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On June 15, 2026, youth climate advocates Marie Maltais, Sophia Mathur, and Shirley Barnea, together with Environmental Defence Canada and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), filed an application for judicial review in the Federal Court against the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature and the Attorney General of Canada. The applicants allege that the Minister failed to comply with mandatory obligations under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act (CNZEAA) by not amending Canada's 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) after the federal government repealed, weakened, or substantially altered several of the plan's key emissions reduction measures.

According to the application, the 2030 ERP, adopted in 2022, described the federal measures intended to achieve Canada's statutory target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030. The applicants argue that subsequent policy changes, including the elimination of consumer carbon pricing, the weakening of industrial carbon pricing, the repeal of the electric vehicle sales mandate, the cancellation of the proposed oil and gas emissions cap, delays to methane reduction requirements, and significant changes to clean electricity regulations, mean that the ERP no longer accurately describes the measures the government intends to implement and no longer provides a credible pathway to achieve the 2030 target.

The applicants rely in part on the Minister's 2025 Progress Report, which projected emissions reductions of only 21-28% by 2030 under existing and announced measures. They contend that the Minister was therefore required to initiate the statutory amendment process under the CNZEAA, which would update the ERP and trigger the public consultation process provided for under the Act. The application seeks an order of mandamus requiring the Minister to amend the ERP, or alternatively declarations that the current ERP and the Minister's failure to amend it are unlawful under sections 9(1) and 10(1)(b) of the CNZEAA.


On October 2025, a group of young Canadians sued the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board alleging the pension fund is mismanaging climate-related financial risks and failing to disclose and properly manage exposure to fossil fuel assets, thereby subjecting pension contributions to undue risk of loss from poorly managed climate risk. The complaint focuses on inadequate climate modeling/disclosure and fiduciary breaches. 

The plaintiff alleges that Procter & Gamble’s “Keep Forests as Forests” campaign, including “Protect-Grow-Restore” messaging, misrepresents the environmental footprint of Charmin toilet paper. Despite marketing the product as environmentally friendly, the suit claims that the paper is produced using widespread deforestation practices. This action is part of a growing wave of Canadian private and class claims targeting greenwashing in consumer products following the 2024–2025 amendments to the Competition Act, which enabled private parties to challenge misleading environmental claims. The case is relevant to climate change as it contests corporate claims about forest protection, sustainability, and environmental responsibility.

The Government of Alberta initiated a constitutional reference challenging the validity of Canada's Clean Electricity Regulations (SOR/2024-263), which aim to reduce GHG emissions from the electricity sector as part of Canada's climate-change and net-zero strategy. Alberta argues that the regulations intrude on provincial authority over electricity generation and natural resources, while Canada maintains that the regulations are a valid exercise of federal legislative power, including the criminal law power.

In a January 8, 2026 case-management decision, the court addressed intervention applications by Climate Action Network Canada, the Pembina Institute, the David Suzuki Foundation, and Clean Energy Canada, applications to supplement the evidentiary record, and scheduling of the reference hearing. The Court granted intervenor status to the Pembina Institute, the David Suzuki Foundation, and Clean Energy Canada, denied intervenor status to Climate Action Network Canada, and allowed the David Suzuki Foundation to file a limited expert report. The final scheduled target date for the hearing of this Reference will be amended from June 2026 to Fall 2026.


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