Tracking Progress on Supporting Workers and Communities in Canada’s Energy Transition

The report addresses the need for a transparent mechanism to measure the workforce transition in Canada following the enactment of the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act in June 2024. It argues that tracking must go beyond counting 'green jobs' to include job quality, social equity, and governance. The authors propose a framework based on 'Risk, Response, and Results,' identifying 18 key indicators—such as community susceptibility, Indigenous partnership in governance, and sustainable job compensation—to monitor federal progress. The report emphasizes that these indicators require operational definitions and a whole-of-government approach to data collection to ensure the transition is equitable and aligned with the Paris Agreement.

• The energy transition is projected to have a net positive effect on employment in Canada, with an estimated 2 million direct and indirect jobs created by 2050, though approximately 900,000 jobs are expected to be lost due to the decline in fossil fuel production and use.
• Significant job losses are anticipated in the oil sands, where employment could drop from 100,000 to approximately 5,000 between 2025 and 2050 in a global net-zero scenario.
• Canada's current investment in training and skills development, totaling CAD 1.4 billion, is insufficient to meet the projected need for 72,000 workers to be trained between 2026 and 2030 and an additional 600,000 by 2050.
• The Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act (2024) requires the federal government to submit its first Sustainable Jobs Action Plan in 2025 and an overall progress report by 2028.
• The report proposes 18 priority indicators categorized into three groups: 'Risk and Readiness' (economic exposure and institutional preparedness), 'Response' (governance and processes), and 'Results' (net-zero alignment, employment/decent work, and social equity).
• Specific proposed indicators for the federal government include measuring 'Community susceptibility' to workforce disruption, the 'Extent of Indigenous partnerships and decision-making authority', and the 'Annual (median) compensation in sustainable jobs' relative to all jobs.
• A review of international efforts indicates that while many jurisdictions are considering how to track just transition progress, very few have fully operational systems in place; the Scottish Just Transition Commission is cited as a strong example for Canada to follow.
• Effective implementation of the proposed indicators will require the Sustainable Jobs Secretariat within Natural Resources Canada to have ongoing analytical capacity and support from Statistics Canada for data collection.

APA

Duennenberger, S., Cameron, L., & Parenteau, S. (2025). Tracking Progress on Supporting Workers and Communities in Canada’s Energy Transition. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-06/tracking-support-canada-energy-transition.pdf

Chicago

Duennenberger, Simon, Laura Cameron, and Serene Parenteau. Tracking Progress on Supporting Workers and Communities in Canada’s Energy Transition. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2025. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-06/tracking-support-canada-energy-transition.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Duennenberger |first1=Simon |last2=Cameron |first2=Laura |last3=Parenteau |first3=Serene |title=Tracking Progress on Supporting Workers and Communities in Canada’s Energy Transition |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=June 2025 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-06/tracking-support-canada-energy-transition.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{duennenberger2025tracking, author = {Duennenberger, Simon and Cameron, Laura and Parenteau, Serene}, title = {{Tracking Progress on Supporting Workers and Communities in Canada’s Energy Transition}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2025-06/tracking-support-canada-energy-transition.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }