Regulating Carbon Emissions in Canada

The document reports a significant decline in federal political will to regulate carbon emissions in Canada during 2013, specifically noting the delay of oil and gas regulations. In contrast, provinces took leading roles: Ontario phased out coal-fired electricity, Quebec launched a cap-and-trade system linked to California, and British Columbia maintained its carbon tax. The brief highlights the 'Keystone effect,' where U.S. market access for the Keystone XL pipeline became linked to Canada's GHG performance. It concludes that federal 'equivalency' agreements—intended to align provincial and federal standards—have stalled due to complexity and lack of political will, recommending that Canada embrace a bottom-up approach to subnational policy alignment.

• Federal political will to implement sector-by-sector GHG regulations evaporated in late 2013, leading to the indefinite delay of long-awaited oil and gas emissions rules.
• Ontario achieved a major regulatory milestone by phasing out coal-fired thermal electricity by the end of 2013, which is described as the largest single regulatory action in North America, resulting in an estimated 15 Mt reduction since 2005.
• Quebec successfully launched its cap-and-trade system in 2013, including Canada's first permit auction in December and establishing a link with California's system effective January 1, 2014.
• The 'Keystone effect' formalized a link between Canada's GHG policy and its economic market access in the United States, as President Obama tied the potential approval of the Keystone XL pipeline to Canada's net emissions performance.
• Federal 'equivalency' agreements, designed to allow provincial policies to meet federal standards, have stalled due to bureaucratic complexity, a lack of central guidance on stringency, and diminished federal political will.
• British Columbia reaffirmed its commitment to its carbon tax, maintaining the rate at $30 per tonne and continuing revenue neutrality provisions.
• A new subnational dialogue emerged among provinces to coordinate on foundational carbon policy elements, such as GHG accounting and offset protocols, to mitigate the risks of a fragmented system.

APA

Sawyer, D., & Gass, P. (2014). Regulating Carbon Emissions in Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/canadian_carbon_policy_review_2013.pdf

Chicago

Sawyer, Dave, and Philip Gass. Regulating Carbon Emissions in Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2014. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/canadian_carbon_policy_review_2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sawyer |first1=Dave |last2=Gass |first2=Philip |title=Regulating Carbon Emissions in Canada |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2014 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/canadian_carbon_policy_review_2013.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sawyer2014regulating, author = {Sawyer, Dave and Gass, Philip}, title = {{Regulating Carbon Emissions in Canada}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2014}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/canadian_carbon_policy_review_2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }