Canada's climate policy faced significant setbacks in 2025, according to a new analysis by academic researchers. The year saw the federal government cancel the national carbon tax, end funding for home energy-efficiency programs, and delay sales mandates for zero-emission vehicles.
Policy Reversals and a New Pipeline Deal
In a major November 2025 agreement, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith signed a memorandum of understanding to remove strict climate policies in Alberta and support the construction of a new pipeline from Alberta to northern British Columbia. These collective actions have pushed Canada further from its international climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, goals already considered too weak to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
The driving force behind this slowdown, according to a newly published study, is a decades-long propaganda campaign orchestrated by the fossil fuel industry. Researchers Samuel Lloyd, a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria, and assistant professor Katya Rhodes, argue that a well-funded "climate change counter movement" has effectively delayed meaningful action.
The Evolving Tactics of Delay
The study maps how this movement's strategy has shifted over time. Initially focused on outright denial of climate science, the industry's approach has evolved. As extreme weather events made denial less credible, the movement pivoted to exploiting legitimate policy debates to sow confusion, create political deadlock, and promote solutions that protect fossil fuel profits.
The research identifies three pervasive narratives in Canada:
- Fossil-fuel solutionism: The claim that fossil fuels can be part of the climate solution.
- "Whataboutism": Deflecting criticism by pointing to emissions elsewhere.
- Appeals to well-being: Framing fossil fuels as essential to daily life and the economy.
These narratives often include the false assertion that Canadian oil is less carbon-intensive, despite oilsands crude being roughly 21 per cent more polluting than conventional oil. The study also notes these industry talking points are now being repeated by members of the public, influencing broader perceptions.
A Path Forward: Countering Industry Influence
The researchers propose a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the powerful influence of fossil fuel propaganda and restart climate progress.
First, they recommend public self-reflection on how these narratives may have been internalized, given the pervasiveness of the messaging. Second, they advocate for direct accountability, suggesting citizens and journalists identify key players in the counter-movement and support legal actions. They cite the Sue Big Oil campaign in British Columbia as an example, where municipalities are uniting to sue fossil fuel companies for climate-related costs.
Third, the study calls for healing societal wounds caused by polarization and distrust, potentially through tools like climate assemblies. Fourth, governments should "pick their battles" by advancing effective but less-contested policies that have escaped the brunt of industry propaganda.
Finally, the authors stress the need to challenge the structural roots of the industry's power. This includes removing fossil fuel subsidies and implementing stringent policies to realign financial markets with climate goals. "The climate change counter movement is several steps ahead of us, but it hasn’t won yet," the researchers conclude. "If climate change is to be stopped, we have to stop ignoring the elephant in the room and unite against the fossil-fuel industry."
