OECD Economic Surveys: Canada 2023
Global price pressures beset Canada’s economy just as unemployment was nearing record lows amid a strong recovery from the pandemic. Policymakers face the challenge of reining in inflation without causing a recession. Strong revenues have reduced fiscal deficits even as the federal government has extended living-cost relief and announced measures to make housing and childcare more affordable. But multi-year spending commitments will make it hard to sustain budget improvements without improved tax and spending efficiency. Moreover, for Canada to escape years of weak investment and tepid productivity growth, reforms to improve the business climate are overdue. The challenge is to lift living standards with minimal environmental impact. Canada aims to eliminate its net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Achieving this in a resource-intensive economy requires strong incentives to phase out fossil-fuel use and encourage energy saving. To spur decarbonisation, the federal climate strategy deploys a mix of emissions pricing, green technology support and regulations. The focus should turn now to improving mitigation tools so that they work better together while addressing remaining barriers to low-cost abatement. Canada’s federal and sub-national governments must align efforts on delivering efficient and fair measures to reduce emissions and prepare communities for climate change.
SPECIAL FEATURE : CANADA’S TRANSITION TO NET-ZERO EMISSIONS
Also available in: French
Canada’s transition to net zero emissions
Canada has an ambitious plan to reduce the economy’s net emissions to zero by 2050. This will require a step change in mitigation action, with deep energy savings and near economy-wide replacement of fossil fuels with clean energy. Achieving this while minimising negative impacts on activity and living standards will be challenging. Canada is already using a range of policy instruments to propel its green transition – including carbon pricing, regulations, investment incentives, and public procurement of green technology. This chapter explores reforms that could make climate policies work better together to lock in both deep emissions reductions and strong economic growth. As with important efforts to prepare communities for the impacts of climate change, Canada’s provinces and territories will play a key role in the country’s green transition.
Also available in: French
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