What’s Next for Climate Action in Manitoba? - Climate Action Team Manitoba

The provincial government published its climate strategy – Manitoba’s Path to Net Zero – in early October. As we wrote at the time, it had some good parts and not-so-good parts.

Here’s a quick summary of our thoughts on the Province’s plan:

Wins & strengths

Pledging to develop and legislate emissions targets.
Re-committing to a net-zero electricity grid by 2035.
Establishing a Climate Change Committee of Cabinet.
Decarbonizing government operations through public procurement.
Acknowledging the importance of energy efficiency, stronger building codes, public transportation, sustainable agriculture practices, and waste diversion.
Emphasizing Indigenous leadership and partnership in the transition, and supporting solutions for the North including all-weather roads and an Indigenous-led wildfire strategy.
Curriculum development about climate change.

Gaps & weaknesses

Lack of specifics about timelines for publication of emissions targets and action plans.
Indications that the Province will not prioritize emissions reductions until after 2030.
No clear goals or metrics, such as public transit ridership or heat pump installation.
Support for inefficient, costly, and likely unscalable technologies such as hydrogen, “renewable fuels,” and carbon capture.
Does not indicate plans to make significant public investments, instead seeming to rely on the goal of incentivizing private financing.
Continued advocacy for creation of an “energy corridor” to the Port of Churchill.

The strategy has faced criticism for being yet another plan to make a plan on climate. In the Winnipeg Free Press, Shaun Loney argued that “Manitoba should either stop talking about net zero or put in place the measures to back it up,” while Scott Forbes described it as having “the pretense of doing something without actually doing anything substantial.” To be fair, the Province has repeatedly stressed that this initial document is intended as a broad “enabling strategy,” not the final word on the matter. But the lack of concrete timelines for the many outstanding pieces—including emissions reduction targets and publication of action plans—is of serious concern and in need of addressing.

Here are a few next steps that we’re pushing for, and we hope you’ll join us with a letter to the Premier and our MLAs.

1. Fund Public Transit, Heat Pumps, Building Retrofits and Grid-scale Battery Storage in Budget 2026

Climate plans are only as good as the funding and supports made available to implement them. Unfortunately, the Province has so far suggested that it intends to rely on private companies to lead this work, with the government only functioning to “spark private sector investment.” This approach will compromise the coordination, cost-effectiveness, and speed of deployment; after all, many of the most-needed climate policies simply aren’t sufficiently profitable to motivate the large-scale private investments required to cut emissions and protect Manitobans. This reality means that the provincial government—along with its federal and municipal partners—needs to commit to directly funding climate policies in its upcoming budget.

Here are three key public investments that would help kickstart this work:

$100 million for permanent and long-term operating funding for urban, intercity and rural public transit systems.
$100 million to Efficiency Manitoba to expand heat pumps and retrofits, as well as the Crown corporation’s own capacity to deliver these programs.
Develop a capital spending plan to build at least 200 MW of battery energy storage by 2030, likely to cost around $500 million.

2. Publish Targets and Specific Plans

It’s understandable that the Province is taking its time to develop emissions reduction targets and sector-specific plans that are calibrated to the conditions and needs of Manitoba, rather than simply rushing something out of the door in order to check a box. However, in order to maintain confidence in this process, the government must share anticipated timelines for when this work is expected to be completed and published. While a unique and distinct process, an example of this kind of transparency can be seen in Manitoba Hydro’s timeline for the procurement of Indigenous-owned wind power. Such timelines must be made public for each individual component of the climate plan. Emissions modelling work commissioned as part of this process should also be made public.

3. No More Plans to Export LNG Through Churchill

If the provincial government is serious about climate, it must stop advocating for expanded fossil fuel infrastructure, including through a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal at the Port of Churchill. Even if the Province does accelerate electrification of transportation, buildings, and existing industry, the development of an LNG export terminal could outweigh resulting emissions reductions given the severe lifecycle climate impacts of LNG. Further, an export terminal would consume large quantities of electricity that would otherwise be required for additional electrification and emissions reductions. It’s completely irresponsible for the Province to be advocating for massive new fossil fuel export infrastructure at the same time as it pushes forward new climate policies. Instead, Manitoba should promote job creation and Northern economic development through Indigenous-led fire management and construction of critical infrastructure such as housing and all-season roads.

Join Us to Keep This Momentum Building!

Making sure that some of the good ideas in the net-zero strategy are actually put into action and backed up with investments will require increasing pressure from climate concerned Manitobans. If you’re interested in learning more and getting involved in the struggle for stronger climate policies in Manitoba, come out to our community meeting on Thursday, Nov. 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at Bill and Helen Norrie Library (15 Poseidon Bay). There will be dinner and drinks for everyone! Please RSVP here if you plan to come.

If you’re unable to make the community meeting but still want to get involved, sign up to volunteer with us here. We will also be having an online community meeting (for those not in Winnipeg or unable to make it in person) on November 19 at 7pm.