difference by:

• partnering with China and the European Union to convene the Ministerial on climate action to advance progress on the Paris climate changeagreement
• partnering with the UK to build an international alliance for phasing out coal
• hosting an international conference for women leading the fight against climate change
• championing the Gender Action Plan, which aims to bring more women to the climate change negotiating table, as well as the local communities and Indigenous peoples Platform
• making sure environmental protections are included in all new trade agreements
• working with other countries at the 2018 UN climate summit to agree to a set of rules for implementing the Paris Agreement

Summerside, P.E.I. is using smart technologies to make the most efficient use of its various power sources. The city gets almost half its energy from wind. It also uses solar power as well as more conventional fuels. Smart technology is expected to improve the city’s grid efficiency by up to 20 per cent.

Measuring our progress

Every year, we’re issuing a progress report so Canadians can see how our climate commitments are translating into action. The federal, provincial and territorial governments report together so all the results are in one place. Our second annual progress report was released in December, 2018 and we will continue to engage with Canadians to help ensure we stay on track. As new ideas and findings emerge, we will adjust our plans with an eye to continual improvement – so people can see results and realize the benefits sooner.

Governments have collaborated with Indigenous peoples as they move toward more efficient new building standards. In spring 2018, the National Research Council began consultations with stakeholders, including the First Nations National Building Officials Association, on the development of a guide that will leverage Traditional Knowledge and support sustainable housing on reserves. British Columbia is working on a pilot with the Heiltsuk First Nations in Bella Bella to install air-source heat pumps in homes that are currently using oil for heating.

New initiatives launched by governments this year support access to financing and skill development for clean technology producers. The Government of Canada and Yukon College collaborated to launch the Yukon Innovation Hub, bringing together entrepreneurs, business advisory support services and Yukon College under one roof.

Reductions to achieve 2030 target

The concrete actions we are taking with partners across Canada to improve the buildings we live and work in, to build cleaner transportation systems, support new technologies in our industries, and create new jobs and economic growth have put us on a path to achieve our 2030 climate target. These measures will result in a historic level of emission reductions in Canada. Through ongoing collaboration with provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous peoples, and businesses, we will continue to improve on our plan and capture the emerging opportunities in technology and innovation.

Not all of the action we are taking to reduce carbon pollution is reflected in the measures modelled in Canada’s climate plan, the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. These ‘unmodelled measures’ are outlined below.

We are witnessing a rapid evolution of technologies that will reduce pollution through the economy. We know that our actions are working and that we will achieve our 2030 goals through these and future emission reduction opportunities including:

• Strategic investments in innovation and clean technology
  Strategic investments in new and emerging technologies present opportunities to reduce carbon pollution while also creating new job opportunities for Canadians. Battery technology and other forms of energy storage, underground storage of carbon dioxide, and direct air capture of emissions are examples of areas where technology is rapidly evolving and becoming more affordable and efficient. Canada’s 2018 Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant Emissions Projections indicated that the faster uptake of clean technologies could reduce emissions by 16 million tonnes in 2030.
• Expanding public transit
  Investing $28 billion in public transit projects across Canada will give Canadians better, more affordable options for getting around, fight climate change and reduce traffic congestion and air pollution (see Annex for details). Investing in new or improved buses, light-rail transit, and streetcars help Canadians get to where they need to go while providing a cleaner and more sustainable alternative to driving. Electric, hybrid, and natural-gas buses have even more potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and drive innovation. For example, the City of Ottawa expects the first phase of its Light Rail Transit Project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by close to 100 thousand tonnes per year by 2030, the equivalent of taking 25,000 cars off the road.
• Green procurement by governments
  The Government of Canada is working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from federal operations by 80% by 2050, through a host of measures including: increasing the use of renewable electricity in federal buildings, investing in more efficient and zero-emissions vehicles, encouraging lower-carbon alternatives to air travel and commuting and adopting greener procurement practices.
• Changes in vehicle fuel efficiency standards and more zero emission vehicles
  Once an emerging technology, zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) are now a common sight on Canadian roads, and more and more manufacturers are offering a wider and more affordable selection of ZEV models to Canadian drivers. Budget 2019 includes $300 million over three years to provide purchase incentives for zero-emission vehicles and to expand the network of zero-emission vehicle charging and refuelling stations.
• Reducing plastic waste and improving recycling
  There is significant potential to reduce emissions by increasing recycling rates. If products are made from recycled materials, emissions are not being produced from the extraction, production, processing and shipping of raw materials. This opportunity exists for many different types of products, and could reduce carbon pollution by almost two million tonnes, according to the audit and consulting firm Deloitte.
• Nature conservation efforts including our commitment to double our protected areas
  Protecting nature helps to keep greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane stored in the soil, trees, and other natural areas. By working to double the amount of land and ocean protected in Canada, we can keep carbon pollution out of our atmosphere while protecting nature as a legacy for our kids and grandkids.
• New provincial and territorial actions
  Provinces and territories announce new, updated, or more stringent climate policies on an ongoing basis. For example, the Clean BC Plan is expected to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 5 million tonnes in 2030, above and beyond currently modelled measures. This will be incorporated in the next national projection of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Municipalities
  Cities and towns have increasingly become leaders in combatting climate change, and are responsible for decisions in key areas, such as transportation and waste. For example, Vancouver is taking significant action on climate change, mainly through its efforts to become the world’s greenest city by 2020. The city’s main targets are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% below 2007 levels by 2050, and to derive 100% of the city’s energy used from renewable sources by 2050. Smaller cities such as Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, have also been taking action to fight climate change. Their Community Energy Investment Plan includes making energy-efficient retrofits to the community’s buildings, installing solar, wind and hydro generating energy and storage systems, and developing clean and active transportation systems, such as expanding transit systems and electrifying the community’s vehicle fleets.
• Additional measures proposed by the Advisory Committee on Climate Action
  Enhancing the use of electricity and other low-carbon fuels for ground freight would help reduce greenhouse gases emissions. For example, if 10% of new sales of freight trucks in 2030 were electric, and 16% fueled by natural gas, we would reduce emissions by about 1.5 million tonnes in 2030. If energy-saving retrofits took place in an additional 5% of commercial buildings every year, and if these savings reduced emissions by 10% on average, we could reduce emissions by around 1.5 million tonnes in 2030.

Every year we will report on our progress and provide a transparent update on how our existing and new actions to reduce pollution and grow the economy are working for all Canadians. To fight climate change and create the future we want for our kids and grandkids, we will have to work together and continuously improve our Clean Canada plan.

Next steps

Clean Canada sets the stage for a cleaner, healthier future with the largest reduction in carbon pollution in Canada’s history. It puts us on a path to a stronger, more sustainable economy and shows how we’ll meet our targets as part of the global Paris Agreement.

Key steps forward in 2019 will include areas such as cleaner fuels, renewable energy projects and investing in energy efficiency and clean technology to create real benefits for people, including good jobs, more convenient ways to get to work, healthier air, cleaner water, and lower costs to heat our homes and businesses.

Canada still has lots of work to do. We know we will face new challenges as the world around us changes. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – not just to save the planet but to build a better quality of life and take full advantage of the fast-growing market for new ideas, technologies and products.

Canadians have what it takes to win in a cleaner future. We’re building the future our children deserve, so they can look forward with confidence. Together, we’re bringing that future to life.

Clean Canada by sector

Improving where we live and work

Net-zero ready buildings

• New model building codes being developed with provinces and territories for net-zero-energy ready buildings that use less energy

Building retrofits

• Supporting provincial and territorial energy effciency programs via the Low Carbon Economy Fund
• Working with provinces and territories to develop building energy performance labels and retrofit codes for building renovations

Improved technologies and design

• $64 million for research and development to further advance energy effcient building
• Effcient Buildings Program launched in 2018 will increase energy effciency with improvements to design, renovation and construction

Better equipment

• Major updates to the Energy Effciency Regulations will make dozens of products use less energy, such as household appliances and heaters
• Additional standards will make heating equipment and other key technologies as effcient as possible

Phasing out coal-fired electricity

• Regulations to phase out traditional coal-fired electricity by 2030 and set performance standards for new and significantly modified natural gas-fired power plants

Helping remote communities

• $273 million in direct funding to help remote communities replace diesel with cleaner fuels for heat and power

Emerging renewables and the smart grid

• $200 million to expand our access to new types of renewable energy, through the Emerging Renewable Power Program
• $100 million for next-generation smart grid, energy storage, and clean electricity technology demonstration and deployment projects
• $20M Power Forward Challenge, in partnership with the UK, to make power grids more flexible, stable and reliable

Getting around

Cleaner fuels

• Clean Fuel Standard to reduce pollution from all fuels, including gasoline and diesel

Public and active transit

• Over 1,000 public transit infrastructure projects funded in communities across Canada

Charging and fueling infrastructure

• Over 1,000 new electric-vehicle charging stations, plus natural gas and hydrogen refueling stations
• Commitment to support a coast-to-coast network for clean, zero-emission vehicles on the national highway system.

More effcient vehicles

• Regulations for cars and trucks are driving continuous improvements in effciency
• Additional standards are being developed for off-road vehicles and on fuel-effcient tires

Zero-Emission Vehicles

• Canada-wide Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Strategy provides incentives to get more clean vehicles on our roads

Creating jobs and economic growth

Clean technology research and development

• Over $2.3 billion for hundreds of clean technology projects, from early-stage development to commercialization and export
• People can apply for funding from a range of sources, including the Energy Innovation  Program, the Clean Growth Program and the Impact Canada Initiative
• Commitment to double federal clean energy research and development as part of the global Mission Innovation project
• Clean Growth Hub created as a one-stop-shop to help clean technology innovators get the federal support they need

Support for business

• Accelerated capital cost allowance to encourage Canadian businesses to invest in clean energy equipment
• Lower small business tax rate
• Funding for projects to use less energy, through the Low Carbon Economy Challenge Fund

Supporting workers and communities

• A federal task force visited communities and coal mines in 2018, to hear from people affected by the coal phase-out and recommend new supports for coal workers and communities.
• $35 million has already been committed to skills development and creating new economic opportunities in affected communities

Reducing methane emissions

• Final regulations to reduce methane pollution from the oil and gas sector were published in April 2018

Improving industrial energy effciency

• Supporting industry efforts to adopt and implement energy management systems to help them save energy
• $450 million Low Carbon Economy Challenge Fund is open to projects that reduce carbon pollution, including industrial energy effciency and changes to the way products are made

Research and development

• Projects are underway through the Oil and Gas Clean Technology Program and the Energy Innovation Program

Protecting nature

Increasing stored carbon

• Doubling the amount of nature protected in Canada’s lands and oceans
• Creating the Canada Nature Fund to protect our ecosystems, landscapes and biodiversity
• Working with provinces and territories to fund reforestation projects via the Low Carbon Economy Fund
• Farm stewardship and research programs through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership

Using more wood in construction

• Support for demonstration projects under the Green Construction through Wood Program

Generating bioenergy and bioproducts

• Research and development funding through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership and the Agricultural Clean Technology Program
• Support for bioheat projects in remote and rural communities

Plastics strategy

• Working with provinces and territories on a national plan to eliminate plastic waste

Putting a price on carbon pollution

Pricing carbon pollution

• Parliament passed the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act in June 2018
• Further details were announced in October 2018, including how direct proceeds will be returned to Canadians
• Following more than two years of intensive engagement with industry and stakeholders, the government released final regulations for the federal carbon pollution pricing system for large industry. Facilities will pay a price on their carbon emissions that exceed a set level, and earn credits that they can sell if they pollute less. This will encourage innovation, the adoption of clean technologies and ensure industry remains competitive.

Helping communities adapt

Providing authoritative climate information

• Canadian Centre for Climate Services (CCCS) launched in October 2018
• Work with Indigenous peoples underway to understand climate change and respectfully include Traditional and Indigenous knowledge in adaptation planning

Building resilience through infrastructure

• $2B Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund to protect our built and natural infrastructure
• Climate lens applied to all federally-funded infrastructure projects over $10 million to ensure they plan for climate change
• Developing climate-resilient codes and standards for the buildings and infrastructure of the future

Protecting human health and wellbeing

• Developing a harmonized heat warning system with public health offcials in multiple provinces
• Infectious Diseases and Climate Change Fund, launched in 2017, supports adaptation and resilience to emerging health risks, like Lyme disease

Supporting particularly vulnerable regions

• Developing a Northern Adaptation Strategy with provinces and territories
• Northern Transportation Adaptation Initiative is providing funds to strengthen northern infrastructure

Federal investments in climate action and clean growth

Since 2015, the Government of Canada has committed about $60 billion to reduce emissions, adapt to a changing climate, and support clean technology innovation and the transition to a clean growth economy.

Commitments include:

• More than $28 billion to support public transit^{Footnote 1} , 1,211 transit projects approved;
• $26.9 billion to support green infrastructure^{Footnote 2} , including support for renewable energy, electric vehicle charging, natural gas and hydrogen refuelling stations, clean energy in rural and remote communities, and climate adaptation and resiliency initiatives (e.g., flood mitigation under the $2B Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund);
• $3 billion^{Footnote 3}  to support the development, adoption and scale-up of clean technologies;
• Over $2 billion to help cities and towns adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change, delivered through the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (e.g., $75 million for the Municipal Climate Innovation Program, $50 million for the Municipal Asset Management Program, and over $1 billion in support for building energy effciency investments);
• $2 billion to generate clean growth and reduce carbon pollution from buildings, industries, forestry, and agriculture, by leveraging investment in projects through the Low Carbon Economy Fund;
• The $1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan, to improve marine safety and responsible shipping;
• $1.3 billion for nature conservation;
• $300 million to provide Canadian drivers and businesses with purchase incentives for zero-emission vehicles;
• Over $64 million to help rural, remote and Indigenous communities transition off diesel fuel;
• $108 million to establish the Canadian Centre for Climate Services, which will improve access to trusted, useful and timely climate information and data to support adaptation decision-making; and
• Over $100 million in targeted federal funding to support specific economic sectors (such as transportation, agriculture, and health) and communities, including Indigenous Peoples and Northern communities (e.g., $52 million for the First Nations Adapt Program and $47 million for Climate Change Preparedness in the North).

The Annex provides a detailed list of key funding programs, allocated across three of the four pillars of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.

Annex: Clean growth and climate change funding program summary