Canada election: What federal leaders have pledged on climate change

Federal leaders have pitched several promises on climate change ahead of the Oct. 21 election.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, the Conservatives’ Andrew Scheer, New Democrat Jagmeet Singh, Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet and the Green Party’s Elizabeth May have made climate change promises on a wide range of issues, such as the carbon tax, infrastructure and energy.

READ MORE: Here’s what Trudeau, Scheer, May and Singh have promised so far on climate change

Here’s a list of pledges leaders have made on climate change.

Skip to promises made by:

• Conservatives
• Liberals
• NDP
• Green Party
• Bloc Québécois

• June 19: Scheer reveals a climate plan with $2.5 billion worth of pledges, which he says will focus on “tech, not taxes.” This plan includes a vow to repeal the tanker ban and energy project impact assessment changes put in place by the federal Liberals and vows to create a new set of emissions standards.
• Sept. 13: Scheer promises to bring back the public transit tax credit, which the party says is part of its environmental plan.
• Sept. 14: Scheer says a Conservative government would cancel the carbon tax.
• Sept. 25: Tories promise to provide eligible households with a 20 per cent refundable tax credit for green improvements to their homes of between $1,000 and $20,000 as part of a two-year program.
• Oct. 17: Scheer has long promised to repeal the carbon tax, but he’s now set a deadline. If the Tories receive a majority mandate, Scheer says they would scrap carbon pricing in the first 100 days of office.

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• March 19: Liberals table the federal budget, outlining a series of promises pegged on re-election. Some key promises include the creation of a Canadian Drug Agency, $300 million in incentives for those buying zero-emission vehicles and help with cheaper mortgages for first-time homebuyers.
• June 10: Trudeau announces Liberals will ban “harmful” single-use plastics, such as forks and takeout containers, by 2021.
• Sept. 24: The Liberals promise that, if re-elected, they will implement “legally binding” targets to make Canada’s carbon emissions net-zero by 2050. They do not include details of how they plan to do that or if penalties would be put in place.
• Sept. 25: Liberals pledge to provide homeowners and landlords with an interest-free loan of up to $40,000 to pay for environmental retrofits, create a Net-Zero Homes Grant of up to $5,000 for people who buy newly built homes certified as zero-emissions, spend $100 million on skills training for workers to conduct energy audits, retrofits and net-zero home construction, create a low-cost national flood insurance program and a national plan to help relocate homeowners in high-risk flood zones, spend $150 million to complete flood mapping in every province and territory and design a disaster assistance benefit through the employment insurance system. This pledge also includes a promise to cut taxes for clean technology companies.
• Sept. 26: Trudeau pledges that one-fourth of Canada’s land and one-fourth of its oceans will be given protected status by 2025, and 30 per cent by 2030, under a re-elected Liberal government.
• Sept. 27: Trudeau promises that a re-elected Liberal government would pay to plant two billion trees over the next decade as part of a wider $3-billion effort to use nature to combat climate change, and exceed the targets laid out under the Paris Agreement.
• Oct. 8: Trudeau promises to help northern, remote and Indigenous communities transition from diesel power to renewable energy sources by 2030.

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• May 13: Singh outlines a plan for climate change, saying he would help cut Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions almost in half over the next decade and leverage the federal government’s procurement purchasing power to prioritize investments in clean technology companies and converting federal fleets to use zero-emission vehicles.
• Sept. 14: Singh says an NDP government would establish cash incentives to encourage new car buyers to buy zero-emission cars built in Canada.
• Sept. 22: Singh says the NDP would expand federal funding by $2.5 billion to help communities respond to disasters and adapt infrastructure to withstand floods and other extreme weather events.
• Sept. 24: Singh says an NDP government would build a cross-Canada corridor to carry clean energy. The NDP leader also pledges to convert all public transit systems in Canada to electric vehicles by 2030.
• Sept. 27: Singh pledges to create a $40-million plan to help safeguard Canada’s coastlines, creating a fund to protect salmon, reinforce the coast guard and clean up abandoned vessels.

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• May 16: The Green Party unveils an extensive climate action plan dubbed “Mission: Possible,” which includes ending all imports of foreign oil and prioritizing “adaptation measures” for Canada’s agriculture, fishing and forestry industries.
• Aug. 8: May reveals a plan to help transition Canadian fossil-fuel workers to jobs in the renewable energy sector.
• Sept. 16: The Green Party unveils its full election platform with a wide range of policy promises pegged on addressing the climate emergency.
• Sept. 20: The Green Party’s transportation strategy includes carbon-free public transit by 2040.
• Sept. 24: May says the Greens would broaden Canada Post’s mandate to help rural and remote communities and update the postal service’s fleet to electric vehicles.
• Sept. 26: Under the Greens’ climate change plan, May says the party would cancel proposed pipeline projects and move Canada to a carbon-free electricity grid system.
• Sept. 26: Should Canadians elect a minority government, May says her party would not prop up any government that supports pipelines.
• Sept. 29: Green Party promises a “robot tax” on companies that replace workers with machines.

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• Sept. 15: The Bloc Québécois releases its election platform, which includes a range of promises on climate change. The promises include a vow to push Ottawa to impose a carbon tax in provinces where greenhouse gas emissions are higher than average per capita. The party also says equalization payments should be higher for provinces with lower emissions and that it will introduce legislation to set greenhouse gas reduction targets that are consistent with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

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— With files from the Canadian Press