Canada climate plan will wrong-foot Conservatives

Significance

The plan eyes net-zero emissions by 2050, under the Paris climate agreement, but risks further alienating Canada’s western, natural-resource-dependent provinces as well as rural Canadians and economic conservatives. The plan comes as Canada battles COVID-19 and ahead of an expected pre-term election in the coming months.

Impacts

• Support for small-scale nuclear reactors will increase, particularly in areas currently reliant on diesel for most electricity.
• Petrol prices in rural Canada will rise, stirring discontent towards the Liberals.
• The northern Alberta oil sands’ decline will accelerate, meaning reduced investment and job losses.
• Canada-US action to put a sunset date on the future production of petrol-powered vehicles is possible.