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Since Canada’s last federal election in 2021, the impacts of climate change — including more frequent, more intense wildfires, floods and droughts — have become immediate and real for many people across the country.
Yet from the issues dominating party leaders’ speeches on this year’s campaign trail, you’d be forgiven for thinking climate issues barely affect Canadians.
But our mission at The Narwhal is to pay attention to the natural world in Canada and how policy intersects with climate change, energy, conservation and Indigenous Rights. So here’s what the federal parties have said so far about key environmental issues as we approach the April 28 election.
Not every party has released a full, costed platform yet, so we’ll keep adding to this list as they keep making promises.
And no matter which party wins, we’ll be holding them to account.
Choose some political parties with the buttons above to see where they stand on carbon pricing.
The very same day he was sworn in as prime minister, Liberal Leader Mark Carney put a chunky permanent marker to paper and signed away the consumer carbon price — or at least set the price to zero, effectively negating it. He has committed to keeping the mandatory industrial price on pollution, or the output-based pricing system, saying that in the future it will become a condition for trade with European countries and more. The funds generated through the industrial carbon levy are doled out to companies to lower their carbon emissions, and it has largely been deemed effective.
Carney has also suggested tightening this program so additional funds from it can go toward green incentives for consumers (limited details have been offered on this), and imposing a tax on high-carbon imports so Canadian products remain competitive.
The Liberals have also said they will invest in carbon capture and methane reduction technologies to spur lowered industrial emissions.
The Conservative Party of Canada has promised to eliminate the federal industrial carbon price and remove any requirements for provinces to implement their own pricing system. The move would eliminate the existing tax in Manitoba, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island and Yukon, and open the door for provinces like Saskatchewan and Alberta to remove their provincial pricing schemes. Saskatchewan has already done so (but might have to accept the federal system in its place), while the Alberta government is actively considering it.
Leader Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives say they would turn to tax credits for clean technology and manufacturing in order to reduce emissions. The party has also vowed to reward companies with emissions lower than the world average, details TBD.
The New Democratic Party has promised to keep the industrial carbon price. Additionally, the party has promised to introduce a “border carbon adjustment” to tax overseas producers. According to the federal government, border carbon adjustments “account for differing carbon costs incurred in producing goods” that are traded with Canada. They may take the form of import charges or export rebates, which can be applied to incentivize trading partners to adopt stronger climate policies and support Canadian manufacturers who may face higher costs due to domestic regulations.
The Bloc Québécois has not made any comments on the federal carbon tax, but will “advocate for carbon pricing across Canada” — while urging other provinces to replicate Quebec’s cap-and-trade system, in place since 2013.
While the Green Party of Canada has yet to release its full platform, the party’s website says the Greens would “hold big polluters responsible for the climate damage they cause” and “create strict, science-based limits on Canada’s total pollution.” A spokesperson for the party also told CBC the Greens would slowly increase the carbon price after 2030.
Choose some political parties with the buttons above to see where they stand on critical minerals.
On the campaign trail, Liberal Leader Mark Carney has been promoting a promised First and Last Mile Fund, offering federal support to connect extraction projects to broader transportation networks. The Liberals are also talking about streamlining approval processes for “national-interest infrastructure projects,” and establishing “mutual recognition,” whereby projects with provincial or territorial approval won’t also require a green light from the federal government.
In his speeches, Carney has specifically named the Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, as well as the Grays Bay Road and Port project, which would connect a mineral-rich region bordering the Northwest Territories and Nunavut to the Arctic coastline. Carney flew to Iqaluit early in his tenure to discuss, among other things, critical minerals and the economic potential of the North. The Liberal Party notes this will all come “with the highest standards for safety, environmental protection and Indigenous consultation.”
Many parts of the country have large deposits of the minerals required for an energy transition away from fossil fuels (there’s a whole bunch of high-grade uranium key to nuclear power in Saskatchewan, for example). The Liberals appear to be committed to ensuring those resources can be extracted and transported to customers both in and outside of Canada, and are proposing tax credits as well as help for companies to mitigate some of the financial risk of mineral exploration and production.
The Conservatives haven’t staked a clear claim on critical minerals, which are touted by governments as necessary for “the modern economy” including energy transition industries such as electric vehicle manufacturing, electronics, fertilizer and even nuclear reactors. But the party is promising to “unlock” mining in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire region. Leader Pierre Poilievre said his government would put a six-month deadline on federal permits for the region, and would dedicate $1 billion over three years to build roads to mining sites and First Nations communities.
Poilievre also said he would “rapidly approve” an all-season road project proposed by Marten Falls First Nation and Webequie First Nation called the Northern Road Link, meant to link the remote nations and the Ring of Fire with the province’s highway network. In a platform released April 22, the party said it would “approve federal permits to harvest chromite, cobalt, nickel, copper and platinum,” without mentioning whether it would first get buy-in from all First Nations in the region, some of which have expressed opposition to mining there, especially without their prior consent.
Poilievre has said he would approve a proposed road from Yellowknife to the Arctic Ocean that has been debated for quite a long time and is currently facing opposition due to caribou concerns.
The NDP has promised to protect critical mineral projects from being “sold off or exploited by foreign interests,” and to incentivize processing of raw materials within Canada.
The Bloc Québécois says the federal government alone lacks authority to determine the fate of Quebec’s rare earth and critical minerals, and that it will advocate for the battery industry to be developed in the province.
The Greens warn mining for critical minerals poses risks for land and water, and say “clean technology should not create new environmental problems.” The party says it will “enforce strict rules to protect the environment” and require consent from Indigenous communities for mining in their territories.
Choose some political parties with the buttons above to see where they stand on oil, gas, and emissions.
If re-elected, Liberal Leader Mark Carney has said he would work to pass the proposed cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector the Liberal government first promised in 2021 and has been ever-so-slowly ushering through since. The policy drafted in late 2024 requires oil and gas companies to reduce carbon emissions to 35 per cent below 2019 levels by early 2030. The Liberals have said they will invest in carbon capture and methane reduction technologies to spur lowered emissions rather than have these reductions coming from a decrease in production levels. As translated by an interpreter during the April 16 French leaders’ debate, Carney said he believes Canada should actually increase oil production to reduce imports, especially from the United States.
The Liberals have promised to invest both in clean energy and the conventional energy sector, which would include oil and gas, “so we can reduce our reliance on the United States and build trading relationships with reliable partners.” A part of that is an “energy corridor,” which could mean roads, rail or pipelines (though it isn’t entirely clear yet) to move natural resources across the country, and ease interprovincial and territorial trade.
The Liberals are also talking about streamlining approval processes for “national-interest infrastructure projects,” and establishing “mutual recognition,” whereby projects with provincial or territorial approval won’t also require a green light from the federal government. Carney has said this is in order to cut approval times in half.
During the English-language leaders debate, Carney committed to ending subsidies for the oil and gas industry, but didn’t specify whether that meant not building pipelines with public money, cutting tax breaks for companies or other forms of subsidies.
Beyond killing the federal plan to reduce industrial carbon emissions through pollution pricing, Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives would also push hard for more oil and gas exploration, production and infrastructure. Its plan to reward companies that reduce emissions, including through increasing access to green technology tax credits, does not specify emission targets or particular industries. Asked by a reporter in March if he had an emissions target in mind for Canada, the Conservative leader didn’t commit to a specific number, but instead talked about his objective of “bringing home production from more polluting foreign jurisdictions.”
At the French leaders’ debate on April 16, Poilievre reiterated that he wants to increase oil production in Canada, according to an interpreter. Poilievre also said he would be willing to ignore some Indigenous or regional political opposition in order to get pipelines built. Asked by the moderator what he would do as prime minister if there were First Nations or provinces that were against a pipeline, he claimed at one point that 80 per cent of First Nations had been “in favour” of the cancelled Northern Gateway pipeline on the West Coast. “And in a case like that, I think the majority rules,” he said. The Federal Court ruled in 2016 that the former Harper government, in which Poilievre was a minister, had not adequately consulted Indigenous Peoples when it approved Northern Gateway.
The Conservatives want to double oil and gas production in Newfoundland and Labrador and construct an LNG facility there. The party says it would fully implement all five demands issued by the country’s big oil and gas producers in a March 18 open letter signed by the CEOs or executive chairs of 14 companies. That means a Poilievre government would not institute an emissions cap, and would eliminate the industrial carbon tax and set a target of six-month project approvals. The Conservative leader also pledged to kill federal environmental assessment legislation, remove the limits on tanker traffic on the west coast and provide loan guarantees for Indigenous companies.
A Poilievre government would also create a “national energy corridor,” with fast-tracked approvals for projects including pipelines going east and west. (No company is currently proposing a cross-country oil or gas pipeline, though some have been proposed, and rejected, in the past.) Part of this fast-tracking would include repealing the Impact Assessment Act, which oversees how projects could affect the environment, human health and Indigenous Rights.
The Conservatives say they will also create what Poilievre is calling “shovel-ready zones,” with pre-approved permits for major resource and energy projects. In a speech in Quebec on March 26, Poilievre said these zones would be a way to revive GNL Québec, a liquefied natural gas project scrapped after a proposed terminal in Saguenay, Que., was rejected by both the provincial and federal governments, in part because of Innu opposition and the risks posed to water and wildlife. In its platform, the party also says it will fast-track LNG Canada Phase 2 in B.C. Poilievre has also vowed to repeal the federal government’s regulations requiring cleaner fuels and a clean electricity grid.
The NDP has promised to put a cap on oil and gas emissions. The party says it would also eliminate public subsidies and tax breaks for oil and gas companies, at an estimated savings of $18 billion over 10 years. Funds will be redirected to a massive effort to retrofit 3.3 million homes in Canada (around 20 per cent of all dwellings) with energy efficient upgrades such as heat pumps. The party says the program will support thousands of “good union jobs” in manufacturing, construction, installation and auditing.
The NDP have also committed to eliminating fossil fuel subsidies by the end of 2026. They have also promised to end greenwashing among “big banks and industries,” though no further details were provided. They also promised to continue the North Coast tanker ban implemented by Trudeau’s government in 2019, which prohibits oil tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tonnes from travelling through the central and south coastal waters of British Columbia.
The Bloc Québécois has promised to fight for an emissions cap for the oil and gas sector. It has also taken a stand against greenwashing from the oilsands, including any claims of “green” fossil fuels, and wants to tax the oil sector’s profits and re-invest the money back into climate adaptation initiatives. The Bloc says its government would also seek to ban Canada’s thermal coal exports.
During the English-language debate Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said, “Clean oil and gas is a fairy tale, large-scale [carbon] sequestration is a fairytale, it does not exist.”
Alongside a cap on emissions, the Green Party says it would stop all new fossil fuel projects, end subsidies for oil and gas companies and shift public money to clean energy instead. “We will build a modern power grid across Canada,” the party says on its website, committing to switching to 100 per cent clean energy and creating thousands of jobs in the process.
Choose some political parties with the buttons above to see where they stand on nature, conservation and species at risk.
The Liberals have committed to creating at least 10 new national parks and marine conservation areas, as well as 15 new urban parks. They say they will bolster Indigenous stewardship by establishing an Indigenous guardians program in the Arctic and continuing to fund Indigenous-led conservation projects, though the party offers no details about how much new funding it plans to invest in Indigenous-led conservation.
The Liberals also say they will restore and protect coastal ecosystems and invest $15 million into cleaning up and disposing of ghost fishing gear that threatens marine life.
The party has also promised to protect freshwater and commits to enshrining First Nations’ right to water into law. Alongside a commitment to implement nature-based climate solutions, the Liberals say the party will invest $100 million in a strategic water security technology fund to support research, monitoring and data tools.
The Liberal Party did not respond to a request to discuss its biodiversity platform. In its platform the party said it would proactively restore and mitigate environmental damage in areas where it expects major new infrastructure development in the coming years, such as around ports and railroads. The Liberals also said they would invest $250 million in the Canadian Nature Protection Fund to match funding from Canadians, businesses and philanthropists to restore and protect nature. It’s unclear whether this fund is different from the existing Canada Nature Fund, through which the previous Liberal government committed $500 million over three years in 2023.
The party has committed to get major projects built quickly through a “one window” approach and “shifting the focus of project reviews from ‘why’ to ‘how’.” While the party says it will “uphold rigour” in environmental protections and Indigenous consultation, it would require what it’s calling the Major Federal Project Office to issue project decisions within a maximum of two years rather than five. This timeline would include any decisions required under the Fisheries Act and Species at Risk Act. But the party offers no details about how it would speed up decision making while maintaining environmental protections.
The Conservative Party has so far said little about how it would approach biodiversity loss or Canada’s international commitments to nature conservation. In its Quebec platform, the party criticized the emergency order the federal government issued last year to protect three of the most at-risk boreal caribou herds in the province, saying the order threatens the forestry economy in several regions. In his late March speech releasing the platform, party head Pierre Poilievre said it’s up to the Quebec government and not Ottawa to find the balance between protecting caribou and logging.
The Conservative Party did not respond to a request to discuss its biodiversity platform. In the debate on April 17, Poilievre said his party will “hold large corporations to high environmental standards to protect our water and air.” He did not provide any details.
In a platform released April 22, the party says it would end “the dumping of raw sewage into Canada’s waterways,” without details as to which waterways or what dumping it meant. Untreated sewage and runoff from city streets regularly overflows into rivers, lakes and oceans from outdated systems in communities across the country. A number of promises cover hunting and fishing, including a pledge to “ensure science, not ideology, determines where harvesters can land their catch in Marine Protected Areas” and one to create an Outdoor Heritage Fund to fund hunting, fishing and conservation efforts. The party says it would invest $65 million in the outdoor heritage fund in 2025/2026, increasing to $130 million for each of the next three fiscal years.
The party says it will implement selective fisheries for marked hatchery salmon to protect vulnerable species and invest in fisheries science, though it offers no specifics on funding levels. The platform also proposes prohibiting foreign and corporate ownership of new B.C. commercial fishing access and doubling permanent funding for small craft harbours.
The NDP remains committed to conserving 30 per cent of land and water by 2030, a Canada pledge made when signing the global biodiversity framework in Montreal in 2022, NDP campaign spokesperson Anne McGrath said in a statement to The Narwhal.
McGrath said “the NDP strongly believes that protecting land and waters will help Canada meet its climate change goals while safeguarding a good quality of life for generations of Canadians to come.”
She noted the NDP has pushed for strong action to protect biodiversity, calling for the government to pass a biodiversity accountability act and implement a 10-year nature plan to reverse the loss of endangered species.
“The NDP will continue to fight to protect our biodiversity and fight the climate crisis that is endangering our communities, food systems, farmlands, green spaces and the survival of future generations,” McGrath said.
In response to the “disproportionate impacts of pollution and loss of biodiversity” on Black, Indigenous and racialized communities, the NDP have promised to pass an Environmental Bill of Rights and establish an Office of Environmental Justice.
The NDP have also committed to passing a biodiversity accountability law, which would set “measureable targets” for conserving 30 percent of terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems by 2030. While this mirrors the 30 by 30 commitment adopted by the recent Liberal government, the NDP emphasizes that an “expert panel” would identify “high-carbon, high-biodiversity” regions for protection.
In its platform, the Bloc Québécois says it will demand the federal government increase its contributions under the Canada-Quebec nature agreement from $100 million to $300 million and call for an end to all oil and gas exploration offshore and in all forms of marine protected areas. The party says it will also push the federal government to ban all non-essential uses of the large group of chemicals called PFAS — a short form for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — which are also known as “forever chemicals” because they can generate hazardous waste which, if not disposed of carefully, contaminates air, water and soil where it can remain for about 1,000 years.
The Bloc wants Canada to stop exporting plastic waste, to quickly reduce and eventually abolish single-use plastics and to sign a binding global plastics treaty. In addition, the Bloc says it will continue to fight the Chalk River nuclear waste dump in Deep River, Ont., near the Quebec border.
The Bloc did not respond to a request to discuss its biodiversity platform.
In an interview with The Narwhal, Green Party co-leader Elizabeth May said the world is in the midst of a global extinction crisis and raised concerns that biodiversity loss isn’t getting enough attention in the campaign.
May said the Greens will push the federal government to overhaul the federal Species at Risk Act, to ensure it protects and restores ecosystems and habitats to support the recovery of multiple at-risk species. The party will also push for biodiversity issues to be addressed through co-management with Indigenous Peoples and call for additional funding for Indigenous guardians programs.
The party will also urge the federal government to issue emergency protection orders for critically endangered species, such as the marbled murrelet and southern resident killer whales.
May said the Greens continue to support Canada’s international commitment to conserve 30 per cent of land and water by 2030 and said a first step towards meeting those targets is to stop the exploitation and destruction wrought by large industrial operations.
Choose some political parties with the buttons above to see where they stand on Indigenous Rights.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney has committed to “advancing reconciliation, upholding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and taking a distinctions-based approach with First Nations, Inuit and Métis.” A distinctions-based approach means the government distinguishes between each group’s different rights, histories, cultural traditions and laws. For example, in British Columbia, only First Nations are rights-holders with claims to land and water, and so the provincial and federal governments have specific obligations when projects impact their rights and territories that do not extend to Métis or Inuit.
In early April, the Liberals put out a campaign press release saying their government would continue to fund Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, including establishing a new Arctic Indigenous guardians program. At the same time, the party promised to “enshrine First Nations’ right to water into law.” Carney has also promised to advance the Liberal Party’s national strategy to address environmental racism, and has specifically mentioned imposing pollution controls around heavily affected communities like Aamjiwnaang First Nation, in Sarnia, Ont.
In his promises to speed up natural resource development approvals, Carney has said this will all come “with the highest standards for safety, environmental protection and Indigenous consultation.” How exactly that consultation will work under an expedited process is unclear. During the French language leaders’ debate, Carney was asked whether he would impose a pipeline where First Nations are opposed to it, and said he would not force projects on people.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has pledged to repeal the Impact Assessment Act, which oversees how projects could affect Indigenous Rights, as well as the environment and human health. In its efforts to fast track mines, LNG terminals, data centres and other projects, the party says it will “consult with First Nations to lock down zoning, permits and conditions.” It also says it will introduce a “First Nations Resource Charge” that would allow nations to collect money directly from industry and companies to “help get local buy-in for good projects to go ahead,” an initiative that would “mean paycheques, schools and clean water for people.”
In a platform released April 22, the Conservative party says it would establish a permanent stream of infrastructure funding to First Nations.
The NDP has committed to upholding and implementing the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in law, and to respect Indigenous sovereignty when it comes to projects on their territories. The party has explicitly stated support for Indigenous self-determination, including for Inuit and Métis peoples. The NDP has also promised to fully implement all 94 calls to action by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and end long-term boil water advisories on reserve, both commitments made and left unfulfilled by Justin Trudeau, and to reestablish funding for grave site searches, which was ended by the previous Liberal government in February 2025. The NDP has also committed to implementing “full gender equality” for First Nations.
The Bloc Québécois has committed to “resolve the inhumane crisis of access to drinking water on reserves.” The party has also said it will propose investments in resilient housing in northern communities, including support in the face of thawing permafrost, which it says is exacerbating renovation needs. It will also propose renewing funding for Indigenous guardians programs.
The Green Party has committed to putting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into action. The party says it will “respect Indigenous consent on decisions about their lands” and “make sure Indigenous voices help shape national decisions.”
Choose some political parties with the buttons above to see where they stand on disaster preparation and assistance
The Liberal platform promises disaster mitigation and recovery funding “where infrastructure that connects Canada is under threat. This will help communities get back on their feet after natural disasters that are increasing with climate change.” In response to last summer’s devastating fires in Jasper National Park, the party promises to improve Parks Canada’s disaster response capabilities, including additional training and equipment for wildfire response teams, implement FireSmart practices and controlled burns, improve evacuation plans for communities within national parks and update building codes for new buildings in national parks to account for extreme weather risks.
The party is promising to use the revenue from industrial carbon pricing to help fund climate-conscious retrofits to residential properties, such as “repairing or replacing your roof, installing a sump pump or sealing cracks in your foundations.”
The platform also says the government will protect forested areas, wetlands and other natural areas that help mitigate flood and extreme weather risk, funding it through “a mix of conservation funding, climate change adaptation funding and … public private infrastructure investments.” The Liberals are planning to pilot a Youth Climate Corps that would pay young people to learn to “respond to climate emergencies, support recovery and strengthen resilience.”
The Conservatives have yet to release a disaster preparedness platform, despite promising one as far back as 2023.
The NDP promises to establish a national wildfire force and more support for overextended volunteer firefighters and search and rescue teams who are pushed to the breaking point by fire seasons that are getting longer and more severe. The party also commits to funding on-reserve emergency management and prevention services for First Nations.
The Bloc Québécois says it will demand Ottawa transfer powers over freshwater navigation to provinces and municipalities, so that local communities can control how boats impact shoreline erosion. Its platform says it will demand investment in the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
The Green Party says it would create a new national emergency response agency and a national civil defence corps, with members embedded in communities across the country to ensure Canada is prepared to respond to increasingly frequent climate emergencies. The party also says it would establish “Indigenous-led units to protect northern sovereignty and provide specialized knowledge.”
Choose some political parties with the buttons above to see where they stand on transit and transportation
The Liberal Party platform promises to invest an additional $250 million in the Rural Transit Solutions Fund to “further support the development, expansion and operation of local, regional and cross-Canada transit and bus solutions.” The party is also promising high-speed rail between Windsor, Ont., and Québec City, which would seemingly extend the planned Alto high-speed rail project past its current planned end in Toronto. A consortium was recently selected for the project, and announced by the Liberal government in March. The Liberals are also promising to make ferries more affordable around the Atlantic provinces.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told a campaign gathering in Quebec in late March that he would “end the war on cars.” He said he would not build a proposed light rail project in Québec City, instead investing the money into a highway link between the province’s capital and Lévis, Que.
The Conservative platform released April 22 said the party would maintain all existing government supports and clean incentives for the auto sector supply chain, while rolling back tailpipe standards. The party says it would cut GST on Canadian-made vehicles as long as American tariffs remain in place and protect the jobs of workers directly affected by tariffs.
Last fall, Poilievre said he would institute a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles. He has also criticized the Trudeau government for its support of a Volkswagen electric vehicle battery project in Ontario.
The NDP has set a target of doubling public transit ridership by 2035. In addition, the party says it will to re-establish the rural bus routes that were discontinued when Greyhound ceased operations in Canada in 2021, and to create a public high-speed rail corridor across the country, beginning with Quebec-Windsor and Edmonton-Calgary-Banff.
The NDP will also create a federal rebate for electric vehicles that would offer up to $10,000 for electric vehicles made in Canada. Electric vehicles made in China or by “companies like Tesla that undermine Canada’s national interest” will be excluded from the rebate. Other electric vehicles would be eligible for a rebate of up to $5,000.
The Bloc Québécois says it will propose the federal government double funding for public transit, support all projects selected by the Quebec government and invest in maintaining existing public transit assets. It will advocate for measures encouraging people to adopt low-emissions transportation, such as the reinstatement of a tax credit for public transit passes or the use of car-sharing services.
It is making a number of promises about encouraging electric vehicle use, including proposing financial support for provinces’ efforts to develop the network of electric vehicle charging stations, introducing legislation to require car dealerships to stock a minimum number of small electric vehicles, and reintroducing a time-limited tax credit for the purchase or lease of a new or used electric vehicle.
The Green Party says it wants Canada to adopt a strategy to reach zero-carbon public transportation by 2040, and institute a permanent, dedicated federal public transit fund by 2026. It says cities should be able to use federal funds to pay for transit operation, including an annual transfer that allows for transit to be free for users. The Greens say they will advocate for high-speed rail between Toronto and Québec City, and Calgary and Edmonton, better transit in rural communities and protecting and expanding VIA Rail service. They will also push for a national fund to pay for infrastructure for walking, cycling and other active transport, and for regulations on light trucks that would reduce safety risks.
The Green Party says it would ban conventional gas-powered passenger vehicles by 2030, and incentivize electric car purchases by exempting them from sales tax and expanding the charging networks.
The Greens also say they would introduce an aviation and shipping fuel tax to “ensure these industries contribute to climate initiatives.”
Choose some political parties with the buttons above to see where they stand on Arctic sovereignty.
The Liberal Party platform says its government would stop building “separate infrastructure for communities and the military” and instead “focus on dual-use infrastructure” such as an airstrip that could serve both fighter jets and cargo planes. It promises “full partnership” with Indigenous communities as it builds a new network of deepwater ports to protect the Northwest Passage, as well as new energy projects, railways and highways. It also says it will fund 50 new Arctic Indigenous guardians to ensure “invaluable traditional knowledge is incorporated” in environmental protection and monitoring.
It is also promising to expand Canada’s fleet of aerial and underwater drones and satellite technology “to monitor our vast landscape and the world’s longest coastline.”
Leader Mark Carney has said he will see the longstanding Grays Bay Road and Port project built, which would connect a mineral-rich region bordering the Northwest Territories and Nunavut to the Arctic coastline.
The Conservative Party has promised to beef up Arctic security by acquiring two more icebreakers for the Royal Canadian Navy’s fleet of six, and double the number of Canadian Rangers on the ground in the North to 4,000 northerners strong.
Leader Pierre Poilievre has promised a permanent military base in Iqaluit and to grow the base in Inuvik, NWT, while establishing another in Churchill, Man. The Conservatives have made pledges around building ports to service the Arctic, offering ocean access to natural resources. In a platform released April 22, the party says it will approve oil exports from Arctic ports, expand the Port of Churchill to extend the shipping season and increase radar surveillance and command capabilities in Arctic skies.
The Conservatives are also pitching the “Arctic Security Corridor,” a 600-kilometre all-weather road from Yellowknife to Grays Bay on Nunavut’s coastline, to connect a mineral-rich region at the border of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut to the ocean.
In Iqaluit in mid-March, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh promised to build a new marine search and rescue station in Nunavut, as well as “enhancing the capacity of the Canadian Rangers, ensuring rangers are properly compensated and reimbursed in a timely manner for the use of their own equipment.” More broadly, Singh says supporting Arctic sovereignty means supporting northerns with better infrastructure, reliable power and housing.
The NDP says it will consult territorial premiers on a full-time military base in Inuvik, NWT, as well as a military reserve unit in Whitehorse. Singh also promised to complete construction of the Nanisivik deepwater port on Baffin Island, first promised under Stephen Harper’s Conservative government in 2007. He has pledged to work with communities and the territorial governments on the proposed Grays Bay Port and Road project, cutting from the mineral rich region bordering Nunavut and the Northwest Territories up to the Nunavut coastline, as well as the proposed port in Qikiqtarjuaq, Nvt. He also specifically mentioned the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link, which would provide telecommunications connections and clean energy from Manitoba.
The Bloc Québécois says it will support a strengthening of territorial sovereignty in the Arctic by relying on the expertise of the Davie Shipyard, which was awarded a $3.25-billion contract to build a new polar icebreaker for Canada’s fleet at its Quebec facility in March.
The Green Party says it would expand Arctic and coastal security patrols, upgrading surveillance, monitoring, and defence equipment. It would also expand naval and Coast Guard capacity, increase patrols and community investments, and invest in military infrastructure.
Choose some political parties with the buttons above to see where they stand on farming and food security.
The Liberal Party platform says a government led by Mark Carney would invest in greenhouses and hydroponics so that Canada can “grow more types of food, here at home.” The party says it would also increase financial support for farmers and ranchers looking to buy “more efficient” farm equipment that could help them grow their business while “reducing emissions and improving resiliency to the effects of climate change and extreme weather events.” The Liberals would also permanently double revenue protection for farmers under the AgriStability Program, to buffer against significant revenue drops caused by tariffs, extreme weather events and other external shocks.
The Conservative Party platform says a Pierre Poilievre government would pass a Farmland Protection Act to stop foreign governments and corporations from buying up Canadian farmland and report on how much farmland is already owned by foreign governments and foreign corporations.
The NDP platform does not include a section on agriculture.
The Bloc Québécois platform says the party would demand the federal government support Quebec efforts to stimulate the province’s food economy, including organic farming, greenhouse farming, urban and local agriculture, the local frozen food sector and more. The party would work to improve the AgriStability program, which protects farmers from significant, uncontrollable revenue drops, and other risk management programs to better support farmers facing climate change and business risks. It would reward sustainable practices and advocate for a swift ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, with transition support for farmers.
The Green Party platform promises to prevent speculation of agricultural lands, ban the “bulk acquisition” of farmland by non-resident investors and work with provinces and municipalities to protect farmland. The Greens would also redirect “industrial agribusiness subsidies” to regenerative and organic small and mid-scale farms and further incentivize carbon sequestration in soil. The party would establish climate emission targets and lower-carbon food production incentives.
The Greens say they would fully fund drought adaptation, soil conservation and water management initiatives in the Prairies and provide financial support for farming practices that conserve water and protect soil. The party would also provide disaster relief and rapid-response aid for farmers facing extreme weather events.
The Greens’ platform promises to review the Temporary Foreign Worker program to “protect workers from exploitation while ensuring critical labour needs are met in agriculture.” It also says the party would ban neonicotinoid pesticides.
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