Canadian Climate: 2025 Federal Election Questions

By Wayne Miedema (Climate Witness Project Regional Organizer)

The prophet Micah gave us God's answer to the question "What does the Lord require of us?"  The answer is "to act justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God".  Justice and mercy are at the heart of God's instructions for how we are to live on this earth with each other and all other members of the community of creation.  

An election is one opportunity to work towards justice and mercy.  We can choose to vote for policies that help us collectively as a country to act justly and with mercy.  We can choose to vote for policies that move us toward God's intention for the flourishing of all creation.  Consider your vote an opportunity to act justly and love mercy.

The following climate justice talking points were created by Wayne Miedema, the Climate Witness Project Regional Organizer for Southwestern Ontario (Thanks Wayne!) These give background on important issues and offer questions for conversation with candidates. Review the points below to be ready to engage with elected officials and their canvassing teams leading up to the next election. 

General Resources

Interested in talking points on other justice issues, or general resources for the Canadian election? Check out these links from our trusted partners!

- Canadian Council of Churches 

- Canadian Foodgrains Bank 

- Citizens for Public Justice 

- Evangelical Fellowship of Canada

- KAIROS Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives

Introduction 

The first step towards slowing or even reversing changes in climate is to “stop making it worse”.

The single biggest Canadian contributor to climate change is the carbon emissions from the extraction, refining and consumption of fossil fuels.  There are many forces that want to continue or even increase our dependence on fossil fuels - the most obvious being the companies already invested in extraction and refining and building of pipelines.  

A case in point: On March 18, 2025, the CEOs of 14 Oil and Gas and Pipeline companies wrote an open letter to the leaders of the federal Liberal, Conservative, Bloc and NDP parties calling on leaders to “[declare] a Canadian energy crisis and key projects in the ‘national interest’ ”.  This declaration would allow the federal government to use its emergency powers to facilitate increased production of oil and gas and reduce regulation and timelines.  The letter also calls for increased Indigenous co-investment opportunities.  However, the emergency powers would also allow the federal government to use more police powers to respond to Indigenous opposition to extraction and  building of pipelines on Indigenous land.

Climate science tells us the future of energy in Canada and the world must involve a phasing out of fossil fuels.  Justice demands that this phase out respect the rights of Indigenous peoples to prior and informed consent of any project that impacts their lands.  Justice also demands that this phase out of fossil fuels involves those working in the industry so that they can find opportunities in the growth of the renewable energy sector.

Below are some issues and related questions that you can use in conversation with federal election candidates and with neighbours and friends.  Katharine Hayhoe reminds us that, along with personal and systemic changes to consumption, one of the biggest things we can do to respond to Climate Change is to talk about it.

Indigenous People’s Right to prior and informed consent 

Significant deposits of minerals critical for the transition to clean energy are on lands that are stewarded by First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples.  Still more deposits are on lands covered by treaties and agreements.

It is an injustice that, historically, Indigenous peoples have not been able to participate in the decisions that affect them, their communities and their territories.  The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Persons calls for “free, prior and informed consent” of indigenous people for decisions that affect them.  Canada has endorsed the UNDRIP and plans for its full implementation. 

• Question: As we seek out the resources for the transition away from fossil fuels, will your government respect the right if Indigenous Peoples to prior and informed consent to any activity on Indigenous lands?

Funding for Loss and Damage fund  for Climate Change related Loss and Damage

A study of 504 extreme weather events and trends finds that 71% were made more likely or more severe by human-caused climate change.  And this extreme weather is causing increasing damage (referring to things that can be repaired - ie buildings and infrastructure) and loss (referring to things that cannot be repaired - ie deaths and land lost to oceans rising).  By 2030, loss and damage due to human-induced increases in extreme weather is estimated to cost $290 to $580 Billion annually.  

Canada and other wealthy countries are beginning to recognize that our fossil fuel based economy has contributed to global climate change and that the effects of this climate change are felt most by those living in the global south who, ironically, have contributed least to climate change. These countries do not have the finances to rebuild after disasters nor the finances to adapt to changing climate to limit loss and damage in the future.

In 2022, the 197 countries present at COP27 agreed to create a Loss and Damage Fund to help low and middle income countries respond to the past, present, and future impacts of climate change

As of January 2025, Canada has committed only 16 Million to this global fund - one of the lowest contributions to this fund.

• Question: What will your government do to commit new and additional funding (beyond that which is already promised) in the form of grants (not loans)?

Clean Electricity in Canada

In July 2023, Clean Energy Canada released results of a poll showing that 71% of Canadians support the federal government moving towards a 100% clean electricity grid by 2035. Many recognize that a 100% clean electricity system will contribute to better health, job generation and climate action.

The David Suzuki foundation reports that solar and wind are the two most cost effective ways of generating electricity - and that this transition to 100% clean energy will result in lower energy costs in the future.  However, fossil fuel interests are lobbying for exceptions for fossil fuel generation initiated before 2035 to continue operating until 2045.

• Question: Does your party support 100% clean electricity by 2035?

• Question: What technologies would your party expand to make this happen?

• Question: Will your party legislate a phase-out of fossil fuel generation by 2035 with no exceptions for fossil fuel generation beyond 2035? 

Clean Energy around the World

In their March 18 letter to the leaders of 4 of the federal party leaders, 14 CEOs of oil and gas companies and pipeline companies made the case for increased extraction of “Liquified Natural Gas” (LNG) for pipeline shipment to coastal ports for export to foreign countries. The CEOs explained that if countries now using coal for power generation shifted to Canadian LPG fossil fuel, the emissions from power generation would drop.  Clearly any increase in fossil gas extraction and pipeline building would benefit these CEOs and their investors.  

But shifting from one fossil fuel (coal) to another (LNG), is a short-sighted strategy to reduce emissions.  Montel, an independent provider of European energy data and analysis, reports that “Over the past decade, the cost of renewable energy has steadily declined worldwide. From 2010 to 2022, renewable energy sources like wind and photovoltaic (PV) power have become cost-competitive with fossil fuels. This shift occurred without financial support or grants, as electricity from PV dropped by 89%—about one-third less than the cheapest fossil fuel—while wind energy costs fell by 69%, nearly half the price of the lowest-priced fossil fuel.”

Reduction of electricity-generation related fossil fuel emissions need to come from the phasing-out of fossil fuels, and the increasing in production from renewable sources.

• Question:  Will your government commit to phasing out fossil fuels exports of LPG from Canada and invest in support the development of renewable sources of electricity internationally? 

Ending federal fossil fuel subsidies and supports

For a long time, the federal government has given subsidies ($19 Billion in 2022) to oil and gas companies.  It is now time this money was directed away from fossil fuels to aid in the transition away from fossil fuels.  

Many types of government spending fit into the World Trade Organization’s definition of a subsidy - including funding from the government to oil and gas companies for research into Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology. 

In January 2023, the federal government stopped public financing of fossil fuel projects by Canadian companies in foreign countries.   In July 2023, the federal government ended subsidies for domestic oil.  

However, there are significant loopholes in the legislation stopping subsidies and supports:

1. Support for Liquified Natural Gas exports.  The rationale is that countries burning coal to generate electricity would benefit from burning “cleaner” fossil gas (natural gas).  This ignores that renewable sources of electricity are proven to provide reliable electricity at cheaper rates.
2. Support for research into Carbon Capture and Storage and into Hydrogen.  These are two technologies that are unproven at scale.  CCS in particular, is seen as a way for fossil fuel companies to continue to explore, extract and refine with all of the associated environmental risks while counting on CCS to deal with the resulting emissions. 

• Question: Will your government stop subsidies and supports to fossil fuel companies including public money for 

  • research and development of unproven and unscaled carbon capture technology
  • support for exports of natural gas
  • and invest that money in clean energy workers and infrastructure at home and abroad?

Protecting Biodiversity

Plants and animals that form an intricate web of life that God has created on this earth.  Humans are a part of this “Community of Creation” and we are mutually dependent on the non-human members of this community. Today up to 1 million species in our community of creation are at risk of extinction. This is a significant threat to the web of life that all things depend on - including humans.

Two things are driving the loss of biodiversity - human use of land and human-induced climate change.

At COP15 in Montreal, 196 nations signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.  This framework includes 4 goals and 23 targets to be achieved by 2030.  The UNEnvironment Program website says “Among the twenty-three targets to be achieved by 2030 include 30 per cent conservation of land, sea and inland waters, 30 per cent restoration of degraded ecosystems, halving the introduction of invasive species, and $500 billion/year reduction in harmful subsidies.”

UN Secretary General António Guterres’ said ““Indigenous Peoples, people of African descent, and local communities are guardians of our nature. Their traditional knowledge is a living library of biodiversity conservation. They must be protected. And they must be part of every biodiversity conversation.”  

• Question:  Will your party commit to the 4 goals and 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework through legislation, funding and accountability?  

Pollution Cap:

One quarter of Canada’s carbon output comes from the extraction and refining of fossil fuels.  This does not include the emissions from the use of those fossil fuels. As sources of oil and gas become more energy intensive (ie Canada’s oil sands), the extraction and refining of oil and gas will cause more emissions per unit of fossil fuel.  Placing a pollution cap on emissions of the oil and gas industry will make more energy-intensive extraction and refining less feasible - helping with the phase-out of fossil fuels.  It will also shift some responsibility for carbon emissions back onto the oil and gas industry that for too long has seen record profits while receiving tax-payer dollars in teh form of subsidies and while contributing significantly to climate change.

• Question:  Will your government commit to a pollution cap for the oil and gas sector so that oil and gas companies will take more responsibility for the carbon emissions related to their industry?