Canadian Climate Policy: How Climate Change is Re-Energizing Provincial Fault Lines
In this episode, we will focus on how the regional differences and increasing polarization in Canada may complicate the implementation of strong climate action at the federal level. We discuss the future of climate policy given the new Liberal minority government and potential innovative environmental policy pathways relevant to the Canadian context. Our first interview is with Dr. Douglas Macdonald, who discusses the tension between Canadian federalism and climate policy. He then suggests a way forward to achieve federal and provincial consensus on national climate policy that reflects regional divides. For our next guest, Dr. Kathryn Harrison joins us to talk about what’s next for climate policy after the election and address mounting friction between western Canada and Ottawa. Finally, Dr. Andrew Leach weighs in on Alberta’s newly-announced provincial carbon tax and advises how Canada can position itself for success in a low-carbon, resource-efficient global economy.
Dr. Douglas Macdonald is Senior Lecturer Emeritus with the School of the Environment, University of Toronto. His forthcoming book, Carbon Province, Hydro Province: The Challenge of Canadian Energy and Climate Federalism provides analysis and recommendations for how Canada can address its basic climate-change problem – the fact that continually rising emissions in the oil-producing provinces are overwhelming reductions made in other parts of the country.
Dr. Kathryn Harrison is a Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia and expert on the topics of environmental, climate, and energy policy, as well as federalism, and comparative public policy.
Dr. Andrew Leach is an energy and environmental economist and is Associate Professor at the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta. His research spans energy and environmental economics with a particular interest in climate change policies. In 2015, Dr. Leach was Chair of Alberta’s Climate Change Leadership Panel.
Special thanks to Junior Producers Erin Christensen and Thea Koper and Executive Director Vienna Vendittelli for producing this episode.
