Justin Trudeau’s environmental legacy suffered from decisions over last few years, conservative premiers

Across the globe environmentalists have been yielding to a conservative political wave crushing policy gains won over the last two decades. 

In Canada, Justin Trudeau’s decision to step down has created a void in the environmental community, as climate advocates fear the worst about our fickle politics, and how quickly decisions can be undone. 

"I’m not terribly surprised by the announcement. I think we all expected this, especially after the events of the fall economic statement," Environmental Defence Associate Director of National Climate, Julia Levin, told The Pointer. 

During his resignation news conference, Trudeau mentioned climate change twice, underscoring climate action as a defining part of his legacy.

“We are at a critical moment in the world…stopping the fight against climate change doesn't make sense,” he said. 

“Pierre Poilievre’s vision for this country is not the right one for Canadians.”

He urged Canadians to carefully consider their vote in the looming election, referencing the Conservative Leader, who has not been shy about axing the “inflationary carbon tax.”

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has campaigned aggressively against the carbon tax, making it a central issue in his bid to become Prime Minister.

(Pierre Poilievre/X)

“We need a carbon tax election now,” Poilievre said in a video statement released shortly after Trudeau’s announcement, in which he attacked the carbon tax five times in less than four minutes. “Common sense Conservatives that will axe the tax.”

Average household net cost of the federal fuel charge (carbon tax) in 2030-31 by income quintile in dollars and as a percentage of disposable income (fiscal impact only, negative numbers mean a benefit to households).

(Parliamentary Budget Office)

As previously reported by The Pointer, the carbon pricing system is not only one of the most effective ways to combat climate change but also puts more money back into the pockets of the majority of households, with low-income families benefiting the most.

For Brampton resident Ruby Benson who is training to become a high school teacher, she “feels for politicians” who must navigate the many challenges tied to Canada’s reputation. 

“I don’t really see much change happening when it comes to issues like the climate crisis no matter which political party or politician is in power because they have their own motivations, and they also have their own real stresses.”

Her perspective on dealing with environmental issues with such a complex political backdrop is unique. She suggests taking care of one’s mental health as, “energies get reflected to your physical environment as well.”

The wellbeing of more and more individuals, however, is going in the wrong direction due to the unrelenting consequences of climate change. The terrifying scenes from southern California as wind-whipped wildfires left thousands scrambling to escape, are sure to become more and more common as climate policies are rolled back by right wing leaders around the world.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to undo many of the most critical climate action policies south of the border and his nominee for the Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, has even suggested dissolving the entire organization. Last week, during his confirmation hearing, Zeldin could not answer basic questions about climate change.

Closer to home, Trudeau’s own legacy might be largely erased.

“The Conservatives, a lot of them, are very skeptical about climate change. They'll copy a lot of whatever the Americans and Trump’s doing or not doing…(they) won't look favourably upon Trudeau’s climate policies, and if they get elected, that's not going to change. Now they will run on an environmental program, but provincial Conservative governments have shown that actually they don't really do very much,” University of Toronto Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Nelson Wiseman, told The Pointer.

In Ontario, this has been shown by Premier Doug Ford’s PC government which has consistently introduced laws, such as Bill 212, to weaken provincial environmental policies to pave the way for sprawl development.

A recent poll commissioned by Environmental Defence and conducted by Abacus Data found that more than half of Canadians want their governments to address the climate crisis by prioritizing renewable energy and phasing out fossil fuels.

Support for phasing out the use and production of fossil fuels is strongest in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia.

(Environmental Defence)

Even in Alberta, traditionally less supportive of renewable energy, only 18 percent of respondents said they want fossil fuels to take priority, the report notes.

“There's a real call to Liberal leader hopefuls as well as political parties that people want to see governments who will tackle the twin crises of the climate crisis and affordability because climate policies lead to benefit tangible savings for Canadians if done well…what they don't want to see is continued scapegoating of climate policy,” Levin said.

Despite popular belief, Wiseman believes “Canada hasn't been as active on climate change as the picture that the Liberals have painted, compared to the Europeans.”

A notable example of this is the federal government's recent revision of its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target—from a 40-45 percent reduction by 2030 to a 45-50 percent reduction by 2035. This adjustment has raised concerns among environmental groups, with the David Suzuki Foundation calling the new target “inadequate.”

Canada is one of the worst per capita carbon polluters in the world.

(Our World in Data)

The European Union had committed to reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, through a comprehensive set of policies covering climate, energy, transport, and taxation to make the EU the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.

Trudeau served over nine years in office but failed to make significant progress on the 30x30 initiative—an international effort to protect 30 percent of the world's land and oceans by 2030.

U.S. President Joe Biden made substantial strides with the same goal in just half the time. In his final days in office Biden has announced the creation of two new national monuments in California—Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands—securing more than 848,000 acres of ecologically and culturally significant land. With these new designations, Biden’s total conservation efforts now stand at 674 million acres of U.S. lands and waters, a historic achievement, as many organizations have described him as the most environmentally proactive president in U.S. history.

David Suzuki Foundation’s Climate Change and Transportation Policy Analyst Gideon Forman acknowledges that “the federal government has certainly done some good things but there's a lot more that needs to be done.”

Progressive policies under Trudeau’s leadership such as the carbon tax were later offset by head-scratching decisions like the Bay Du Nord offshore drilling project, the first of its kind in Canada, by Norwegian state owned energy giant Equinor. The Liberals green lit the plan, calling it a “transitional” initiative to supply energy until alternatives meet most demand. Critics were left shaking their head, pointing out the project could produce a trillion barrels of oil over the next 30 years, hardly a “transitional” strategy (Equinor has suspended its plans citing uncertainty around costs in an increasingly volatile market). 

A recent Alberta project to mine and produce almost 22,000 tonnes of thermal coal a day, also got the green light from Trudeau’s Liberals, raising more concerns about his backpedalling on climate change, and his vanishing environmental legacy.

“He was quite contradictory on the climate issue. I mean, he was doing quite different things with the left hand and the right hand all the way through,” Adkin said.

In October 2023, the federal government exempted home heating oil from the carbon tax for three years in rural and Atlantic Canada, where 30 percent of homeowners still rely on furnace oil for heating. 

The move came as the Liberal Party faced growing dissatisfaction, particularly from members of its own ranks in Atlantic Canada. Critics, including some Liberal MPs, accused the Prime Minister of prioritizing political gain in the region over more comprehensive climate action.

The Bay du Nord offshore project in the Flemish Pass Basin off Newfoundland’s coast to extract 200,000 barrels of oil a day, at its peak, was approved by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault in April 2022, despite opposition from environmental groups and Indigenous advocates, who argued Trudeau’s government had failed to consider the full environmental impacts and neglected its constitutional duty to consult affected Indigenous communities. Critics also accused Trudeau of undermining Canada’s carbon-neutral and net-zero emissions goals.

Most recently, the federal government declined to designate Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass in the past for a federal impact assessment, despite repeated calls from experts and local groups warning of the irreversible environmental damage both projects could incur.

Non-partisan environmental organizations fear the real danger of lost lives is getting eclipsed in the noise of political electioneering gripping the country. 

"There are still a lot of really big ticket items the government needs to address. We have a ticking clock. There's a lot left to do that can happen under the current state of prorogation. But it's really incumbent that no one uses this period to delay or slow down because regulatory action on climate policies should not be hindered," Levin said.

She referred to the Oil and Gas Sector Greenhouse Gas Emissions Cap Regulations’ draft which aims at limiting emissions from one of the nation’s largest greenhouse gas producers: the oil and gas industry. Experts worry that these regulations have loopholes that could allow oil and gas companies to “pay $50 per ton of emissions into a fund, rather than actually reducing them.”

“It's critical that they get this one over the finish line before we go to an election…we need these rules so urgently, and the government has a clear mandate. They were elected partly to get this done,” Levin added.

Forman fears that crucial strides like the Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF) and the Clean Electricity Regulation, finalized just last December, could be “sidelined and pushed aside” in the chaos unfolding in Ottawa.

The CPTF which was announced by the federal government in July 2024 aimed at delivering “funding for transit by integrating long-term planning and enabling access to funding for multiple projects over several years.”

“If that (billion dollar funding) gets lost in all of this…the outcome is going to be pretty grim for Canadians,” Forman said. “Public transit is a very important solution to congestion. So we need that money to address the climate crisis, which is crucial, but also to improve urban air quality.”

Similarly, the advancement of the Clean Electricity Regulation is crucial as it aims to “set limits on carbon dioxide pollution from almost all electricity generation units that use fossil fuels.” It is an important tool to make renewable energy more affordable but also safeguard “a lot of jobs” in the sector.

These initiatives and feats were possible because “the Liberals at least believe that the climate crisis is real,” Adkin said. But their effectiveness has been limited, despite having environment ministers like Catherine McKenna (who left politics in 2021) and Steven Guilbeault, who have track records as strong advocates in the fight against climate change; but due to the various dynamics  within the cabinet and the ultimate decision making by the Prime Minister’s Office, their effectiveness was limited over the last five years.

Adkin is far less optimistic about the future under a potential Conservative government. "If we have a Conservative majority, we will see a full reversal of environmental regulations and climate policies," she warns. "Looking back, we may regret the missed opportunities of the Liberal government."

The two leading candidates in the race to lead the federal Liberals, former deputy PM and finance minister Chrystia Freeland and former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, have addressed climate change and Carney wrote a book about the need to get buy-in from the financial sector and how to do it, but environmental considerations did not shape his own decision making when he set monetary policy in Canada and England (where he held the same role); and Freeland has not carved out an identity as a champion of environmental policy. 

“I haven't seen any (candidate) who I have any confidence in, who will take a strong leadership position on climate policy, environmental regulation…I don't see anyone stronger than Trudeau on that list,” University of Alberta Professor Emerita Laurie Adkin told The Pointer.

She says the only politician to show notable interest in the climate issue is Mark Carney, and “he has a very clear, market-based policy approach,” encouraging corporations and financial institutions to contribute to green financing, which many have backed away from in recent months with the rise of Trump and the looming Conservative government in Canada.

“The things that (Carney’s) advocated have been very ineffective, and he's not shown any interest in the kind of economic structural reform that, in my view, is needed to deal with the climate crisis,” she added.

According to University of Toronto Mississauga Professor of Political Science and Geography, Geomatics and Environment Andrea Olive, provinces have much of the influence over environmental and climate policy.

"Doug Ford needs to do something, that's who has the power. If it is a Trump and Poilievre government, absolutely, the tone would be different,” she said. The broader implications for energy policy and climate action rest with decision making by provincial leaders like Alberta’s Danielle Smith, who has flatly rejected Trudeau’s environmental agenda. 

She reiterated: “Who the Premier is, is what matters in the fight against climate change.”

If that is the case, Trudeau’s environmental legacy with conservative leaders in the two heaviest polluting provinces and a Conservative prime minister unwilling to oppose them on climate policy, could be wiped away entirely.

Email: [email protected]

At a time when vital public information is needed by everyone, The Pointer has taken down our paywall on all stories to ensure every resident of Brampton, Mississauga and Niagara has access to the facts. For those who are able, we encourage you to consider a subscription. This will help us report on important public interest issues the community needs to know about now more than ever. You can register for a 30-day free trial HERE. Thereafter, The Pointer will charge $10 a month and you can cancel any time right on the website. Thank you