Investing for Tomorrow, Today

The report finds a significant investment gap between Canada's current climate-related fiscal commitments and the funding required to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. While acknowledging positive steps in public transit and building energy efficiency, the authors argue that Canada is being outpaced by international peers, such as the US and EU, in per capita green spending. The analysis identifies critical funding shortfalls across seven sectors, including transportation, clean energy, and nature-based solutions, and calls for Budget 2021 to prioritize uncosted measures and scaled-up investments to ensure an equitable green recovery.

• There is a substantial gap between Canada's current climate fiscal commitments and the investment needed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, with current policies estimated to meet only about 50% of what is required for Paris goals.
• Canada's per capita climate-related spending since the onset of COVID-19 is over eight times lower than the USD 2 trillion promised for climate investments by US President Joe Biden.
• Despite green investments, the Canadian government committed at least CAD 3.6 billion to fossil energy in 2020, with 28% of that support lacking "green strings," and Export Development Canada provides an average of over CAD 13.2 billion annually for oil and gas.
• In the transportation sector, Canada's funding for EV charging and alternative fuel infrastructure (CAD 150 million over three years) is significantly lower than the CAD 2 billion over five years recommended by the Task Force for Resilient Recovery.
• Building retrofits are identified as a key recovery pillar, but current funding is insufficient; experts recommend up to CAD 26 billion over five years to expand programs, far exceeding the current CAD 6.1 billion commitment over seven years.
• Canada's investments in clean power production and storage (CAD 964 million over four years) fall short of expert recommendations, such as the TFRR's proposed CAD 5 billion Clean Power Fund for transmission and distribution.
• Nature-based solutions are heavily skewed toward the two-billion-tree planting program, leaving significant funding gaps for the protection of 30% of land and ocean ecosystems by 2030 and Indigenous Guardians programs.
• Agricultural climate funding is lagging behind international peers; the EU spends 73 times more than Canada on agri-environmental programs on a per-acre basis, and the US spends 13 times more.

APA

Corkal, V., Beedell, E., & Gass, P. (2021). Investing for Tomorrow, Today. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-03/canada-budget-2021-climate-action-green-recovery-en.pdf

Chicago

Corkal, Vanessa, Estan Beedell, and Philip Gass. Investing for Tomorrow, Today. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-03/canada-budget-2021-climate-action-green-recovery-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Corkal |first1=Vanessa |last2=Beedell |first2=Estan |last3=Gass |first3=Philip |title=Investing for Tomorrow, Today |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-03/canada-budget-2021-climate-action-green-recovery-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{corkal2021investing, author = {Corkal, Vanessa and Beedell, Estan and Gass, Philip}, title = {{Investing for Tomorrow, Today}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2021-03/canada-budget-2021-climate-action-green-recovery-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }