Blocking Ambition

The report identifies that four major Canadian fossil fuel-producing provinces provided at least CAD 2.5 billion in subsidies in FY 2020/21 and 1.5 billion in FY 2021/22 (up to December 2021). These subsidies, consisting of royalty reductions, tax exemptions, and direct transfers, are described as incompatible with 1.5°C goals and a hindrance to Canada's Paris Agreement obligations. The authors highlight a lack of transparency in provincial budgeting and a trend of using fossil fuel support as a COVID-19 recovery strategy. The report recommends that provinces increase transparency, align with federal targets to phase out subsidies by 2023, cease creating new subsidies, and collaborate with the federal government.

• Four Canadian provinces—British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador—provided at least CAD 2.5 billion in fossil fuel subsidies in FY 2020/21 and 1.5 billion in FY 2021/22 (as of December 2021).
• Alberta is the largest provincial provider of fossil fuel subsidies, totaling CAD 1.32 billion in FY 2020/21 and 658.7 million in FY 2021/22 so far.
• British Columbia's fossil fuel subsidies totaled CAD 765.3 million in FY 2020/21 and 566.0 million in 2021/22 so far, with the Deep Well Royalty Credit being the single largest subsidy in the province.
• Saskatchewan provided CAD 413.8 million in subsidies in FY 2020/21 and 224.4 million in FY 2021/22 so far, including a significant fuel tax exemption for farm activity worth CAD 93.7 million in FY 2020/21.
• Newfoundland and Labrador's subsidies totaled CAD 82.6 million in FY 2020/21 and 94.7 million in FY 2021/22 so far, with significant support for the Terra Nova project including estimated royalty structure changes valued at over CAD 300 million.
• Provincial governments used fossil fuel subsidies as a central part of their COVID-19 recovery strategies, including direct transfers, tax exemptions, and waived regulatory requirements.
• Alberta's Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) Fund has been used to subsidize carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), which the report argues may be an inefficient method of achieving GHG reductions.
• A lack of transparency and disaggregated budgetary data means that the calculated subsidy estimates are conservative and actual figures are likely higher.
• Subsidies for fossil fuels in these provinces are described as incompatible with the 1.5°C global warming limit and undermine Canada's Paris Agreement obligations.

APA

McKenzie, J., Beedell, E., & Corkal, V. (2022). Blocking Ambition. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-02/blocking-ambition-fossil-fuel-subsidies-canadian-provinces.pdf

Chicago

McKenzie, Janetta, Estan Beedell, and Vanessa Corkal. Blocking Ambition. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-02/blocking-ambition-fossil-fuel-subsidies-canadian-provinces.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=McKenzie |first1=Janetta |last2=Beedell |first2=Estan |last3=Corkal |first3=Vanessa |title=Blocking Ambition |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-02/blocking-ambition-fossil-fuel-subsidies-canadian-provinces.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mckenzie2022blocking, author = {McKenzie, Janetta and Beedell, Estan and Corkal, Vanessa}, title = {{Blocking Ambition}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-02/blocking-ambition-fossil-fuel-subsidies-canadian-provinces.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }