Canada has published its National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice 2026–2031, setting out a five-year federal framework intended to advance environmental justice and address environmental racism. The government describes it as the first national strategy of its kind in Canada. The document is a new policy framework, rather than a claim that its intended results have already been achieved.
Federal role and scope
The strategy was developed under the National Strategy Respecting Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act, which received royal assent on 20 June 2024. It focuses on circumstances in which environmental hazards intersect with systemic inequities, and on areas where the federal government has authority, responsibility or capacity to act.
In the strategy, environmental racism is described as a form of systemic racism in which environmental policies and practices harm some groups disproportionately because of race. It links the issue to the placement of environmentally hazardous sites near Indigenous, Black, racialised or marginalised communities, as well as to exclusion or underrepresentation in environmental decision-making. The document also stresses that data and maps alone cannot determine whether injustice is occurring in a particular community; local history, experience and participation matter too.
The government places the strategy within a shared-responsibility model. Provinces, territories, municipalities, Indigenous governments, communities, industry and civil society all have roles in environmental protection, it says. The federal plan therefore does not present itself as a replacement for other jurisdictions or as a single remedy for every environmental disparity.
Four areas for action
The framework identifies four priority areas. The first is to promote environmental justice across federal institutions by integrating its principles into policies, programmes and decision-making. The second is to strengthen collaboration and coordination on assessing, preventing and addressing environmental racism. The third concerns participation by affected communities in federal environmental policy and decisions. The fourth is about learning from experience and avoiding recurring challenges.
Among the actions proposed are assigning officials to lead implementation, establishing a federal community of practice and looking for opportunities to reflect environmental justice in wider federal policies and frameworks. The strategy also proposes a transparent national methodology for assessing environmental burden and social vulnerability, and a mechanism intended to make consolidated environmental information more accessible to affected communities.
For engagement, the document proposes better tracking and communication of opportunities to take part, including how input was reflected in outcomes. It also proposes a federal framework on inclusive engagement in environmental policy and guidance on barriers faced during consultation. A separate strand would draw lessons from local cases of historic environmental racism and seek improved data for analysing environmental regulatory and enforcement information.
From publication to implementation
Its language remains forward-looking. The strategy describes these as initial proposed federal actions and says continuing feedback will help shape implementation. It acknowledges that gaps in available data remain a practical challenge, particularly where better information must be developed while respecting Indigenous data sovereignty.
Preparation included a 45-day public comment period from 26 June to 10 August 2026, which brought more than 200 submissions from individuals, organisations, academic participants and Indigenous governments, communities and organisations. Earlier engagement and consultation also informed the document.
The next measure of the strategy will be whether its proposed tools, participation arrangements and cross-government work become sustained practice. For now, the publication establishes a national federal framework and sets out the areas in which the government intends to pursue change through 2031.
