Invest in the Green Economy

The green economy means good, stable jobs. Many Canadian industries are already there, from ecotourism to renewable energy, fisheries to fine wines, green infrastructure leads to economic growth and more liveable communities. Green jobs grow Canada’s middle class and strengthen its global competitiveness.

Yet the Liberals and Conservatives wrongly pit our environment against our economy. They keep insisting we bind our future to the extractive industries, which not only deplete and destroy our natural resources but also put us at the mercy of global market booms and busts. Fossil fuels are risky and costly to extract, to transport and to subsidize. And Canadian workers deserve better options.

Canada spends $3.3 billion on fossil fuel subsidies. That’s enough to educate 260,000 students, provide a hospital bed for 16 million days, or retrain 330,000 workers.

It’s time to upgrade our economy. We need to expand our narrowing focus and invest in the Green industries that create reliable, long-term jobs and diversify our local value chains. We need national investments that meet our cities’ infrastructure needs, encourage smart growth and lift up Canadian workers.

To grow a sustainable and prosperous green economy, Green MPs will:

  • Develop a Sustainable Generations Fund to invest in green training for the trades, apprenticeships and education facilities
  • Create targeted, national infrastructure investments in renewable and efficient energy production, digital upgrades, clean-tech manufacturing and ecotourism
  • Incentivize homeowners to update their appliances to energy efficient solutions through an expanded home renovation tax credit
  • Invest in our tourism industries, which contribute more to our GDP than mining, telecommunications and food manufacturing
  • Fund community supported agriculture, farmers’ markets, small-scale farms and producers, and the wineries and microbreweries that Canadians love
  • Establish Green Worker Training Programs that teach fossil fuel workers the renewable energy industries