Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault has approved a controversial new oil project off the coast of Newfoundland with what Ottawa is calling the strongest emissions rules ever imposed.
His decision released Wednesday by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada says Equinor’s Bay du Nord project can proceed as long it achieves net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
That means the company will have to offset or capture any emissions the project produces by 2050. The announcement says this is the first time the federal government has imposed such a condition on an energy project.
“At five times less emissions-intensive than the average Canadian oil and gas project, and 10 times less than the average project in the oilsands, the Bay du Nord Development Project is an example of how Canada can chart a path forward on producing energy at the lowest possible emissions intensity while looking to a net-zero future,” the news release says.
Until 2050, Equinor is also legally required to consider and incorporate the best available options for reducing emissions. The government signalled Wednesday that these conditions, including net-zero by 2050, will become the legal standard for any future oil and gas project seeking federal approval.
Guilbeault told a House of Commons committee that there will still be oil and gas produced in 2050, it just will have to be produced without emissions.
Bay du Nord is expected to produce around 300 million barrels of oil over its lifetime, though industry insiders in Newfoundland and Labrador say that figure could be more than 800 million barrels. Equinor has said Bay du Nord would likely start pumping in the latter half of the decade, and continue producing for 20 to 30 years. Production is expected to peak at around 200,000 barrels a day.
“Equinor is pleased with the strong support that the Bay du Nord project has received from stakeholders across the province and Canada,” company spokeswoman Alex Collins said in an emailed statement after the decision was published. She said the project “has the potential to produce the lowest carbon oil in the country.”
Collins noted in an earlier statement the company and its partners haven’t yet sanctioned the development. That decision, she said, is expected “in the next couple years.” Equinor has said the project will provide about $3.5 billion in total revenues for the cash-strapped government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Premier Andrew Furey was beaming at an evening news conference, saying the project will be an economic driver for his province. He said greenhouse gas emissions from the project will be among the lowest in the world for an oil project and it will help meet global demand for “low-carbon, ethical oil.”
“This will be a giant step forward in our economic recovery,” Furey added.
In his decision, Guilbeault said the project “is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects” as defined in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. But climate scientists and environmentalists have opposed the project, saying it would undermine Canada’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“(The) decision represents a triumph of the kind of politics that will only deepen the climate crisis and global addiction to planet-wrecking fossil fuels,” Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist at Greenpeace Canada, said in an emailed statement. “This decision isn’t just a climate failure, it is a failure to imagine and invest in a sustainable energy future for the Atlantic region.”
Caroline Brouillette, national policy manager at Climate Action Network Canada, said progress on climate over the last few years is being undermined by this approval.
“Frankly I think this is heartbreaking,” she said.
Brouillette said it’s coming just two days after a United Nations climate report that was clear there is no room for more oil and gas production if the world is to avoid the worst of the climate crisis.
“It’s so clearly not compatible with climate safety,” she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 6, 2022.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
