{"id":69921,"date":"2026-06-01T17:40:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T17:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/69921\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T17:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T17:40:07","slug":"globe-climate-an-environmental-loss-for-the-liberal-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/69921\/","title":{"rendered":"Globe Climate: An environmental loss for the Liberal Party"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re reading this on the web or someone forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you can sign up for Globe Climate and all Globe newsletters here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada.<\/p>\n

After two decades doing climate work for NGOs, Steven Guilbeault took a leap into government. This past week, he announced his resignation from politics, and a return to fighting for the environment outside of Parliament. More on that today. <\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s catch you up on other news.<\/p>\n

Noteworthy reporting this week:Pollution:<\/a> Federal officials took years to notify residents of toxic chemicals in their drinking waterJustice:<\/a> PEI family sues province over \u2018forever chemicals\u2019 found in their drinking waterConservation:<\/a> Federal appeal court upholds First Nations victory to protect wildlife at planned nuclear waste siteFood and drink:<\/a> Facing seafood shortages and price hikes, East Coast chefs eye other fish in the seaArt:<\/a> At the Vancouver Art Gallery\u2019s climate show, a tough assignment: no preaching allowedWeather:<\/a> Here\u2019s what Canada\u2019s summer forecast looks likeA deeper diveOpen this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault speaks to reporters after a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill on May 27.Spencer Colby\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Steven Guilbeault says goodbye<\/p>\n

For this week\u2019s deeper dive, a closer look at a high-profile climate departure from politics. <\/p>\n

In today\u2019s letters to the editor<\/a>, Tom Perry from Vancouver wrote: \u201cIn the Liberal Party or the government, who will now advocate for Planet Earth?\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Liberal cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault announced his resignation from politics<\/a> last week, saying he wants to keep up his fight against climate change in other ways. That announcement has put Prime Minister Mark Carney on the defensive once again<\/a> about the Liberals\u2019 climate change policy.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

On July 16, 2001, Greenpeace activists Steven Guilbeault and Chris Holden scaled Toronto’s CN Tower and unfurled a banner to protest the lack of action by Canada and the U.S. on the environment.Deryk Oliver\/Greenpeace via Reuters<\/p>\n

For example, we reported that climate and energy experts are concerned by the fine print in Ottawa\u2019s pipeline deal with Alberta, and the carbon-pricing system underpinning it. Carney insists that the country\u2019s new climate plan will withstand the test of time amid more demands for changes from the oil and gas sector.<\/p>\n

Guilbeault, a career environmentalist, played a key role in many of the previous Liberal government\u2019s climate initiatives now being watered down or straight up reversed by the current government. He plans to resign from his seat later this summer. He quit Carney\u2019s cabinet at the end of last year over the same Ottawa-Alberta energy accord, and issued a scathing letter<\/a> laying out why he thinks the deal undercuts environmental protections.<\/p>\n

In an earlier statement, Carney said the government remains committed to climate action. \u201cWe are advancing these missions with the same determination, a new spirit of partnership, and a renewed focus on results.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our resident food and farming reporter Kate Helmore attended the opening of Toronto Climate Week this morning, curious about what the Prime Minister\u2019s wife had to say about our changing environment and how Ottawa is reframing the climate file. (Interesting factoid: Diana Fox Carney has a master\u2019s degree in Agricultural Economics). The following quote sums it up:<\/p>\n

\u201cThird moral arguments do not get us to where we need to be in a more volatile and uncertain world, where affordability and now security are the dominant concerns. Climate action often falls off or fails to reach the list of priorities. What\u2019s important is to meet people and pools of money where they are, not where we wish they were,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

This opinion is in line with the Prime Minister, who said a gracious goodbye to Guilbeault, mentioning that he has \u201calways been guided by his convictions and driven by his pursuit of a stronger, more inclusive and more sustainable future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guilbeault also said a restrained goodbye to Ottawa, as he spoke from the floor of the House of Commons. He didn\u2019t speak on Carney\u2019s policies, but it was easy to read between the lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fight for our planet is the struggle of our generation, and I fully intend to keep fighting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

More from The Globe:<\/p>\n

What else you missedOpinion and analysis<\/p>\n

Canada prices carbon<\/a> far below the damage it causes<\/p>\n

We are free to debate what climate policy is politically achievable today. We are not free to decide whether younger generations will pay the price when political convenience collides with planetary reality.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dr. Paul Kershaw, policy professor at UBC and founder of Generation Squeeze<\/p>\n

Ottawa-Alberta deal is the best outcome<\/a> climate advocates could have hoped for<\/p>\n

I understand why climate advocates are disappointed, but I\u2019m cautiously optimistic that this deal can produce real gains for Canadian climate action over the long term.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Michael Bernstein, president and chief executive of Clean Prosperity<\/p>\n

Whither the future of the ESG movement<\/a>?<\/p>\n

It turns out that governments have been unwilling, rather than unable, to weigh in on sustainability concerns. <\/p>\n

\u2014 Edward Waitzer, senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute Business and investing<\/p>\n

Purpose Investments did not incorporate ESG factors as much as claimed, OSC alleges in hearing<\/p>\n

For years, Purpose Investments Inc. did not incorporate environmental, social and governance factors into its investment decisions anywhere near the extent that the company and its founder had repeatedly asserted, the Ontario Securities Commission alleged in a hearing last week.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s high-profile greenwashing case<\/a> is before the Capital Markets Tribunal, an independent division of the OSC. It is expected to span several months, with multiple witnesses expected to testify, before concluding in September. Tuesday was the first day of hearings.<\/p>\n

Keep reading<\/p>\n

The Climate Exchange<\/a><\/p>\n

We\u2019ve launched the The Climate Exchange, an interactive, digital hub where The Globe answers your most pressing questions about climate change. We have been collecting hundreds of questions and posing them to experts. The answers can be found with the help of a search tool developed by The Globe that makes use of artificial intelligence to match readers\u2019 questions with the closest answer drafted. <\/p>\n

Photo of the weekOpen this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

People shield themselves from the sun with umbrellas on Thursday near the Colosseum in Rome during an early-season heat wave.TIZIANA FABI\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Guides and ExplainersCatch up on Globe Climate<\/p>\n

We want to hear from you<\/p>\n

Send us you questions and comments by e-mail<\/a>. Do you know someone who needs this newsletter? Send them to our Newsletters page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019re reading this on the web or someone forwarded this e-mail newsletter to you, you can sign…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[10895,10897,1113,10896,10332,111,482,484],"class_list":["post-69921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mark-carney","tag-climate-change-news","tag-climate-tax","tag-environment-canada","tag-environment-news","tag-global-warming","tag-mark-carney","tag-newsletter","tag-noastack"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}