Climate Change & the Environment  /  Jobs, Businesses, & Labour

Oil and gas platforms

Here's what the 2025 Canadian election parties are promising.

Liberal

  • Jointly identify projects of national interest with provinces, territories, and Indigenous peoples, and fast-track them

    "Protect our economic sovereignty by unlocking projects that grow our economy. We will work with provinces and territories and Indigenous Peoples to establish a list of nation-building projects that span provincial and territorial boundaries and deliver major economic and strategic benefits to Canadians. Long project approval timelines in Canada create significant investment uncertainty, hindering the rapid response needed to address today’s global economic shifts. We will prioritize funding and assessment resources for these projects on an expedited basis." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-21

  • Sign agreements with all willing provinces, territories, and Indigenous governing bodies to ensure projects go through only one review

    "Sign Cooperation and Substitution Agreements with all willing provinces, territories, and Indigenous Governing Bodies within six months, ensuring that projects only go through one review that uphold environmental standards and Indigenous Consultation. This will include upholding Canada’s world class environmental protections and Indigenous People’s constitutional rights." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-16

    "Move forward with One Project, One Review. Within six months, we will sign Cooperation and Substitution Agreements with all willing Premiers, as well as Indigenous Governing Bodies, allowing the federal government to recognize provincial, territorial, and Indigenous-led assessments. It will reinforce the rigours of Canada’s system that protects the environment, guarantees Indigenous consultation and involvement, and builds community buy-in. This is a bonus for investors because it provides long-term certainty, which compared to growing uncertainty in the U.S., provides a distinct Canadian advantage." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-21

  • Increase funding to $40M/year for Indigenous capacity to engage on projects early and consistently through the Impact Assessment Agency

    "Increase capacity for Indigenous communities to engage on projects early and consistently. This will include:

    » increasing funding, to $40 million per year, for Indigenous capacity to engage on projects early and consistently through the Impact Assessment Agency." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-16

  • Work with project owners, provinces, territories, & Indigenous partners to do proactive remediation and rehabilitation work at project sites

    "Work with project proponents, provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners to do proactive remediation and rehabilitation work at project sites so projects move faster" — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-16

  • Work with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners on a corridor for transport, energy, critical minerals, and digital connectivity

    "Develop a trade and energy corridor, along with provinces, territories, and Indigenous partners, for transport, energy, critical minerals, and digital connectivity, including through the Trade Diversification Corridor Fund;" — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-16

  • Create a Major Federal Project Office as a single application portal for big projects, issuing decisions on projects within two years

    "Establish a Major Federal Project Office to advance a One Project, One Review approach which will provide efficiency and certainty for investors. This office will have a strong new mandate to:

    » act as a “One Window” application portal for project proponents to reduce duplication and paperwork when seeking decisions and permits for major projects;

    » issue decisions on major projects within two years instead of five - including additional approvals outside of the Impact Assessment Act - while fully upholding environmental integrity and Indigenous rights;

    » shift the project review focus “why” to “how”;"

    liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-16

    "Require the new Major Federal Project Office to render final decisions on projects on a maximum two-year timeline, much faster than the former government’s five-year timeline. This will include where other federal decisions are required, including under the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act, and other federal legislation." — liberal.ca, retrieved 2025-04-21

Conservative

  • Create a pre-approved transport corridor within Canada for transmission lines, railways, and pipelines

    "Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre announced today he will create a ‘Canada First’ National Energy Corridor to fast-track approvals for transmission lines, railways, pipelines, and other critical infrastructure across Canada in a pre-approved transport corridor entirely within Canada, transporting our resources within Canada and to the world while bypassing the United States. It will bring billions of dollars of new investment into Canada’s economy, create powerful paycheques for Canadian workers, and restore our economic independence." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

    "In the corridor, all levels of government will provide legally binding commitments to approve projects. This means investors will no longer face the endless regulatory limbo that has made Canadians poorer. First Nations will be involved from the outset, ensuring that economic benefits flow directly to them and that their approval is secured before any money is spent." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

  • Repeal the Impact Assessment Act
  • Repeal the ban on tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil or persistent oil products from using ports in north-west BC
  • Aim to reduce approval times for resource projects to six months and set a maximum time of one year

    "One-year maximum wait times for approvals with a target of six months. There will be a target goal of decisions on applications in six months, with an upper time limit of one year, giving businesses certainty, cutting delays, and getting shovels in the ground faster." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

  • Repeal the cap on industrial greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas
  • Support a plan to double Newfoundland and Labrador's oil and gas production
  • Approve the LNG Newfoundland and Labrador project
  • Create pre-approved zones for businesses to build mines, power stations, LNG terminals, pipelines, or other major projects

    "Today Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre revealed his plan to create ‘Canada Shovel Ready Zones.’ These zones will be areas already permitted for construction, meaning the permits will not just take less time, but will already be completed when a company decides to build a mine, LNG terminal or pipeline, bringing home thousands of jobs for Canadian workers and taking back control of our economy from the Americans.

    Poilievre described how his Canada First Conservative Government will get the Canada Shovel Ready Zones done:

    1. Identify a location that makes sense for a power station, LNG plant, pipeline, or another major project.
    2. Make sure it is safe for Canadians and the environment.
    3. Work with other levels of government to lock down zoning and permits in advance of construction.
    4. Offer pre-permitting before even getting an application so that permits could be published online with a checklist that businesses would have to complete in order to protect nature and people.

    This means businesses could buy the land, move in, hire people and build, knowing they already have the permits."

    conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

  • Approve oil exports from Arctic ports
  • Remove the price on industrial greenhouse gas emissions

    "Poilievre will axe the entire Liberal carbon tax law, including the federal law that requires the provinces to impose an industrial carbon tax." — conservative.ca, retrieved 2025-04-17

Bloc

  • Militer contre toute forme de promotion du pétrole « vert » et contre les stratégies d’écoblanchiment de l’industrie des sables bitumineux
  • Éliminer les subventions accordées au secteur des combustibles fossiles

    Il proposera d’éliminer l’ensemble des subventions et de toute forme d’aides publiques accordées au secteur des combustibles fossiles, y compris le soutien financier accordé par l’intermédiaire d’Exportation et développement Canada, tout en s’assurant que ces entreprises n’imposent pas au public les coûts liés à la réduction des émissions ou à la dépollution de l’environnement.

  • Exiger la fin immédiate de l’exploration pétrolière extracôtière et dans toutes les formes d’aires marines protégées
  • Déposer un projet de Loi sur la finance alignée sur le climat, en le bonifiant d’incitatifs aux investissements verts et d’un désinvestissement du pétrole et du gaz
  • Exiger que le régime de pension fédéral se retire des énergies fossiles
  • Imposer une taxe sur les profits des compagnies pétrolières et gazières, dont les revenus seront directement réinvestis dans l’adaptation aux changements climatiques

NDP

  • Keep the ban on tankers carrying more than 12,500 metric tons of crude oil or persistent oil products from using ports in north-west BC

    "And we are committed to keeping a strong oil and gas emissions cap, as well as to keeping the North Coast tanker ban in place to protect our coastal ecosystems from possible oil spills." — ndp.ca, retrieved 2025-04-19

  • Develop sector specific industrial strategies for energy, mining, manufacturing, buildings, and transportation, with workers at the table, to speed up Canada's clean energy transition and attract new investment

    "New Democrats are committed to our Build Canadian, Buy Canadian Plan to boost our domestic economy and create a stronger and more independent economy. As part of this plan we would develop sector-specific industrial strategies for energy, mining, manufacturing, buildings and transportation, with workers at the table every step along the way, with the goal of accelerating Canada’s clean energy transition and attracting new investment in communities across the country. And we would provide additional supports to train more workers for tomorrow’s green economy. Our goal will be to support good, new jobs in clean industries, and support the decarbonization of essential industries like steelmaking, cement-making, transportation and others." — ndp.ca, retrieved 2025-04-19

  • Set a standard of free, prior, and informed consent for all decisions affecting constitutionally-protected land rights

    "We will replace mere consultation with a standard of free, prior and informed consent, including for all decisions affecting constitutionally protected land rights, like energy project reviews. Opportunities and benefits of projects should go to the communities that want them, not the CEOs and billionaires who force them through." — ndp.ca, retrieved 2025-04-19

  • Immediately cap oil and gas emissions, and maintain a strong cap going forward
  • Remove fossil fuel subsidies by the end of 2026

    "We will end the free ride for fossil fuel polluters by eliminating fossil fuel subsidies by the end of 2026, and we would immediately implement a cap on oil and gas emissions." — ndp.ca, retrieved 2025-04-19

Green

  • Eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies immediately, including tax write-offs for LNG, oil, gas, and coal projects

    "Eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies immediately, including tax write-offs for LNG, oil, gas, and coal projects. No public funds should support continued fossil fuel expansion." — Change: Vote For It, retrieved 2025-04-25

Looking for the parties' positions on other topics?

See our full 2025 Canadian election platform comparison