Green Plan

• IDENTIFICATION: Canadian national strategy to create a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment, along with a sound economy
• DATE: Initiated on December 11, 1990

By establishing a series of sustainable development goals and then measuring progress toward those goals and mobilizing collective, nationwide efforts, Canada’s Green Plan provided a model for a national approach to environmental management.

After many years of extensive consultations with Canadians representing government, business, interest groups, and the public, Canada’s Department of the Environment launched its internationally acclaimed Green Plan in December 1990. The overall goal of the plan was to ensure that current and future generations would enjoy a safe, healthy environment and a sound economy. Although the Green Plan focused on a wide range of environmental issues, it also incorporated the fundamentals of sustainable development into all aspects of decision-making at all levels of society.

Since the Green Plan was an umbrella document, many of the details were left to work out during implementation. Many programs were initiated that affected various aspects of the lives of all Canadians, including the air they breathed, the water they drank, and the food they ate. For example, numerous full assessments of priority toxic substances were performed, and in 1992, the number of full-time Canadian environmental inspectors and investigators was increased from forty-nine to seventy.

The Green Plan established a series of sustainable development goals for Canadians that serve as benchmarks for measuring progress and mobilizing collective, nationwide efforts. The first goal was to ensure that current citizens and future generations had clean air, water, and land, all of which were essential to sustaining human and environmental health. Steps toward achieving this goal included the reduction of ground-level ozone (smog) to below the threshold of adverse health effects and the reduction of Canada’s generation of waste by 50 percent.

The second goal was the sustainable use of renewable resources, which involved shifting forest management from sustained yield to sustainable development. Some of the key areas for decision-making were those of harvesting practices (particularly in old-growth forests), reforestation, and the use of forest pesticides. Answers were being provided through the creation of a network of model forests and the creation of Tree Plan Canada.

The third goal was the protection of special spaces and species. The Canadian government set aside 12 percent of the country as protected space for parks, wildlife areas, and ecological reserves. Similarly, the fourth goal focused on preserving and enhancing the integrity, health, biodiversity, and productivity of Canada’s Arctic ecosystems. Waste cleanups and assessments were carried out at numerous sites in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

The fifth goal of the Green Plan was to enhance Canada’s commitment to global environmental security. For example, plans were implemented to phase out the use of human-made chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methyl chloroform, and other major ozone-depleting substances by the year 2000. In addition, national emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases were to be stabilized at 1990 levels. The Green Plan also included the goals of minimizing the impact of environmental emergencies and making environmentally responsible decisions. The Canadian government was accomplishing these goals by implementing plans for quick, effective responses to environmental emergencies and by providing accurate, accessible information about the environment to all Canadians.

Throughout the early twenty-first century, Canada replaced the Green Plan with a series of different climate and sustainability policies, such as the 2002 Climate Change Plan for Canada, the 2007 Turning the Corner Plan, the 2016 Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, and the Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. Into the mid-2020s, Canada’s environmental strategy had evolved significantly since the Green Plan, with commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and to reach net-zero by 2050. Canada’s carbon pricing system continued to expand, applying to fuels, large emitters, and new offset programs. Despite these measures, national emissions remained above 1990 levels, and Canada repeatedly failed to meet earlier reduction targets, highlighting the gap between long-term goals and progress.

Bibliography

Boyd, David R. Unnatural Law: Rethinking Canadian Environmental Law and Policy. U of British Columbia P, 2003.

“Canada’s Climate Actions for a Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy.” Government of Canada, 7 July 2022, www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/climate-plan-overview/actions-healthy-environment-economy.html. Accessed 22 Sept. 2025.

Dwivedi, O. P., et al. “The Canadian Political System and the Environment.” In Sustainable Development and Canada: National and International Perspectives. Broadview Press, 2001.