Canada’s 2035 Climate Targets

Engaging Canadians on 10 Year Climate Change Targets

Ethelo collaborated with Environment and Climate Change Canada to conduct a nationwide public engagement, gathering perspectives on Canada’s climate future. This process aimed to inform the federal 2035 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, a milestone under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act and the Paris Agreement.

11,000
Participants

>22,000
comments

Canada is experiencing significant impacts from climate change, with national temperatures rising at twice the global average rate. This warming has led to more frequent and severe weather events, such as the devastating wildfires in 2024 that emitted approximately 8.6 billion tonnes of CO₂ globally, with Canada being a major contributor.

In response, the Canadian government has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45–50% below 2005 levels by 2035, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050.

Achieving these ambitious targets necessitates active citizen engagement to ensure policies are both effective and publicly supported. Recognizing this, Environment and Climate Change Canada initiated a public engagement process in February 2024 to gather input from Canadians and Indigenous peoples on setting the 2035 emissions reduction target.

Challenges

Engaging thousands of Canadians across the country in a user-friendly manner that encouraged high completion rates among a highly polarized audience.
Providing relevant but succinct background information to enable informed decision-making by participants.
Ensuring platform accessibility for people with different levels of technology access and familiarity, as well as English and French versions.
Providing transparency around feedback received while managing sometimes harsh or inappropriate comments.

Solution

Ethelo’s platform enabled a highly interactive experience for participants. ECCC staff provided rich high-quality background information which the Ethelo platform was able to make accessible to those interested in learning more, without overwhelming those who wanted a fast experience.

The platform was rigorously tested for accessibility before launch and bi-lingual versions were provided.
Participants from diverse demographics, including representation from urban, rural, and Indigenous communities, shared their views through structured surveys and qualitative responses.
Ethelo’s comment moderation tools helped to streamline the removal of inappropriate comments.
Ethelo’s data validation helped ensure the integrity of the process by removing duplicate votes and spam responses.

Results

High Participation: Nearly 11,000 participants and over 23,000 comments provided rich data.
Diverse Demographics: Significant input from various communities across Canada.
Valuable Insights: Majority support for ambitious climate targets and federal leadership, with barriers identified such as accessibility of green products and government incentives.

Demographic Analysis

Ethelo gathers a broad range of information, including voting, comment, demographic and participation information. This data was analyzed to provide specific insights and comparative analysis of different groups with respect to different issues. For example, barriers to climate action were evaluated across different age groups, genders and geographic areas. Participants’ assessments of the adequacy of Canada’s efforts to address climate change were assessed from the perspective of different provinces.

AI Analysis

Ethelo used advanced AI techniques to conduct a detailed sentiment analysis of the comments. The analysis involved categorizing comments based on support for climate action, emotional tone, and general sentiment towards climate change.

Sentiment analysis of 23,523 comments revealed a deeply engaged public with diverse and often polarized opinions. Overall, 48% of comments were negative, 34% positive, and 18% neutral. Key themes included climate policy, environmental protection, and economic concerns. Emotional tones were dominated by frustration (46%), hope (19%), and concern (13%).

Key Themes:

Climate Policy: 40% of comments, primarily critical and frustrated.
Environmental Protection: 19% of comments, with a mix of hopeful and concerned tones.
Economic Concerns: 12% of comments, mainly negative and concerned.
Denial and Conspiracy: 10% of comments reflected denial or conspiracy theories, showing skepticism towards climate change narratives.

Deeper Insights:

Support for Climate Action: Most support aligned with ‘Urgent’ and ‘Aspirational’ sentiments, while opposition was heavily tied to ‘Denial’.
Impact of Climate Efforts: Negative impacts were predominantly economic, while positive impacts were mostly environmental.
Open-ended Comments: Climate policy and environmental protection were the most common themes, with critical engagement often linked to frustration, and productive engagement showing a balanced mix of concern and hope.

Impact

This engagement provided Environment and Climate Change Canada with actionable insights and demonstrated public support for stronger climate actions. Ethelo’s platform proved crucial in handling large-scale participation across all provinces of Canada, ensuring data integrity, and presenting clear, actionable outcomes.

Conclusion

Ethelo’s successful engagement with Environment and Climate Change Canada highlights its capability to manage complex, large-scale public consultations, providing valuable insights that shape national climate policies.

“I’m glad this survey exists, as it’s important for Canadian citizens and organizations to give their feedback. I just hope the government tries new ideas to curtail emissions and promote Canadian innovation with the release of the new net-zero targets.”