Canada losing momentum on climate action as economic worries grow: RBC

Royal Bank of Canada signage is pictured in the financial district in Toronto on September 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj

A new report from the RBC Climate Action Institute finds that while progress has been made since 2019, climate efforts in Canada are losing momentum.

The institute’s climate action barometer, which it uses to try to quantify efforts, fell in 2025 for the first time since it began measuring six years ago.

The end of the consumer carbon tax, removal of electric vehicle incentives, Alberta’s restrictions on new renewables and flatlining government funding were pointed to as some examples of stalled progress.

The report says economic and trade uncertainty, along with policy changes, appear to be souring business and consumer sentiment on climate action.

A poll of 2,000 Canadians commissioned by RBC found that affordability, health care and economy were the top three concerns, while only 12 per cent of respondents identified climate change as the most important priority and a third ranked it among the top three priorities.

The report says businesses are in “course-correction” mode as U.S. President Donald Trump steers a dramatic shift away from climate efforts, with a quarter of Canadian executives citing the change as a key reason for scaling back climate commitments.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan 13, 2026.

The Canadian Press