For Canada, the government is partly betting on a lower-carbon economy to meet this middle-power moment. The federal government\u2019s climate competitiveness strategy<\/a> aims to leverage clean technology and the nation\u2019s abundant natural resources to boost Canada\u2019s economy and position itself as a climate leader.<\/p>\n
Though there are federal actions that have undercut this ambition, such as continued oil and gas subsidies<\/a>, and evidence that curbing emissions in Canada<\/a> has stalled, the economic case for climate action in Canada is strong. Some 66% of investments<\/a> in Canadian oil and gas infrastructure are at risk of becoming stranded, according to a 2025 report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Canadian pension giant La Caisse saw investments in renewable energy tripled<\/a> between 2017 and 2025, from $9 billion to $27.4 billion. Jobs within the environmental and clean technologies sector have grown faster<\/a> compared to the broader economy for three years straight, according to a 2026 Statistics Canada study.<\/p>\n It\u2019s against this backdrop that Toronto Climate Week (TOCW) 2026 will bring together innovators, business leaders, policymakers, researchers, artists and community members from all over the world. The second annual week-long event, from June 1 to 7, aims to showcase local and Canadian innovations while connecting to global opportunities, all while tapping into the discourse around the future of the global sustainable economy.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Canada has a major opportunity right now to shape the global conversation around the clean-energy transition, and how the benefits of that transition to green energy can be an economic benefit for Canada,\u201d says Kate Johnston, regional director for North America at C40 Cities, a global network of mayors from major cities working on climate action.<\/p>\n Cities lead on climate<\/p>\n Johnston, who is attending the Toronto event, has seen several climate action weeks pop up around the world. In some ways, that\u2019s no surprise: \u201c[Cities are] really the first responders,\u201d she says, when it comes to climate change impacts, which intersect with rising energy bills and housing costs. Cities want to respond holistically to these overlapping crises, but it\u2019s challenging, she says. Cities in the C40 network share resources and clout, and they\u2019re making the case that it\u2019s smart to use climate-smart solutions to address broader concerns.<\/p>\n Toronto Climate Week is \u201ca really great opportunity just to get a pulse of what\u2019s happening, not just in Toronto, but in Canada more broadly,\u201d Johnston says. The event is expected to attract around 10,000 attendees to more than 200 scheduled events across the city. On the agenda are things like carbon solutions, the circular economy, cleantech and environmental justice.<\/p>\n Carbon focus<\/p>\n One of the flagship events, Carbon Solutions: Canada\u2019s Competitive Advantage<\/a>, will look at several carbon-removal and -management solutions in Canada and global markets. Carbon removal is forecast to be a US$1.2-trillion industry<\/a> by 2050, according to a 2023 McKinsey report. With 20% of the world\u2019s fresh water, 347 million hectares of boreal forest, 62.2 million hectares of farmland, more than 240,000 kilometres of coastline and an abundance of nature, Canada has ample opportunities to leverage its resources to help support climate action \u2013 and a lot to protect, too. Several companies have already started to look to Canada\u2019s landscapes to sequester carbon.<\/p>\n Brady Paron, senior vice president of carbon market partnerships at Mast<\/a>, a reforestation company working on restoring landscapes after wildfires, will be on a panel at the carbon-solutions flagship event. Mast takes trees that were killed in wildfires and buries them deep underground to prevent the wood from further decomposing and releasing more carbon into the atmosphere. To fund wildfire cleanup and landscape restoration expenses, Mast sells carbon credits to companies.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>Nominate a young sustainability leader in Canada.<\/p>\n