The writing is on the wall.
Food prices are skyrocketing.[1][2][3] Home insurance premiums are surging.[4] Financial losses from extreme weather events have hit record-breaking levels.[5]
The costs of climate inaction are here. They’re set to grow.[6] And they’re hitting Canadian households where it hurts — in their wallets.
As a country, we are not prepared for what’s to come.[7] Runaway climate change, left unaddressed, will make life in Canada less and less affordable – squeezing household budgets, leaving homes in disaster pathways uninsurable, and dragging our economy downwards.[8][9]
That’s why, in the lead-up to the coming election, it’s imperative that all federal parties share a plan for future-proofing our economy.
One of the best ways to do this is by aligning financial institutions with Canada’s climate goals.[10] Unsustainable finance is derailing mitigation and adaptation efforts meant to keep climate costs low.[11][12] Making finance part of the solution will help ease the looming financial burden of climate-fuelled infrastructure damage and our financial system’s overexposure to volatile, declining fossil fuel markets.[13][14]
Cost-saving, climate-aligned finance policy proposals already enjoy support from MPs from four of the five federal parties.[15] They also enjoy popular support, with three out of four Canadians believing that financial institutions should prioritize the long-term good of society over short-term profits.[16]
As political parties prepare their platforms for a potential early election this spring, now is the time to remind leaders that an economic plan failing to address the climate-fuelled affordability crisis is no plan at all.
And in this critical moment, failing to plan means planning to fail. We cannot afford to fail.
Tell party leaders to include climate-aligned finance principles in their electoral platforms now.
Sources
[1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/how-extreme-weather-affects-food-prices-1.7292120
[3] https://news.ubc.ca/2024/12/canada-food-price-report-2025/
[6] https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Damage-Control_-EN_0927.pdf
[7] ibid.
[8] ibid.
[11] https://rosagalvez.ca/media/2ebjwgc2/2023-10-cafa-white-paper-update-en-final.pdf
[13] https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2024-07/fossil-fuels-drive-inflation-canada.pdf
[14] https://climateinstitute.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Damage-Control_-EN_0927.pdf
[15] https://rosagalvez.ca/en/initiatives/climate-aligned-finance/quotes-and-endorsements/