Stephen Guilbeault -Facebook image
OTTAWA — Former environment minister Steven Guilbeault says he resigned from cabinet with deep sadness, arguing the federal government is abandoning key elements of the climate agenda he spent years advancing.
Guilbeault announced he is stepping down as Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and minister responsible for Official Languages, Nature and Parks, as well as the prime minister’s lieutenant in Quebec. In a written statement, he said he entered politics to fight climate change and protect the environment, and remains proud of the progress made during his decade in public life.
He cited actions such as Canada’s first emissions reduction plan, the elimination of single use plastics, the creation of a national climate adaptation strategy and reforms to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. He also pointed to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, modernization of the Official Languages Act and investments in arts and culture.
Guilbeault said shifting global and economic conditions have created difficult circumstances, but warned that environmental policy must remain central. He strongly criticized a recent memorandum of understanding between Ottawa and Alberta, saying it was reached without consulting affected First Nations or the British Columbia government.
He argued the agreement would carry major environmental consequences by opening the door to a West Coast pipeline and lifting the long standing tanker moratorium in the Hecate Strait. Guilbeault said removing those protections would threaten the Great Bear Rainforest and undermine years of work on a marine conservation project in the Great Bear Sea.
He also condemned the idea of exempting Alberta from federal Clean Electricity Regulations in exchange for tougher industrial carbon pricing, calling it a serious mistake. He said federal analysis shows emissions from the electricity sector would rise again without those rules, erasing gains made over the past two decades and costing billions in health impacts.
Guilbeault warned that proposed subsidies for enhanced oil recovery contradict the Liberal government’s earlier pledge to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, and would tilt the playing field against renewable energy and clean technology.
He said several pillars of the climate plan he helped build, including consumer carbon pricing, the zero emission vehicle standard and the planned emissions cap for the oil and gas sector, are being dismantled or weakened.
Guilbeault thanked the voters of Laurier Sainte Marie for their support since 2019 and said he will continue serving as their Liberal MP. He also expressed gratitude to the prime minister for the opportunity to sit in cabinet.
He said his commitment to addressing climate change and protecting the planet remains unchanged.
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