Alberta-Canada deal takes a sledgehammer to one of the last remaining pillars of Canada’s climate plan

Unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territories [OTTAWA], 15 May 2026:

Climate and civil society organizations across Canada are outraged at today’s announcement of the Canada-Alberta agreement to weaken industrial carbon pricing and double down on fast-tracking an oil pipeline to the west coast of British Columbia.

The agreement pushes back the deadline for Alberta to reach an effective carbon price of $130/tonne to 2040—a full decade later than previously planned, and now framed as a target rather than a minimum.

“With today’s announcement, Prime Minister Carney is taking a sledgehammer to one of the last remaining pillars of Canada’s climate plan,” said Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada.

“The prime minister came into office on a promise to strengthen industrial Canada’s carbon pricing system. He has positioned it as the backbone of his climate strategy, and used that to justify slashing other measures to hold polluters accountable. Instead, he is dismantling essential protections for ecosystems and communities and letting the American-owned oil and gas industry write its own rules, as Canadians face the rising cost of fossil fuels and climate disasters.

“Fast-tracking the construction of an oil pipeline in 2027—with no consent from First Nations, no private sector proponent, and amidst collapsing demand for fossil fuels in Asia—truly defies reason. The project would not be viable without public subsidies—and Canadians do not want their money wasted on another boondoggle of a pipeline.”

The deal comes after a year of continuous climate policy rollbacks. Most recently, the federal government announced regulatory changes that would gut Canada’s environmental protections and due process, and released an electricity strategy that would allow for more fossil fuels on the grid.

“The Carney government is making these changes in the name of building things. But failing to ask whether we are building the right things, the right way, will only create further obstacles and delays, while entrenching us in an economy of the past. That’s not what Canada needs—for competitiveness, security, and a healthy planet for future generations,” added Caroline Brouillette.

Quotes:

Thomas Green, senior manager climate solutions, David Suzuki Foundation:

“Carney promised his climate competitiveness strategy, built around industrial carbon pricing, would do the heavy lifting on emissions. Today’s announcement delivered the opposite. By agreeing to let Alberta reach $130 a tonne only by 2040 — a full decade behind the previous federal schedule — the government has handed the country’s largest-emitting sector a decade-long permission slip to keep polluting. With oil and gas responsible for nearly a third of Canada’s emissions, we not only bear the climate cost, but also lose the jobs, investment and opportunities from clean economy companies whose projects depend on a robust carbon price to attract investment capital.” 

Cathy Orlando, National Director Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada:

“Ottawa and Alberta’s proposed 2040 timeline, likely driven by separatist fears, risks leaving tens of billions and a low-carbon boom untapped. With the carbon price for oilsands at dimes per barrel, weak pricing sacrifices climate and economic progress. The Prime Minister’s first duty is to unite the country. Mark Carney may be keeping Alberta happy, but the rest of Canada would be paying the piper.”

Liz McDowell, Campaigns Director with Stand.earth:

“Any new bitumen pipeline and tanker megaproject would come at the sacrifice of what Canadians hold dear: clean water, clean air, a healthy environment, and the protection of endangered species. To get it built, the Carney government is trying to bulldoze key longstanding environmental protections, including protections for nature, endangered species, clean water and marine life. At the same time, he’s rolling back promises to make the biggest polluters in the country pay their fair share.” 

Atiya Jaffar, Canada Country Manager, 350.org:

“Today’s announcement launching a tar sands pipeline to the Salish Sea and undercutting the industrial carbon price is the final nail in the coffin for Canada’s climate policy. Between the finalized Alberta MOU and last week’s proposals to decimate environmental regulations, Carney is granting Big Oil everything on their wish list. Canadians will pay the price for these dangerous decisions for decades to come. 

“Mark our words: people across Canada will rise up to reject Carney’s plans to fast-track destruction. We will fight back to defend our communities, Indigenous rights, and our planet.”

Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist, Greenpeace Canada: 

“The only thing happening faster than the federal rollback of climate policies is the global renewable energy revolution that will turn all of these concessions to Big Oil into a massive lost opportunity to build a better, safer Canada. A greener world is a safer and more affordable world, so let’s not confuse what is good for oil companies with what is good for regular people.”

Dr Samantha Green, president, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment:

“The findings are clear and consistent: the vast majority of people in Canada are concerned about climate change, and want our leaders to act. And yet, we are witnessing the federal government’s sweeping dismantling of climate policy at precisely the moment the health impacts of the climate crisis are accelerating around us. Industrial carbon pricing is one of the most effective tools Canada has to reduce pollution. Weakening it while simultaneously expanding fossil fuel production sends a reckless message that short-term political deals matter more than the health and safety of people in Canada. The cost of these decisions will be measured in lives.”

Anna Johnston, Staff Lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law:

“Prime Minister Carney’s ‘grand bargain’ with the Alberta government is a grand sham. Considering last week’s major project deregulation agenda, Canada loses everything in this deal – a strong price on pollution, endangered species protection, and its ability to safeguard its lakes, rivers, and coastlines. As communities across the country prepare for another season of wildfires and heat waves, doubling down on a pipeline while coming up short on the price of carbon is wildly unacceptable.”

Conor Curtis, Director of Communications, Sierra Club Canada:

“This says government is not willing to stand up for Canadians and they can’t negotiate effective deals. It says that at the end of the day they’ll do what U.S. oil corporations tell them to do even if it means less green Canadian jobs and more community-destroying wildfires. It says that when they can’t get results they’ll ‘flood the zone’ to try to cover it up. It tells those who want chaos, far more than they want an actual pipeline, that they can get everything they want, without limit, if they keep getting louder – it emboldens them. I saw government representatives tell some of the most climate-impacted that they cared about climate change. Anyone who cares about the ‘pragmatic good’ would not be scrapping green-jobs policies like industrial carbon pricing and cutting services that Canadians will need more than ever as climate impacts – like wildfires – get worse. If this is the Federal Government’s approach to one of the most catastrophic issues Canadian communities face, then it’s the ‘canary in the coal mine’ for doublespeak on other vital issues.”

Adam Scott, Executive Director, Shift: Action for Pension Wealth & Planet Health (Makeway):

“We are witnessing generational failure on climate and environmental leadership from Prime Minister Mark Carney. Following this plan would make Canada’s legally enshrined commitment to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 impossible. This full-scale retreat on climate is a betrayal of Carney’s promises and commitments before and during the last election, and undermines his global reputation and Canada’s standing in the world.” 

Aly Hyder Ali, Senior Program Manager, Environmental Defence:

“Prime Minister Carney has completed his dismantling of Canada’s climate framework for oil and gas CEOs by gutting one of Canada’s last major climate tools. With this agreement, PM Carney has given free rein to polluters, made more room for fossil fuel expansion, and has put taxpayer money behind economically and environmentally risky projects. While the rest of the world is racing towards clean energy, PM Carney is intent on keeping Canada hooked on an outdated energy system.”

Louise Comeau, Coordinating Committee, Seniors for Climate:

“A world liveable for all requires we move beyond fossil fuels. Canada has obligations to future generations under the Paris Agreement. Later is too late.”

-30-