When Prime Minister Carney entered the political arena after serving as the UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance and writing extensively on the importance of values in shaping our society, there was an expectation that climate action would be at the top of his agenda. But when the election was called, he ran on a platform of turning Canada into a “global energy superpower” through “conventional and renewable energy.”

 

This article is second in a series from our Flood the Zone publication, which identifies ways community-building can combat a dangerous media tactic. 

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He built a reputation as a climate-conscious economist without ever actually saying we need to end our reliance on oil and gas. And his tone hasn’t changed. From the jump, Carney has touted the narrative of “build, baby, build” and focused on pushing industrial megaprojects through by any means. His flagship policies and programs — One Canadian Economy Act, Building Canada Act, the Canada Strong Fund, the Major Projects Office and more — all tie Canada's strength and independence to industrial development, corporations and developers. 

Recognizing the precarity of the global moment, firming up Canada’s economic standing may seem prudent. But framing economic security around fossil fuels and megaprojects is only “Building Canada” strong for the corporations behind these projects and a small number of rich shareholders, not the vast majority of us.

Press conferences for their own sake

Some announcements have been performative media events followed by little action. Take a press conference this past May, where the federal and B.C. governments announced their ongoing cooperation to shore up support for a final investment decision for LNG Canada Phase 2, a massive fracked gas export facility. This wasn’t news, as both governments have been working towards this for years. A reporter even asked what the point of the press conference was. A few weeks later, Carney’s government announced a non-binding agreement with a German utility to hypothetically purchase LNG from Ksi Lisims LNG.

All this performance raises the question of how rational and necessary these projects are, if the government must expend so much time, energy and money to make them happen. 

Carney is trying to signal and highlight support for risky and expensive oil and gas development to attract new investors, laying the rhetorical foundation for his ideological policy agenda of market solutions and privatized profits.

Framing economic security around fossil fuels and megaprojects is only “Building Canada” strong for the corporations behind these projects and a small number of rich shareholders, not the vast majority of us. 

This article is second in a series from our Flood the Zone publication, which identifies ways community-building can combat a dangerous media tactic. 

Click here to read the full paper instead.