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Hello, everyone.
It’s always so great to be back in Vancouver.
I spend a lot of time here in B.C. – from summers with my grandparents, to paddling along the coast, to years as a schoolteacher here – so being here always feels like coming home.
Let me first start by acknowledging that we are on the traditional Coast Salish Territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples.
I also want to thank Chief Sparrow, Councillor Williams, and Chief Thomas for the welcome.
And thank you, Steven, for that introduction, and for everything you do to make big things happen on climate.
Steven, your leadership and vision are what have brought us here today.
Thank you, my friend.
I want to start today with words about Ukraine.
People ask me how this will end.
I can tell you, that is not what Ukrainians are asking.
They are talking about how this must end: a full withdrawal of Russian troops, and peace, democracy, freedom, and sovereignty restored.
The people of Ukraine, and their President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are showing incredible resolve.
They are fighting not just for their country, but for all of us as they defend democracy against dictatorship.
And that is why it is so important that Canada and our allies around the world remain steadfast in our support of Ukraine.
With military, economic, and humanitarian aid.
By providing a safe haven for people fleeing war as Canadians always do.
We must remain resolved to punish this criminal invasion with catastrophic sanctions on Putin and his inner circle.
To make them pay, for as long as it takes.
If Putin thinks we don’t have the staying power to see this through, he is dead wrong.
Yes, there will be challenges, and yes there will be pain.
Yes, many people in democracies like ours will face higher energy and food prices.
But others in the world may face outright shortages and famine.
While Ukrainians themselves fight for their lives and pay with their lives.
Let us remember that.
Just yesterday, I spoke once again with President Zelenskyy.
Last week, I was with our allies at the NATO Summit.
And I’ve taken time at Ukrainian businesses and community gatherings from Toronto to Montréal, and – later today – here in Vancouver.
What I’m hearing everywhere is that Canadians want to do their part.
For the coming months, Canada can help put food on the table and keep the lights on.
And for the coming years, we can get into high gear to be ready for the future that is upon us.
The leaders I spoke with in Europe over the last few weeks are clear: they don’t just want to end their dependence on Russian oil and gas.
They want to accelerate the energy transformation to clean and green power.
And Canadians have a big role in that work.
So that’s the context of where our world is today.
That’s the context as I speak to you about fighting climate change.
About protecting our planet.
And just as importantly, about securing success for Canadians in the greener future.
“We don’t have to choose between a strong economy and a healthy environment.”
That’s what I said six years ago when I was here at this forum.
At that time, many people, especially in this room, agreed.
But honestly, the fight against climate change was still too often seen as simply a social responsibility.
It was not seen as a core component of economic and business plans.
Today, things have changed.
And they have changed largely because we have realized that climate action and the economy really go hand in hand.
In the last six years, Canada has proven to the world that you can take meaningful climate action while building a strong, growing economy. And as always, B.C. is ahead of the curve.
We put a price on pollution right across the country – and then fought for it all the way to the Supreme Court.
The result?
Not, as some foretold, the end of the Canadian economy as we know it.
In fact, quite the opposite.
The price on pollution continues to mean more money in the pockets of Canadians and less pollution in our air.
And for businesses, it means it’s easier to invest in their own low-carbon future.
We pledged to support clean, Canadian innovation – and then looked to projects that would create good jobs and clean growth in every part of this country.
The numbers speak for themselves.
In the last month alone –
We announced 2,500 jobs coming to Windsor thanks to an LGES-Stellantis facility to make electric vehicle batteries.
Even a few years ago, this kind of multi-billion dollar deal would have seemed like a moonshot.
Today, it’s Canada’s new future for workers, and a new face for global investors.
We’ve successfully issued Canada’s first-ever Green Bonds, worth $5 billion, with the private sector snapping up the chance to invest in clean tech in Canada.
And we’ve continued to build on our historic commitment to public transit with hundreds of millions more for projects that will cut pollution, create jobs, and make lives easier.
All those are just announcements made in the last month.
That is all well and good, but we also need to take action on the environment independently of everything else.
While we are creating jobs and putting more money back into people’s pockets, we are also protecting a larger area of nature than ever before.
When the Paris Agreement was signed six years ago, only about 1 per cent of Canada’s marine areas were protected.
Today, nearly 14 per cent of these areas are protected.
And we have conserved wilderness habitats equivalent to half the size of Manitoba.
Let’s be clear.
You can grow the economy while taking climate action.
In fact, as all of you here at GLOBE have known and led on for over three decades, protecting the environment actually unlocks economic opportunity.
Of course, there are still those who would take us backward.
There are still those who insist that climate action should wait for another time, another place.
But what other time?
If we don’t do this now, it will be too late.
And what other place?
There is no plan B because there is no planet B.
The question is not whether we keep going on climate action.
The question is how much more we can do, and how quickly.
Because if the last six years have shown that climate action is the path forward, they have also shown that we must now set our ambition even higher.
It cannot be business as usual when devastating floods wash out highways and farms.
It cannot be business as usual when communities are destroyed by wildfires.
Lives and livelihoods are on the line.
Because let there be no doubt, there is a cost if we do not meet this moment.
Regular Canadians will pay the price.
Our children will pay the price.
And not just the price of crisis.
But the price of lost potential, too.
This year, global economic activity on clean tech is expected to be in the trillions.
Not millions, not billions.
Trillions.
Canada’s competitors are taking action.
In fact, as our European allies have told me, Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is fast-tracking their search for renewable energy.
The world is making the transition towards clean energy.
Canada cannot afford to miss out.
We must seize this opportunity.
For clean air.
For a strong economy.
And that’s what we’re going to talk about today.
This morning, our government is releasing Canada’s Emissions Reduction Plan.
This is our boldest and most specific step yet.
It’s ambitious and it’s achievable. It’s ambitious because it will get us to 40 per cent lower emissions by 2030 compared to 2005, and keep us on track to net-zero by 2050.
It’s achievable because it goes sector by sector, cutting emissions and creating opportunity across the country and the economy.
So let’s start with what sectors put the most emissions in our air – oil and gas, and transportation.
This plan will set a clear, projected contribution on emissions reductions from the oil and gas sector – down by a little over 30 per cent from 2005 levels, and a little over 40 per cent relative to current levels.
We’re laying down a clear, reasonable contribution for the sector to make, so we can drive work forward on our commitment to cap and cut emissions.
If there’s any oil and gas sector in the world that can do it, it’s Canada’s.
If there’s any workforce in the world that can drive this shift, it’s Canadians.
When it comes to clean innovation, we have already been there.
Just think about aluminum and steel.
At one time, the world thought that it was impossible to produce aluminum without also producing large quantities of pollution.
But for years, Canada had already been producing cleaner aluminum.
Then came the Elysis project in Quebec.
This project marked the creation of the world’s first carbon-free aluminum production process, all while creating jobs.
At one time, the world thought that steel rhymed with giant chimneys.
But now in Ontario, Dofasco and Algoma are swapping out their coal-based process of making steel for electric arc furnaces.
These furnaces are powered by renewable energies such as hydroelectricity.
In addition to being green, this switch will increase the competitiveness of Canadian steel in the global marketplace while ensuring a bright future for workers and their families.
I have confidence in Canadian industry, in Canadian workers, and in the Canada we can build together.
That goes for oil and gas as much as for any other sector.
Canadian workers and engineers are the best in the world.
And when it comes to a day on the job, a hydrogen production facility using carbon capture won’t look very different than work at a refinery.
The commitment is there – industries are already pushing forward on their own.
And yes, the money is there too.
With record profits, this is the moment for the oil and gas sector to invest in the sustainable future that will be good for business, good for communities, and good for our future.
Big oil lobbyists have had their time on the field.
Now, it’s over to the workers and engineers who will build solutions.
For their sector, for their communities, for their kids.
Obviously, if we aspire to a clean industrial future, we must also aim to drive clean vehicles.
The demand is there.
All over the world.
In fact, every week, the number of electric vehicles sold is equal to the total sales for all of 2012.
Our government has already invested in manufacturing in Canada.
I am thinking in particular of the Ford plant in Oakville, which creates jobs, as well as the new battery manufacturing facility in Bécancour.
Our government also invests in people’s everyday lives.
Charging stations are being installed and an incentive program has been put in place to make electric vehicles more affordable for the middle class.
And we are now setting an even more ambitious mandatory sales target for electric vehicles.
This emissions reduction plan lays out a new, mandatory sales target for electric vehicles:
At least 20 per cent of all new personal vehicles sold in Canada will be zero emissions by 2026.
Because if you want to make the switch and you go to the dealership, you shouldn’t have to be on a waitlist.
By 2030, at least 60 per cent of all new personal cars sold will be ZEVs.
And by 2035, every single new personal car sold in Canada will be zero emissions.
So far, I’ve talked about cutting emissions, because that’s what we need to do to fight climate change.
And cutting pollution matters.
But so does creating opportunity.
Everyone deserves a great career where they feel proud of their work and where they can provide for their family.
Here in B.C., you show the way forward, with job-creating projects like the plant down the road in Richmond.
They use carbon capture to keep emissions out of the air and store them in cement permanently.
This plan will build on momentum like that to create good, middle-class jobs across the country.
And in places where the changing global market means changes to the local economy, we’ll have people’s backs.
We are committed to creating a new Futures Fund for Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador to ensure no one is left behind.
When Amazon invested $700 million in a solar farm in Alberta, they chose Alberta specifically because of access to renewable energy.
When the industry association representing offshore oil and gas in Newfoundland and Labrador announced this month a shift to include renewables, they did it because they know there’s room to grow.
Industry believes in these communities.
As a government, we do too.
In fact, we’ve already seen how our investments deliver results.
I think of the first-ever geothermal power facility we’re supporting in Saskatchewan – a project that will create jobs while powering homes with clean energy.
For so many more communities, this is the bright future we can and we will build by working together.
This is just a fraction of what’s in our plan.
I could talk about our commitment to protect old growth forests. Or to expand our investments in clean energy projects with Indigenous communities.
But here’s the bottom line.
This plan isn’t just a plan to protect against climate change.
It’s a plan to build a better future.
And it means real results for real people right now.
Clean air for our kids and healthy lakes and forests for generations to come.
Affordable electric vehicles in driveways and lower monthly heating bills for families.
Good jobs for workers, and a strong economy for everyone.
Clean air.
Lower monthly bills.
Good middle-class jobs.
A strong economy for generations to come.
Those are our goals.
That is the future that our plan will help build.
I started my speech today by talking about the war in Ukraine.
I know some people will say a war is no time for climate action, for looking to clean solutions to build a competitive economy.
The same people said the pandemic was no time for climate action.
We didn’t let them stop us then, either.
Responsible leadership demanded that we tackle the crisis at hand and build for the future.
So to those people, I say this:
This is no time for excuses.
It is the time for even bolder climate action.
Because it is always the right time to face a crisis head-on.
It is always the right time to have workers’ backs.
And it is always the right time to build a good future for all Canadians.
We don’t have to choose between economic growth and a healthy environment.
We don’t have to choose between ambitious goals and achievable goals.
If we work together, we will continue to build a promising future.
For everyone.
When you walk out of this room, you walk out to be inspired by the gorgeous mountains of the North Shore.
And right across the country, Canada’s geography inspires and humbles us all.
It humbles us because we can’t help but feel how much bigger it is than any one of us.
But it inspires us because it reminds us that we are the stewards that will ensure it remains for future generations.
That is our shared responsibility.
That is the challenge before us.
That is the challenge I know we will rise to meet.
Thank you, friends.