Recommendations for a Strong Manitoba Climate Plan and Budget

By James Wilt (Policy Development Manager for Climate Action Team Manitoba)

August 28th, 2025

Summary

This briefing provides high-level recommendations for Manitoba’s “Roadmap to Net-Zero” and specific recommendations for low-hanging climate investments in five major sectors: agriculture, transportation, buildings, industry and waste. It identifies existing budget lines or agencies that should receive additional funding in the 2026 provincial budget and in subsequent years. These recommendations build upon Climate Action Team’s (CAT) previous work in the Road to Resilience reports and should be seen as starting points for expanded funding and policies to be developed in subsequent years. In addition to the five priority policies suggested below, the Province should also make additional investments in renewable electricity generation, protection and restoration of ecosystems, impact assessment processes and emergency response systems. Improved coordination and oversight will be required through a Climate Emergency Secretariat or equivalent body.

Recommendations

The Province of Manitoba must ensure four characteristics of its climate plan:

• Comprehensive, covering all major sectors, including agriculture and transportation;
• Strong targets, including 2030 and 2035 emissions-reduction targets;
• Well-resourced, with policies backed with significant funding in the Budget 2026; and
• Equitable, advancing socioeconomic equality and ensuring nobody is left behind.

In the short-term, the Province of Manitoba should increase its climate-specific funding by at least $300 million in Budget 2026, which is equivalent to 1.2 percent of budgeted provincial spending in 2025 and 5.2 percent of the Province’s annual social cost of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at last count. This would include additional spending of:

• $50 million to accelerate lower emitting agriculture practices;
• $100 million for urban and rural public transit operations;
• $100 million to install ground-source heat pumps and building retrofits;
• $25 million to increase environmental monitoring and compliance of industry; and
• $25 million to support and establish food waste rescue and composting programs.