Canada

Canada ranks 61st in this year’s CCPI and remains among the very low performers. Canada continues to receive a very low rating in the GHG Emissions, Renewable Energy, and Energy Use categories, and a low in Climate Policy.

Canada’s Emissions Reduction Plan, published in March 2022, targets a 40% reduction from 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. However, Prime Minister Mark Carney, the former UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, and Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin, have declined to commit to Canada’s climate goals under the Paris Agreement by 2030. This comes as the government faces criticism over its emissions reduction plans amid evolving global and economic circumstances under the Trump administration.

Previously established emissions policies now coming under attack

The Output-Based Pricing System, introduced by the former Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from industrial emitters. As of 1 April 2024, the fuel charge was CAD 80 per tonne of petrol. Although the Canadian Climate Institute projects Canada’s carbon pricing system for heavy industrial emitters as the most effective national policy for reducing GHG emissions by 2030, these policies are now under attack.

Canada has already abandoned its consumer carbon price and has not yet increased the fuel charge for industrial emitters, which is set to rise to CAD 170 per tonne by 2030. The new approach follows Carney’s ‘climate competitiveness’ strategy, which the government planned to unveil in October 2025. This will be an attempt to reframe the Trudeau-era focus on emissions-reduction targets by shifting toward identifying economic advantages during the global energy transition.

Clean Electricity Regulations are a positive, but provinces vary in renewable energy adoption

The Clean Electricity Regulations finalised in December 2024 will enable substantive reductions in GHG emissions, ensuring a net-zero electricity grid by 2050. The regulations also reduce air pollution by accelerating the uptake of low- and non-emitting electricity generation. The CCPI experts see the new regulations as a step in the right direction. Canada, which is committed to a phase-out of unabated coal-fired electricity by 2030, is progressing with this phase-out. The country has been a member of the Powering Past Coal Alliance since 2017.  The country is among the 10 countries with the largest developed oil and gas reserves, and it currently plans to increase its production.

However, Canada’s provinces have considerable power over energy production and processing, including electricity production and transmission. Some provinces – such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia – currently generate power from coal while having clean energy policies in place, while others – such as Alberta – severely restrict the development of renewable energy while providing extensive support for oil and gas expansion well into the future. Notably, climate policy in Canada strongly depends on the federal states’ priorities.

The experts indicate that the focus is shifting from climate mitigation to the threat to Canada’s sovereignty under the Trump administration. In response to Trump’s tariffs, there is a renewed enthusiasm for expanding trade beyond the United States and building major fossil infrastructure. The government is approving new oil and LNG facilities and providing ongoing subsidies for fossil fuels.

The experts call for the stagnating carbon pricing system to be fixed and strengthened. They also demand that the government set out clear targets for reducing emissions in the near term and honour its promise to cap oil and gas industry emissions.

Key Outcomes

CCPI experts

The following national experts agreed to be mentioned as contributors for this year’s CCPI:

• Emilia Belliveau  (Environmental Defence Canada)
• Guy Dauncey