Climate change in Canada facts for kids
Climate change in Canada is causing big changes to the country's environment and natural areas. These changes, like more floods and wildfires, are happening more often and are becoming more serious. This is because we keep releasing gases that trap heat into the air.
Since 1948, Canada's average temperature has gone up by 1.7 degrees Celsius. The far North, the Prairies, and northern British Columbia are warming even faster. Canada has also seen more rain and snow, and extreme weather events are becoming more common.
Canada is currently the 10th largest producer of these heat-trapping gases in the world. Industries like transportation and oil and gas extraction create more than half of these gases. Since 1990, the oil and gas industry in Canada has increased its emissions by over 21%.
Canada has promised to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. Under the Paris Agreement, Canada aims to reduce emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030. In 2021, this goal was made even stronger, aiming for a 40-45% reduction. To help reach these goals, Canada has put in place policies like carbon pricing (making pollution more expensive) and programs to fund climate action. In 2019, the Canadian government even declared a national climate emergency.
What are Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
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Climate change happens because of greenhouse gas emissions. These are gases released into the air by human activities. They trap heat, making the Earth warmer.
Canada is currently the 7th largest emitter of these gases worldwide. In 2018, among the G20 countries (a group of major economies), Canada was second only to Saudi Arabia for the amount of greenhouse gases released per person.
In 2018, Canada released 729 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2eq) into the air. This was a small decrease from 2005 but a big increase from 1990. Canada has a long history of industrial emissions. This means it has a large "climate debt" – a responsibility for past pollution.
Where do Canada's Emissions Come From?
Energy Use
Making electricity in Canada creates about 10% of the country's total emissions. This amount has gone down a lot because many coal-fired power stations have been closed. As of 2017, most of Canada's electricity (81%) comes from clean sources like hydro, nuclear, solar, and wind power.
However, fossil fuels (like coal, natural gas, and oil) still provide 19% of Canada's electricity. Some provinces, like Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia, still use a lot of coal. Remote communities often use diesel generators, which are expensive and bad for the environment. The government is trying to help these communities use cleaner energy.
Transportation
Canada is a huge country with not many people living close together. This means people and goods travel long distances. Transportation is a big source of emissions, especially since cold weather makes vehicles use more fuel. In 2017, 24% of Canada's greenhouse gases came from trucks, trains, airplanes, and cars.
Most of these emissions (20% of the total) come from road transportation, including cars and large trucks that move goods across the country. In 2019, Canadian factories made more than three times as many trucks as cars. Air travel also adds to emissions, but it's a smaller part (1% of the total).
Fossil Fuel Production
The oil and gas industry is the biggest polluter in Canada when it comes to greenhouse gases. It creates 27% of the country's total emissions each year. This is largely due to the energy needed to extract oil from the tar sands in Alberta. Emissions from this industry have gone up by 84% since 1990.
Industrial Emissions
In 2017, heavy industries in Canada released 10% of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions. This amount has dropped by 25% since 1990, partly because there's less manufacturing happening in Canada now.
Deforestation
Canada has one of the lowest rates of deforestation (cutting down forests) in the world. This rate has been going down since 1985. Forests naturally absorb greenhouse gases. While cutting down trees releases some gases, Canada's forests still help reduce overall emissions.
How Climate Change Affects Nature
In recent years, Canada has seen warmer temperatures, more rain and snow, and more extreme weather. These changes are expected to continue. Experts believe these changes are very likely caused by the increase in greenhouse gases from human activities.
Changes in Temperature and Weather
Canada's average yearly temperature has gone up by 1.7 degrees Celsius since 1948. Winters have warmed the most, by 3.3 degrees Celsius, while summers have warmed by 1.5 degrees Celsius. Some areas, like British Columbia, the Prairie provinces, and Northern Canada, have experienced the most winter warming.
Experts say Canada is warming about twice as fast as the rest of the world. A 2-degree global increase means a 3 to 4-degree increase for Canada.
Warmer temperatures lead to longer growing seasons for plants, more heatwaves, and fewer cold spells. They also cause permafrost (ground that is usually frozen all year) to thaw, rivers to thaw earlier, and trees to bud earlier in spring. There's also been an increase in rain and snow, especially in the northwest Arctic.
More Rain and Snow
Since 1950, Canada has generally seen more precipitation (rain and snow). This increase is clearest in northern Canada. While some areas might see slight decreases in winter precipitation, overall, all seasons in Canada are getting more rain and snow, especially winter, spring, and fall.
Experts have also looked at short, intense rainfalls. While there isn't a clear overall trend for all areas, some regions, like the southwest and eastern coastal areas, have seen more intense 1- to 2-hour rainfalls.
Extreme Weather Events
Canada is worried about extreme weather events like heavy rain and snow, heat waves, and droughts. These can cause floods, landslides, water shortages, and forest fires. They also lead to poorer air quality and costs from damaged property and infrastructure.
Heat waves, like those in 2009, 2012, and 2021, can cause heat stroke and breathing problems.
Sea Level Rise
Coastal flooding is expected to increase in many parts of Canada. This is due to rising global sea levels and changes in how the land itself moves up or down. Canada's sea level is rising by 1 to 4.5 millimeters each year. The southwest and southeastern coastal areas are expected to be most affected.
Impacts on Ecosystems
Boreal Forest
The western Canadian boreal forest has warmed by 2 degrees Celsius since 1948. This warming is making the forest drier, which causes many problems.
Trees are starting to move to higher, cooler places (northward or uphill). However, some tree species might not be able to move fast enough to keep up with the changing climate. Drier conditions are also causing more aspen trees to grow instead of conifers in areas prone to fires and droughts.
Climate change also makes the boreal forest more likely to have wildfires. In 2016, the Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta was a "perfect storm" caused by a combination of El Niño and global warming. This fire forced many people to leave their homes. Wildfire season in Canada now starts a month earlier, and the area burned each year is twice what it was in 1970.
Experts say that climate change has already increased the number and power of wildfires in Canada, especially in Alberta. For example, the Fort McMurray fire was 1.5 to 6 times more likely because of climate change.
Milder winters have also led to a huge increase in the mountain pine beetle from 1996 to 2015. This beetle killed 18 million hectares of trees, causing big economic problems for communities that rely on forests.
Arctic
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The average temperature in Northern Canada has increased by 2.3 degrees Celsius. This is about three times faster than the global average warming rate. The fastest warming has been in northern Yukon and the Northwest Territories, where temperatures have risen by about 3.5 degrees Celsius since 1948.
Climate change is melting ice in the Arctic. In 2017, thick ice trapped fishing boats and ferries off the coast of Newfoundland.
How Climate Change Affects People
Economic Impact
Agriculture and Food Production
Climate change makes it harder for farmers to plan. For example, in 2002, a drought hit Alberta, causing a shortage of hay and grain for cattle. Farmers had to buy expensive feed or sell their animals for low prices. It's hard to predict how much rain to expect, which makes farming very difficult.
In Alberta, hot summers and little rain have led to droughts. This hurts the farming sector, especially cattle ranching. When there's a drought, there's not enough food for cattle. Ranchers who can't afford expensive feed are forced to sell their herds.
Wood Industry
Climate change also creates problems for managing and protecting forests. It directly affects how much wood can be produced and the health of trees. Moving trees to new areas where the climate will be better for them in the future has been suggested as a way to help the wood industry adapt.
Impacts on Indigenous Peoples
Inuit people in Canada are finding it very hard to keep their traditional ways of getting food because of climate change. For hundreds of years, the Inuit have hunted animals like whales and other marine mammals. These animals are central to their culture and economy. But as the ocean warms and becomes more acidic, these animals are moving to different areas.
Some people worry that a warming Arctic will make food shortages worse for the Inuit. Others believe the Inuit are strong and have adapted to changes before. However, modern borders and laws might stop them from moving as freely as their ancestors did to follow the animals. Even if they find new ways to get food, they might lose important parts of their culture, like traditional hunting tools.
The Inuit are also losing access to ringed seals and polar bears, which are very important for their diet. The number of ringed seals has dropped a lot, which hurts the Inuit's winter economy. Ringed seals are key to ningiqtuq, which is their cultural way of sharing resources. Without ringed seals, this important sharing system would change a lot, and it could mean a loss of Inuit identity. Polar bear numbers are also going down because they rely on ringed seals for food.
For the Gwichʼin people, caribou are central to their culture. They have lived with caribou for thousands of years. But caribou numbers are quickly dropping because of warmer temperatures and melting ice. A Gwichʼin activist, Sarah James, said, "We are the caribou people. Caribou are not just what we eat; they are who we are. They are the stories and songs and the whole way we see the world. Caribou are our life. Without caribou, we wouldn't exist."
How Canada is Responding to Climate Change
National Policies and Laws
Past Governments (2006–2015)
From 2006 to 2015, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the government introduced the Clean Air Act. However, some provinces felt that federal policies were making them carry too much of the burden for reducing emissions, especially to allow Alberta and Saskatchewan to develop their oil sands.
In 2010, environmental groups said that Canada's climate researchers were being silenced and their work ignored by the government. In 2011, Canada officially pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to reduce emissions. Critics said the Harper government put economic development ahead of environmental protection.
Current Government (2015–present)
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, elected in 2015, promised to fight climate change. They attended the Paris Climate Change Conference and worked on a clean energy agreement with the United States and Mexico.
Trudeau's national climate strategy, called the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, was released in 2017. A main part of this plan is to put a price on carbon across the country. This means making it more expensive to pollute.
In 2019, an environmental commissioner said Canada was not making enough progress and would miss its climate targets. The Trudeau government has promised to set stronger targets for 2030 and reach "carbon neutrality" (meaning no net emissions) by 2050. In 2020, a bill was introduced to make this a legal requirement.
The Trudeau government also introduced a carbon tax, which started at $20 per tonne in 2018 and will increase each year. Some provincial leaders, like those in Ontario, Alberta, and Manitoba, challenged this tax in court, but the court ruled it was constitutional.
In June 2019, the Canadian government declared a national climate emergency.
Working with Other Countries
Canada signed the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement to reduce emissions. However, Canada did not create a plan to meet its targets. In 2011, Canada officially withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol, saying it would face "enormous financial penalties" if it stayed. This decision was criticized by other countries.
Paris Agreement
Canada is also part of the Paris Agreement, which is a global agreement to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Each country has its own plan to fight climate change, called a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). An independent group called Climate Action Tracker (CAT) has said that Canada's actions are "insufficient" to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Provincial Policies and Laws
Reducing Emissions
Many provinces have their own plans to reduce emissions. These plans were later included in the national framework.
- Alberta: Alberta was the first place in North America to put a price on carbon in 2007. Large polluters have to reduce their emissions or pay into a fund. Critics say this system might not reduce overall emissions enough. In 2015, Alberta's government planned to increase its carbon tax and phase out coal power plants by 2030.
- British Columbia (BC): BC has ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It introduced a "revenue neutral" carbon tax in 2008, meaning all the money collected from the tax is given back to people through tax cuts. BC's public sector organizations became carbon neutral in 2010. BC's emissions have been going down, even as its economy and population have grown.
- Ontario: Ontario aims to reduce emissions by 6% by 2014, 15% by 2020, and 80% by 2050. The biggest reduction has come from closing coal-fired power plants. Ontario also encourages renewable energy and public transit. However, transportation emissions have continued to increase. In 2018, the new government in Ontario withdrew from an emissions trading system and made other changes to environmental policies, which caused some controversy.
- Quebec: Quebec's emissions are lower per person than the Canadian average. In 2009, Quebec became the first place in the Americas to set a limit on emissions for certain industries. In 2009, Quebec promised to reduce its emissions by 20% below 1990 levels by 2020. They plan to do this by promoting public transit, electric vehicles, and using more wood in building. Quebec has also encouraged people to buy electric vehicles.
Adapting to Climate Change
Many policies for adapting to climate change are handled by provincial governments. However, adapting is not always a top priority, and most provinces don't have a full climate adaptation plan yet.
- Assisted Migration of Forests: Some provinces, like Alberta and British Columbia, are helping their forests adapt to warmer climates. This means changing rules for replanting trees to help them grow in areas that will be better suited for them in the future. For example, British Columbia allowed one tree species, the Western Larch, to be moved 1000 km northward.
Society and Public Opinion
Activism
Groups like the Canadian Wildlife Federation work to encourage action on climate change. Some Canadian groups also push for "fossil fuel divestment," which means taking money out of companies that deal with fossil fuels.
Public Opinion
Surveys show that climate change is a major concern for Canadians. In 2020, it was the top issue for many. In 2021, it was the second biggest worry after inflation.
Canadians generally believe that climate change is happening. About 83% of Canadians believe the Earth is warming. However, only about 60% believe this warming is mostly due to human activity. This number has slightly gone down over the years.
Most Canadians (70%) believe their province has already felt the effects of climate change. There is also strong support (58%) for taking action to stop climate change, including support for carbon taxes.
A 2018 poll in Ontario showed that 45% of people had a negative opinion of the government's environmental policies. In 2021, a poll found that 25% of Canadians thought international climate conferences were useful.
A 2012 poll found that 32% of Canadians believed climate change was happening only because of human activity, while 54% believed it was due to both human activity and natural changes. Only 2% did not believe climate change was happening at all.
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See also
In Spanish: Cambio climático en Canadá para niños
