The Elbows Up for Climate campaign responded to the release of the federal budget with the following statement: 

“The federal budget very clearly supports the deployment of an ambitious, East-North-West electricity grid – a major project the Elbows Up for Climate campaign has been demanding. This is very positive for the energy transition and for Canada’s ability to withstand the impacts from the whims of the American president.  Now we need to happen with the urgency the climate transition demands”, said David Miller, co-chair of the Elbows Up for Climate campaign.

“On housing, the government is sending the right signals by increasing supply and funding some heat pumps for low-income Canadians, but the devil is in the details: unless new-build homes are heated and cooled by heat pumps or built in climate-safe areas, they will quickly become unaffordable to operate.”  

The budget misses the opportunity to protect and support Canadian communities by investing in climate resilience. Our climate is rapidly changing, and Canadians can no longer wait: we need adaptation policies which make sure the people and places we love are kept safe. True sovereignty means adapting to a changing climate, and ensuring that Canadians are not impacted by the inflationary pressures due to expensive and volatile fossil fuels. 

Here’s how the budget responds to Elbows Up’s budget recommendations:

• Recommendation 1: The federal government invests directly in a clean electricity grid, maintaining a public equity stake in interregional transmission projects.
  • The federal government clearly signalled that they will be supporting interregional and intra-provincial transmission projects through investment tax credits. 
  • The federal government also released their Powering Canada Strong electrification strategy which focused on doubling the grid, as well as electrifying Canada’s economy. It falls short of an entirely renewable grid, maintaining gas in the mix, but sends a strong signal nonetheless with regards to Canada’s economic and energy future.
    
• Recommendation 2:  The federal government ensures federal investments in housing build high performing, affordable, energy efficient homes.
  • The federal budget invests billions of dollars in housing, but there is no requirement so far to build high performing, affordable or energy efficient housing. 
  • The budget reiterates the federal government’s intent to spend $2 billion on housing retrofits and heat pumps in $1 million homes.
    
• Recommendation 3: The federal government increases funding and resourcing to a national resilience, response and recovery strategy.
  • Budget 2026 entirely avoids new investments in climate adaptation or resilience. This is a major oversight which should be remediated as soon as possible. Elbows Up for Climate will continue to work with federal government representatives to champion the need for adaptation and resilience to be key focuses moving forward.