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Climate change is increasing the risk and severity of droughts globally and across Canada, leading to significant economic losses in agriculture and hydroelectricity, increased wildfire risk, and public health threats. In Canada, the southern Prairies and interior British Columbia are particularly vulnerable, with 2025 seeing 85% of the country abnormally dry. The document advocates for proactive drought response plans, water conservation, and strengthened agricultural resilience to mitigate these impacts.

The Gitanyow people developed the Wilp Sustainability Assessment Process (WSAP) and a corresponding climate test to exercise sovereignty and protect their territory from the shortcomings of colonial environmental impact assessments. Refined in 2023, the climate test uses 13 specific criteria and a scoring grid to assess project performance, including carbon pollution and alignment with the Paris Agreement. The process has been applied to three projects, including the Eskay Creek mine and the Ksi Lisims LNG project, demonstrating a shift toward Indigenous-led impact assessments and legal pluralism in Canada.

The Gitanyow people of British Columbia developed the Wilp Sustainability Assessment Process (WSAP) and a specific Climate Test to evaluate the climate impacts of major projects on their territory. This Indigenous-led impact assessment (ILIA) emerged from dissatisfaction with colonial processes, which the Gitanyow argue often use a "scale trick" to minimize emissions impacts and ignore Indigenous interests. The revised Climate Test, finalized in 2023, employs 13 criteria and a scoring rubric to inform decision-making. It has been applied to three projects, including the Eskay Creek mine, which received mostly "good" and "fair" scores, and the Ksi Lisims LNG project, which received predominantly "poor" scores. The process exemplifies legal pluralism in Canada, where Indigenous laws operate alongside provincial and federal legal orders to advance reconciliation and environmental stewardship.

The paper examines the potential for Indigenous-led electricity transmission in Canada, advocating for a transition from passive equity stakes to full project leadership. It highlights the economic benefits of regulated rate-of-return models for community revenue and proposes a financing structure using Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) via the First Nations Finance Authority (FNFA) and the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Corporation (CILGC) to overcome structural barriers like the Indian Act.

The document examines the gap between corporate ESG reporting and the reality of Indigenous governance in Canada's energy transition. It finds that while many companies disclose Indigenous relations, they rarely integrate Indigenous rights into formal risk assessments or acknowledge the necessity of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). Through dialogues with over 50 Indigenous leaders and an analysis of S&P/TSX companies, the study concludes that corporate narratives often prioritize regulatory compliance and symbolic transparency over the recognition of inherent Indigenous jurisdiction.

The document examines the gap between corporate sustainability reporting and the jurisdictional realities of Indigenous Peoples in Canada's energy transition. Through an analysis of S&P/TSX Composite Index companies and dialogues with over 50 Indigenous leaders, it finds that disclosures frequently prioritize narrative-based engagement and regulatory compliance over the recognition of inherent rights and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). The study concludes that current voluntary frameworks provide an incomplete picture of project risks and governance, suggesting the need for a reporting standard authored by Indigenous rightsholders to ensure credible climate accountability.

The document posits that the lived experience and intergenerational knowledge of Métis harvesters provide more granular and longitudinal climate data than official monitoring systems. It highlights how environmental changes—such as unpredictable berry ripening and shifting animal populations—are detected by harvesters long before they appear in scientific datasets. The author argues that colonial frameworks have marginalized this knowledge, and that true climate resilience requires integrating Métis observation as primary data, protecting harvesting rights, and supporting the intergenerational transmission of land-based knowledge.

The paper advocates for Indigenous-led electricity transmission projects in Canada, moving beyond passive equity stakes to active project leadership. It highlights the economic potential of a national grid, the role of Indigenous ownership in reducing diesel dependency and funding community services, and proposes a financing model using the First Nations Financial Management Board (FNFMB) and the Canada Indigenous Loan Guarantee Corporation (CILGC) to overcome capital barriers.

The document posits that the lived experience and intergenerational knowledge of Métis harvesters provide more granular and place-specific climate data than formal monitoring systems. It highlights how changing environmental patterns—such as unpredictable saskatoon berry ripening and altered freeze-thaw cycles—are already evident to harvesters. The author argues that the erosion of harvesting access due to industrial contamination, habitat loss, and social threats constitutes a climate impact and a violation of food sovereignty. The text calls for a redesign of climate monitoring to co-develop frameworks with Métis communities and treat the transmission of harvesting knowledge as a priority for climate adaptation.

The Canadian Climate Institute warns that failing to adapt public infrastructure to rising heat and intense rainfall could increase annual costs by nearly $15 billion. While the federal government has failed to meet its own climate-proofing commitments, the broader challenge involves municipal, provincial, territorial, and Indigenous infrastructure. Investing approximately $4 billion annually in adaptation could save taxpayers up to $9 billion in annual repair costs. The document emphasizes that current funding models for municipal and Indigenous governments are insufficient for large-scale renewal, necessitating a coordinated effort across all levels of government to modernize financial tools and infrastructure standards.

The report argues that Canada's historical advantage of low-cost electricity is at risk due to outdated grid infrastructure, cautious energy planning, and policy instability. By comparing Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec with international peers like Texas and Germany, the analysis finds that Canadian grids often under-plan for industrial growth and lag in flexibility and transmission capacity. The document recommends that the federal government support interprovincial coordination, provide targeted funding for grid expansion, ensure a stable Clean Electricity Regulation, and prioritize grid flexibility to maintain industrial competitiveness.

The document outlines a comparative framework using six indicators—energy planning, flexible grid planning, transmission planning, electricity procurement, industrial rate modernization, and climate policy predictability—to assess the competitiveness of jurisdictions including Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia, Germany, the UK, Norway, New South Wales, Washington, and Texas.

The report finds that Canadian provinces are generally underplanning for industrial electricity demand and lagging in system flexibility and transmission build-out compared to international peers. While hydro-led provinces like Quebec and British Columbia have inherent flexibility advantages, non-hydro jurisdictions like Alberta and Ontario need to proactively build capacity. The report recommends that the federal government support interprovincial energy planning, deploy the national balance sheet for anticipatory grid build-out, implement flexible Clean Electricity Regulations, and prioritize system flexibility in federal programs.

The document outlines a benchmarking framework used to assess how jurisdictions attract investment in wind, solar, and battery projects. It defines six metrics: energy planning, flexibility planning, transmission planning, electricity procurement, industrial rate modernization, and climate policy certainty. The report provides the specific data sources, scoring rubrics, and calculation methods used to evaluate Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, British Columbia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Norway, New South Wales, Washington, and Texas.

The Canadian Climate Institute evaluates recent federal climate policy developments, expressing concern over industrial carbon pricing while emphasizing the critical importance of upcoming vehicle emission standards. The author argues that for Canada to meet its goal of emission reductions equivalent to a 75% electric vehicle (EV) adoption rate by 2035, the government must ensure policy details are sufficiently strict and avoid excessive compliance flexibilities. The document highlights the global trend toward EVs, noting that China's rapid adoption and the resulting decline in global oil demand threaten Canada's automotive and oil sectors if the country fails to transition effectively.

The document examines the intersection of AI data centre growth and Canada's electricity grid, highlighting risks such as increased emissions from gas-powered generation and the potential for data centres to crowd out other electrification efforts. Conversely, it suggests that data centres can act as 'anchor tenants' for cleaner grids by spurring private investment in infrastructure and providing grid flexibility. Because electricity regulation is primarily provincial, the author proposes a federal framework of 'conditional carrots' (funding tied to clean energy), 'binding sticks' (Clean Electricity Regulations and carbon pricing), and 'transparency infrastructure' (national reporting standards) to align provincial actions with national climate objectives.

The Canadian Climate Institute argues that the memorandum of understanding between Alberta and Canada fails to effectively address the dysfunction of Alberta's industrial carbon pricing system. While the agreement introduces a price floor and hedging contracts to stabilize carbon credit markets, the Institute claims the price levels—$60 per tonne by 2030 and $110 by 2040—are too low to drive necessary investments or meet 2050 net-zero targets. Furthermore, the document warns that this agreement sets a low national benchmark that may encourage other provinces to weaken their own carbon pricing systems, potentially hindering Canada's overall climate policy effectiveness.

The Alberta-Canada Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) implementation agreement is criticized for cementing low stringency in industrial carbon pricing, which the author argues will limit emissions reductions and investment in low-carbon projects. While the MOU introduces a minimum market price and joint carbon contracts for difference to stabilize credit markets, the price floor of $60 per tonne by 2030 and $110 by 2040 is deemed too low to meet Canada's net-zero 2050 commitment. The author contends that this agreement sets a low de facto minimum standard for other provinces and that strengthening the system to $130 per tonne would have a negligible impact on oil sands competitiveness, adding less than 50 cents per barrel to the cost of Western Canada Select crude oil.

The author refutes industry claims that industrial carbon pricing is unaffordable or harmful to competitiveness, noting that the cost for Alberta's oil sands producers would be less than 50 cents a barrel by 2030. The text highlights that carbon pricing is increasing globally, covering nearly 30 per cent of global GHG emissions, and is necessary to avoid carbon border tariffs from jurisdictions like the EU. It concludes that a strong industrial carbon market in Alberta is critical for Canada to reach net zero by 2050.

The author refutes industry claims that industrial carbon pricing is unaffordable or detrimental to competitiveness, noting that the cost for Alberta oil sands producers would be less than 50 cents per barrel by 2030. Analysis of 17 years of provincial trade data shows no statistically significant contraction in exports linked to carbon pricing. The text highlights that global carbon pricing coverage has increased from 12% of emissions in 2015 to nearly 30% today, with the EU implementing border carbon tariffs. The author concludes that a robust industrial carbon market in Alberta is critical for Canada's trajectory toward carbon neutrality by 2050.