Towards a Strategy for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Canada

The authors propose that Canada use the Federal Sustainable Development Act and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) as the primary vehicles for implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) domestically. They argue that the FSDS must evolve from a narrow environmental focus to a comprehensive economic, social, and environmental agenda to avoid losing critical time in the 15-year window to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

• Canada has committed to supporting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in fragile states and the poorest and most vulnerable countries, but lacks a clear plan for domestic implementation.
• The Federal Sustainable Development Act (2008) and the resulting Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) are currently limited in scope, focusing primarily on environmental decision-making and monitoring by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
• The draft FSDS for 2016–2019 already contains areas relevant to the SDGs, specifically regarding water (SDG 6), industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9), and life on land (SDG 15), through its focus on climate change, clean technology, national parks, and freshwater and oceans.
• To effectively implement the SDGs domestically, the authors recommend several reforms: amending the Federal Sustainable Development Act to include economic and social decision-making, extending the FSDS outlook to 2030, adding the Minister of Finance as a responsible minister, funding the Sustainable Development Advisory Council, and expanding the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) to include social and economic metrics.
• Federal leadership is necessary to coordinate the efforts of cities, businesses, and provincial governments, who are already exploring the SDGs independently, similar to previous provincial actions on carbon taxes.

APA

Bizikova, L., & Swanson, D. (2016). Towards a Strategy for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/towards-strategy-implementing-2030-agenda-sustainable-development-canada

Chicago

Bizikova, Livia, and Darren Swanson. Towards a Strategy for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2016. https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/towards-strategy-implementing-2030-agenda-sustainable-development-canada.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bizikova |first1=Livia |last2=Swanson |first2=Darren |title=Towards a Strategy for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Canada |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=20 April 2016 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/towards-strategy-implementing-2030-agenda-sustainable-development-canada |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bizikova2016towards, author = {Bizikova, Livia and Swanson, Darren}, title = {{Towards a Strategy for Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Canada}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2016}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/towards-strategy-implementing-2030-agenda-sustainable-development-canada}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }