Jason Clark, Vice President at New Economy Canada spoke in support of the industrial carbon price at the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development on April 23, 2026. His remarks are captured here.
My name is Jason Clark, Vice President at New Economy Canada. We are an alliance of more than 70 businesses, labour organizations and Indigenous partners. Together, we represent over 485,000 workers and over $200 billion dollars of annual revenues across emerging and traditional sectors such as manufacturing, electricity, mining, construction and clean technology.
What unites this diverse group is a shared focus on growing Canada’s economy, creating well-paying jobs, and ensuring Canadian companies can compete and win in a rapidly changing global market.
A clear, predictable industrial carbon price is the most economically efficient policy to underpin Canada’s climate competitiveness, while reducing risk for private investment at a time of unprecedented global trade uncertainty. It also drives innovation, reduces pollution over time and offers flexibility to provinces and territories.
Carbon pricing works because it lets markets find the lowest-cost path to emissions reduction across the economy. A strong, predictable carbon price is a competitiveness benefit, not a cost burden.
A carbon pricing system allows Canadian companies to stay competitive in a global economy that is already pricing carbon at the border.
Today I’d like to focus on how a strong and predictable industrial carbon price signal supports three things:
- Policy certainty and durability
- Access to global markets, and
- Cost-effective innovation.
First, on policy certainty.
This moment of geopolitical tensions and shifting supply chains is driving investors to look for stable, predictable jurisdictions where they can deploy capital with confidence.
We can crowd in investment and build major projects faster by providing policy certainty. And a clear industrial carbon price signal is a central part of that.
Alberta has had an industrial carbon pricing system in place since 2007, and the Federal Output Based Pricing System has built on their approach.
Looking ahead, securing an agreement between the province of Alberta and the federal government on a ramp up to a minimum effective carbon credit price of $130/tonne is an important step for ensuring investor certainty and confidence across the country. The details of the MOU matter
Second, on access to global markets.
Canada’s economy is trade dependent.
All of our top 10 non-US trade partners have a carbon pricing system. That includes middle powers like Germany, Japan and Brazil. Put another way, countries representing two thirds of the worlds GDP have adopted pricing systems. The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or CBAM, is one clear example of a policy that is prioritizing goods from countries with strong domestic carbon pricing systems.
Going backwards on carbon pricing would put Canadian companies at a disadvantage in precisely the markets we are trying to grow into.
Third, this policy drives innovation
Industrial carbon pricing is an effective market-based mechanism that allows businesses to determine the lowest-cost path to reduce emissions and sends a market signal for innovative solutions.
It also generates revenue that can be recycled back into innovation, helping sectors remain competitive and powering electrification and growth. For example, the Decarbonization Incentive Program is already supporting 53 clean energy projects with $874 million.
Enhancing industrial pricing systems across the country can strengthen our competitive advantage even further.
There are three practical steps governments can take:
First: ensure enhanced federal-provincial-territorial collaboration. Working together is essential.
Second: expand and better integrate carbon credit trading across jurisdictions.
Third: implement financial mechanisms that strengthen credibility and trust to help de-risk major projects and accelerate investment — such as carbon contracts for difference or a price floor mechanism.
In closing, New Economy Canada’s alliance supports a strong and predictable carbon pricing systembecause we see it as a key driver of investment certainty and a cornerstone of Canada’s competitiveness in a rapidly decarbonizing global economy.
The global economy is moving. Building Canada as an energy superpower presents the opportunity to become one of the most climate-competitive jurisdictions while remaining flexible enough to ease global competitiveness concerns.