The 2025 federal election results are in — and the Liberals will form a fourth straight government.
Mark Carney’s victory over Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives marks a dramatic swing from the political outlook the Liberals appeared to be facing when Justin Trudeau announced his resignation in January.
Soon after, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed steep tariffs on Canada, upending cross-border relations and helping to shape a federal election campaign largely focused on Canadian sovereignty.Carney now gets the privilege of navigating an economic crisis, a trade war and a hostile southern neighbour. With all of that in mind, how closely will the former central banker stick to the climate-action bonafides he built up during his long time in the public spotlight?
What are the key environmental issues in the 2025 Canadian election?
You might have heard of it: there’s an emissions pricing scheme known as a carbon tax — which includes a levy for consumers purchasing fossil fuels like gasoline and natural gas — that has divided Canada for the last six years and became a key driver of Trudeau’s unpopularity. There’s also an industrial levy on emissions, but it’s far less contentious (despite Poilievre’s best efforts).
The Conservative leader made cancelling carbon pricing the core of his national campaign, donning an “axe the tax” T-shirt from Toronto to Iqaluit. But the cause took a hit after Carney moved the consumer carbon price to $0 just hours after being sworn in as prime minister.
Other key environmental issues in the federal election included Arctic sovereignty and protection, critical minerals and their role in the energy transition and, of course, Canada’s slightly icy relationship with the U.S. (Okay, it’s not that slight.)
In the wake of Trump’s tariff threats, there was an election conversation about oil and gas, as leaders looked to reach new markets for fossil fuels and reduce Canada’s dependence on the U.S.
Read on for The Narwhal’s latest coverage of the federal election campaign.
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