With less than a week left before Canadians head to the polls, it’s pretty clear what have become major election issues — childcare, housing, the fact that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the election in the first place — and what hasn’t. 

While climate change and what constitutes a green recovery did get some airtime in last week’s debates, leaders have not met the magnitude of the crisis with equal urgency on the campaign trail, climate action and adaptation experts say. 

So, Future of Good asked eight such climate leaders: What’s one thing that you wish would have become a big election issue? Here’s what they told us.

What we’re going to do about water

“Water needs higher priority in this election. The last summer of intense drought, wildfires, and storms show how difficult the challenges the world is facing from climate change impacts; most of these impacts will show up as extremes of flood, drought or storm events. All parties need to have a deep and intelligent element of their platform that is focussed on restoring and protecting our water resources through law and governance reform, cutting edge science, and reconciliation, but this is given short shrift by most of the parties.” – Merrell-Ann Phare, founding executive director, Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources

Not whether we’ll transition to a green economy, but HOW we’ll do it

“While it’s encouraging to see heightened national attention to climate change and the future of energy, it should be a more central election issue. I’d like to see candidates debating HOW Canada can win economically, socially and environmentally by transforming our economy to align with a net zero future. There are so many pathways and solutions for success and greater inclusion in a net zero economy, and yet, there are also no ‘silver bullets’. This means we need to take a portfolio approach, with ambitious government leadership, deep collaboration and innovation across sectors, and public policy that is designed to crowd investment into the most promising pathways and solutions. I wish a central election issue was not about if, but instead how we can lead and thrive in the global energy transition.” – Alison Cretney, managing director, Energy Futures Lab  

Protecting Canadians from climate change’s devastation

“Although Canadians have seen and experienced the clear impacts of climate change over the past summer, there has been very little discussion of the investments and actions that must be taken to prepare for these risks. Just looking at the human and economic costs of the wildfires and heat doom in B.C. and of Hurricane Ida on the eastern U.S. makes it clear that the cost of responding to and recovering from extreme weather events amplified by climate change are significantly greater than the cost of measures that must be put in place to reduce communities’ vulnerabilities. As a member of the Climate Proof Canada Coalition, we are eager to see a larger spotlight on what will be done to protect Canadians from the accelerating impacts of climate change. We need to see further commitment to address the governance and capacity gaps that currently hinder adaptation actions, including ongoing preparation and implementation of a national adaptation strategy that enables a unified and inclusive approach to protecting people, natural spaces, and economies. Acting to increase our resilience to climate change should be central to our policy planning and decision-making as it is key to protecting Canadians from future shocks and stresses.” – Jo-Ellen Parry, director of Adaptation (Canada), Resilience Program, International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

A whole new — green and equitable — economic system

“Who is the economy actually serving? We often hear politicians admit that the economy isn’t working for most people, and they blame their political rivals for this reality while claiming that they are the ones who will turn things around. ‘Saving the economy’ is always THE most important election issue, but the elephant in the room is that trickle-down economics is a myth and continuous extractive growth now threatens our very survival. The thing that has been missing from all election debates including this one, is that no politician or party platform is committed to challenging our current economic system by refusing to prop it up, and focusing instead on building inclusive, local wellbeing economies that generate long-term community wealth and actually improve the lives of people. GDP and shareholder value only serve to generate exorbitant levels of wealth for a handful of people (most of whom don’t live in Canada) and shouldn’t be the indicators we use to design or measure proposed economic solutions. Instead, every government investment, subsidy, regulation and policy must be ‘sold’ based on the number of high-quality jobs they generate, the greenhouse gas emissions reductions that they achieve, their contributions to ecosystem health, biodiversity, public health, cultural vitality, equity and human rights, social infrastructure and innovation. Through that lens, the model of luring distant corporate entities with gigantic tax breaks, public infrastructure investments and legislative accommodations is replaced with one that builds and facilitates local economic development opportunities that are regenerative rather than extractive.” – Devika Shah, executive director, Environment Funders Canada

Adapting to the new reality that global warming has brought

“Climate change has gotten some attention in the election, but I would argue still not getting close to enough. A changing climate — and a changing global economy as the world reacts — will have huge implications for future prosperity and wellbeing of Canadians, across every sector and every region. But even more specifically: adaptation policy is in particular under-appreciated and under-discussed. Even as we continue to reduce emissions, we must also deal with the warming and impacts that are already baked in. And that means Canada needs policy shifts to help markets and governments better value and internalize the costs of climate change — and the benefits of resilience.” – Dale Beguin, vice president of research and analysis, Canadian Institute for Climate Choices

Climate change’s disproportionate impacts on racialized communities 

“Environmental racism and environmental justice. More than halfway through the campaign, climate change, plastic pollution, and land and water protection are finally getting the attention they deserve. But what is largely missing, and what should be woven through all of these issues, is the connection to systemic racism. We know that people who are Black, Indigenous or who face other structural barriers due to their socioeconomic status tend to bear the worst consequences of weak environmental policies. The links between equity, justice and environmental crises should be front and centre in the final week of the campaign.” – Tony Maas, director of legislative affairs, EcoJustice 

Real action: ending fossil fuel expansion 

“While climate change has been talked about a bit this election, it’s not being addressed in a way that lines up with the extreme heat, fires and flooding we experienced this summer. Just this week a report came out saying we need to leave 84 percent of Canada’s tar sands underground to meet our climate commitments, but no one is asking politicians if they plan to meet that, how they’ll make it happen or what their plan is if they aren’t going to stop fossil fuel expansion. We’re stuck in a conversation about carbon pricing and climate half measures when we need to be talking about the real actions this crisis demands – stopping fossil fuel expansion and implementing a just transition that leaves no one behind.“ – Cam Fenton, communications manager, 350 Canada

The public costs and risks climate change brings with it

“Extreme heat waves. Drought losses. Air choked with wildfire smoke. Electricity grid outages. Flooded communities. Stressed ecosystems. While the major parties have dedicated significant parts of their platforms to GHG reduction targets and related regulatory policy, not nearly enough space or airtime is addressing the significant public costs and risks due to the acute climate change challenges that are already here, and anticipated to grow. New ideas and new dollars are essential to boosting the resilience of our collective physical and social infrastructure. If governments don’t prioritize this, nature will prioritize it for us, and at great cost to already vulnerable communities and economic activity.” – Jane Hilderman, executive director, ClimateWest

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