Tag Archives: Carbon tax

Cost of Climate Change

Canada’s emissions flatlined in 2024, early estimate shows

As progress stalls, emissions trends put Canada’s 2030 climate target out of reach, emphasizing the need for coordinated policy reset.

Originally published on 440 Megatonnes.ca

By Dave Sawyer &  Seton Stiebert 

Canada’s emissions flatlined in 2024 at 694 million tonnes (Mt CO2e), with emissions essentially unchanged from the previous year. The stall comes at a time when the federation faces compounding pressures: devastating wildfires that highlight the rising costs of climate inaction, an economic slowdown tied to U.S. tariffs, intensifying competitiveness risks for industry, and affordability impacts on households. 

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Politics

Jessica Wegg: Why Green Voices Matter

The second in a series of candidate visits sponsored by the Cortes Island Climate Action Committee

Green Party candidate Jessica Wegg came to Gorge Hall, on Wednesday, April 16th, 2025. She won’t be the next Member of Parliament for North Island Powell River (NIPR).

“We commissioned a poll at our riding level. I think they made the phone calls March 20th to 24th, and it matched what 338Canada is saying. The Conservatives will likely win and the progressive vote will be split pretty evenly by the NDP and the Liberals. As long as the NDP and the Liberals are both running, neither party will get in,” she explained.

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Politics

Poilievere blasts Liberals lost decade of leadership in raucous speech before 3,000 supporters in Penticton

By Keith Lacey, Penticton Herald, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre used the term “Lost Liberal Decade” almost a dozen times, promising better days ahead when his Conservative Party becomes government in the upcoming federal election.

He spoke during a raucous rally of supporters in Penticton late Saturday afternoon.

Poilievre, who held a press conference in Osoyoos earlier Saturday morning, spent much of his one-hour speech highlighting the failures of the Liberal Party and new leader Mark Carney, while promising economic prosperity and renewal for Canadians from coast to coast if elected in the upcoming federal election on April 29.

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Politics

Pierre Poilievre aims to turn B.C. coast blue at NDP’s expense

Editor’s opinion: Prior to NDP candidate Rachel Blaney’s election in 2015, our area (North Island-Powell River) was a Conservative stronghold for 7 years. Blaney won 40.2% of the popular vote, as opposed to the Conservatives 26.2%. Since then, the Conservatives have slowly been increasing their numbers in North Island-Powell River. They lost by 5.3% in 2019 and only 3.5% in 2021. Now that Blaney has decided not to run in the next election, the Conservatives have a chance to retake the riding. As of this morning, 338Canada’s projections show the Conservative Party of Canada taking as many as 5 of Vancouver Island’s 7 seats and the most likely riding to switch is North Island-Powell River.

(This is by no means certain and any swing to the right would most likely have less momentum in the Cortes, Quadra and the other Discovery Islands – which tend to lean more to the left than Campbell River.)  

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Long before the next election, Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre is setting his sights on winning seats on Vancouver Island, despite the NDP’s domination over the past decade. 

The NDP holds six of the region’s seven ridings, with the exception of Green Party Leader Elizabeth May’s Saanich-Gulf Island riding. 

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Cost of Climate Change

A summer scarred by wildfire and drought puts climate crisis top of mind as university resumes

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

After a summer marked by unprecedented wildfire and drought, it’s not surprising the climate crisis is top of mind as the school year launches, Vancouver Island University (VIU) geography professor Jeff Lewis says. 

There’s the usual hustle, bustle and excitement with the start of every school year, but virtually everyone returning to campus likely had direct experience with some sort of climate impact over the past few months, said Lewis. 

People across B.C. and most of Canada faced a range of issues — whether it was road closures, interrupted travel plans, cloying smoke, or more extreme threats and stress to themselves or loved ones due to mass evacuations or the loss of homes, businesses or communities to flames or floods. 

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