Recalibrating Canada’s trade policy for climate, biodiversity and pollution accountability

Published by: David Suzuki Foundation
Authored by: Sabaa Khan

Biodiversity, Climate solutions, Environmental rights, Oceans and fresh water decarbonization, economics, climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, policy and regulation, fossil fuels, forests, Indigenous Peoples, water systems, Economic, social and environmental benefits, Climate and biodiversity crises

Canada’s trade policy is currently misaligned with its climate laws and international environmental obligations. While environmental considerations are increasingly included in trade agreements, they remain largely non-binding and lack enforcement, monitoring and integration with broader climate and biodiversity frameworks. This weak governance undermines Canada’s commitments under the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and key pollution treaties.

The policy brief by Sabaa A. Khan proposes five reforms to embed environmental accountability and Indigenous rights into Canadian trade governance: (1) mandate environmental impact assessments for all trade agreements through federal legislation; (2) integrate binding climate and biodiversity commitments into trade deals; (3) establish a permanent monitoring body involving Indigenous and civil society representation; (4) implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in trade policy; and (5) lead a plurilateral green trade compact with environmentally aligned nations.

Trade is not separate from environmental policy; it shapes Canada’s emissions and ecological footprint. Without enforceable environmental frameworks in trade, Canada continues to support an unsustainable, extractive model. The brief argues that Canada must move beyond aspirational language to legally binding mechanisms that align trade with climate justice, Indigenous rights and ecological sustainability on a global scale.