And third, Budget 2022 promised $15-billion for a new green growth fund to underwrite the transition through Canadian technologies and markets. For all the signals from Ottawa, though, Ontario’s policy debate barely flinched as the Ford government and opposition parties opted to focus on the here and now of a taxing pandemic and uncertain recovery, rather than the long horizon of climate policy. [...] And the focus of climate strategy will need to shift from the supply side of the oil and gas hinterland to the demand side of the country’s major population centres, notably in southern Ontario. [...] It also will require a far greater sense of individual responsibility — to manage household emissions, to understand the costs and benefits of choices, and to engage in community and local efforts to get to net zero. [...] Ontario can be a leader in the shift, using the power and influence of Toronto as a financial and market centre, including the roles played by the many global financial institutions based in the province. Inevitably, though, the next provincial government will need to assess where it wants to allocate financial resources, as it faces ongoing demands for more spending on health care and education. [...] It will be challenging to make a case for energy subsidies, even to support the transition to net zero, and the next government may need to help consumers adjust to the idea of paying more, at least for the foreseeable future.
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