The Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions says the legislative changes would align the provincial mandate with the federal government's goals.

It also says 75 new public charging projects for EV users are being funded across the province.

Energy Minister Adrian Dix says the measures would give the industry and consumers more choices.

The ministry says the amendments will be made by the fall, and the updated regulation is expected to retain the 26 per cent sales compliance requirement for this year and 2027.

The Pembina Institute, a clean-energy think tank, says it was "encouraged" to see B.C. maintain a 75 per cent target despite current economic and market conditions.

"A sales requirement is particularly important because it ensures vehicle supply, infrastructure investment and industry planning move forward together," said the institute's clean growth director, Adam Thorn, in a statement.

"As the province moves forward with updating its targets, strong interim targets will be critical. These near-term milestones ensure the policy ramps up effectively and give industry and investors the confidence to continue building charging infrastructure, expand vehicle supply and create jobs across British Columbia."

A ministry statement said the alignment with federal goals "will provide certainty for automakers," while reducing their regulatory burden and helping address challenges, including slower-than-expected consumer adoption.

It said targets for 2028 to 2030 "will be informed by federal plans" that are expected this summer.

In a separate statement, the New Car Dealers Association of BC called the move "a helpful step toward a more balanced and adaptable approach to zero-emission vehicle policy."

"We appreciate that government is listening to both industry and consumer concerns," said association president Blair Qualey, adding that dealers have been "highlighting the growing gap between policy ambition and market reality" for some time.

"These changes reflect an important recognition that flexibility matters and that policy must evolve alongside consumers, not ahead of them,” Qualey said.

In 2019, B.C. became the first jurisdiction in the world to legislate a 100 per cent zero-emission-vehicle sales target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2026.

The Canadian Press

Frequent storms have forced repeated shut downs of university counselling services and Meals on Wheels programs for seniors in the region, cutting people off from help and social contact.

Ken Fowler, director of Memorial University's student counselling centre in St. John's, urged anyone who might be struggling to ask for help. He also encouraged those who aren't struggling to watch out for signs of distress in their friends and classmates.

"Check in on each other," Fowler said in an interview. "Send a text, try to stay connected with people."

Wednesday began with a mosaic of weather warnings across much of Atlantic Canada. Environment Canada warned of freezing rain and ice buildup in parts of southern New Brunswick, P.E.I. and the northern half of Nova Scotia. In eastern Newfoundland, the weather agency called for up to 15 centimetres of snow, which would mix with ice pellets later in the day.

Schools were closed in parts of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Newfoundland.

In fact, Wednesday was at least the seventh snow day for schools in the St. John's area since Jan. 1.

The frequent closures led to cancelled appointments for those who used the student counselling centre at Memorial, Fowler said. The storms kept students isolated and cooped up indoors, adding another stressor to a demographic already prone to loneliness and depression, he said.

"A lot of research says it's a bunch of small things that, when they actually gather, they can make life really unmanageable," Fowler said in an interview. "When you have a student that's going through financial stress, or relationship issues, or are homesick, not being able to get to campus — which is a bit of an oasis for them — is a difficult thing."

Sue Nesto, executive director of the Dartmouth Seniors Service Centre in Nova Scotia, said she had to cancel more meal delivery days this year than usual, cutting seniors off from much-needed food and companionship.

"For some people, that's the only socialization they get," Nesto said in an interview.

It broke her heart to cancel the service, but the volunteers who deliver the food are seniors, too, and they can't be out in ferocious conditions, walking through knee-deep snow, she said.

The centre also offers a regular lunch. When a storm blows in and forces Nesto to close the doors, that lunch and social opportunity is no longer available, she said.

Most people she speaks to are taking the weather with a grain of salt, she said, adding that anybody who has lived in Nova Scotia all their lives knows to expect some wild weather.

"Though we're certainly hearing a lot of 'I'm tired of the weather,' and hope that spring is going to come soon," she said.

The first day of spring was technically March 20, but the weather hasn't caught up yet.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2026.

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press

Carney promised a number of incentive measures during the leadership campaign, including re-funding the government's Greener Homes Grant program for lower-income households and exploring discounts for low- and medium-income homeowners who make energy-efficient retrofits.

Carney also promised to strengthen the existing oil-to-heat pump program, which in some cases can provide more than $10,000 to low-to-median income households to switch from oil heating to electric heat pump systems.

But more than a year after Carney took office, those promised incentives haven't materialized.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday in Wakefield, Que., Carney said he's still committed to the promises he made during the leadership race.

He said part of the work happening now is to transfer responsibility for programs like the Greener Homes Grant to Environment and Climate Change Canada from Natural Resources Canada.

"One of the things we're really focused on … is making sure that when we refresh these programs, that they're going to be as impactful as possible," Carney said.

"So part of it is just the work in order to deliver that. So it is a priority, and I appreciate the question."

Carney also promised in his Liberal leadership bid to bring back subsidies for electric vehicle purchases — something that was also in the Liberal party election platform — and to expand the number of EV charging stations.

The government delivered on those earlier this year as part of its new auto strategy.

"Mark Carney is racking up a list of broken promises to Canadians," a spokesperson for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement, taking aim at the prime minister on homebuilding, jobs and grocery prices.

"Canadians deserve a Conservative government that is ready to get to work. We will scrap Liberal inflationary policies and get government out of the way so we can build ourselves up at home to be unbreakable abroad."

The Greener Homes Grant program, which has been closed since February 2024, provided homeowners up to $5,000 toward the cost of eligible and recommended home retrofits.

The program was hugely popular and uptake exceeded the government's expectations. As of late January 2024, more than 500,000 Canadians had applied to the program and it had issued more than $700 million in grants for things like insulation, energy-efficient windows and doors, air sealing and solar panels.

"I mentioned this to someone in the government and they said 'Yeah, for this government and this prime minister, that's a problem, actually,'" said Keith Brooks, a program director with the Environmental Defence advocacy group.

Brooks said an official acknowledged to him that when a program is very popular, it costs a lot of money, making it harder for the government to keep capitalizing it.

The window for existing applicants to submit documents for reimbursement under the program closed at the end of December. The Canadian Press has asked Natural Resources Canada for a final tally of the program's costs but has not yet received the requested information.

Quebec MP and former environment minister Steven Guilbeault said bringing back programs like the Greener Homes Grant would help Canadians in an affordability crunch.

"My understanding is there are conversations about bringing back some of these programs," Guilbeault told The Canadian Press last week.

"Final decisions haven't been made, but they're key components in terms of affordability, fighting climate change, and economic development."

Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin pointed to the Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program the government launched with the province of Manitoba in September.

The program provides low-to-median-income homeowners and tenants with no-cost home retrofits, such as insulation and heat pumps.

"That actually is a program that we've put in place to help people with lower incomes to be able to retrofit their homes without ever paying out of pocket," Dabrusin told The Canadian Press Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2026.

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press

Anand said all countries involved in the U.K.-hosted talks should know Canada will not hesitate to help secure the strait once there is a ceasefire.

"Canada will be advocating for freedom of navigation at all times and the need to ensure that international maritime law and the law of the sea is respected," Anand said in an interview Wednesday.

She said that while the government has not yet decided how Canada could help reopen the strait following a ceasefire, she suggested it could contribute vessels, demining expertise, intelligence and cyber capacities.

"How that particular effort is presented is a topic of conversation now," Anand said. "I want to underline that that is a conversation that is still occurring."

The Iran war has disrupted shipments of energy commodities through the strait, causing global oil prices to surge over the past month. Iran has laid sea mines and attacked commercial ships passing through.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran's foreign ministry have been at odds over whether Iran wants a ceasefire. When Trump addressed Americans on the war late Wednesday evening, he said the U.S. will hit Iran hard over the next few weeks and send the country "back to the stone ages."

Roland Paris, an international relations professor at the University of Ottawa, said the Canadian government has been right to set out a ceasefire as its condition for getting involved in any effort to reopen the strait. He said there would still need to be a clear, "viable plan" in place before Canada commits to anything.

"Canada does have some capabilities that it could contribute. They're limited. They might include imagery analysis, other kinds of intelligence collection and monitoring," Paris said.

"I don't see even a reliable reopening of the strait without there being some kind of negotiated ceasefire between the United States and Iran. (Trump) may be tempted to escalate, but I think that would be doubling down on a bet that's not paying off."

Paris, a former foreign policy adviser to Justin Trudeau's government, said Canada will want to be slow and cautious in its approach as the situation evolves, especially given Trump’s frequently shifting positions on the war.

A number of experts have pointed out that Canada likely has very little to contribute militarily to the strait. The Canadian Armed Forces is stretched thin, with thousands of troops deployed to Latvia, an ongoing personnel crisis, limited anti-drone warfare equipment and aging fleets.

Only about 59 per cent of the entire Royal Canadian Navy fleet is serviceable. It has four Kingston class vessels that can do mine sweeping, although the navy is in the process of divesting itself of those aging ships and has plans to redistribute minesweeping capabilities to other vessels.

"The state of our fleets at sea and land forces, our commitments in Latvia means that we have, in my view, very limited expeditionary capacity to offer," said Wendy Gilmour, vice-chair of the Conference of Defence Associations think tank.

"That doesn't mean to say that we don't have incremental capabilities, like specialist planning personnel or prospectively individual aircraft for small periods of time, like we did in Mali or elsewhere."

A ceasefire remains out of sight as the war threatens the security of Gulf states and spills out into a broader conflict in the Middle East, with Israel dispatching ground troops further into Lebanon.

Israel has sent troops into the south of the country with the intention of creating a security zone that stretches some 30 kilometres from the border. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney strengthened his language on the deepening conflict by condemning Israel's "illegal invasion" of Lebanon.

Asked about Canada's position Wednesday, Anand said the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah must cease its attacks and Lebanon's "territorial integrity must not be violated."

"Moving the boundary in Lebanon is in our view unacceptable,” she said.

Asked if she would summon Israel’s ambassador, Anand only said diplomacy is “best done behind closed doors.”

"I'm continually in touch with my our allies as to what our collective next steps will be.”

Anand just returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia, where she met with top-level officials to discuss deepening trade ties and finding ways to reduce tensions in the region as the war escalates.

Even though Saudi Arabia was hit by retaliatory strikes the night before the minister arrived, Anand said it was important for her to go to Riyadh to thank the Saudi government in person for helping about 300 Canadians leave the region.

Canada has been in talks with the Saudi government about deepening trade ties through a foreign investment framework agreement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2026.

Kyle Duggan, The Canadian Press

"I suspect maybe if the Bible had been written in Saskatchewan, it wouldn't have been locusts. It would have been gophers," Jeremy Welter, a farmer near Kerrobert, Sask., said Tuesday.

"I think (lifting the ban) is one of those things that is long overdue."

On Monday, federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel and Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald announced producers can again start using two per cent liquid strychnine until November 2027 to control gophers, also known as Richardson's ground squirrels.

Health Canada had previously banned the chemical, arguing it poses risks to other wildlife, but the ministers now say it's needed to address infestations that have caused millions of dollars in damage.

"(Gophers) have become a serious pest threatening a variety of crops," the ministers said in a statement.

"The Prairies have been experiencing abnormally dry conditions, which affects the sustainability and quality of farmlands and allowed the population of these gophers to increase significantly."

The Alberta and Saskatchewan governments have been pushing for the ban to be lifted after Ottawa initially denied their proposal to do so earlier this year.

Welter, who's also a vice-president with the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, said that two years ago, gophers chewed through nearly 45 hectares of his canola when strychnine was banned.

Forty-five hectares is approximately equal to the size of an 18-hole golf course.

Welter said he reseeded the crop, but the gophers came back to eat another 26 hectares. Crop insurance had paid for both losses, he said.

"As a taxpayer, I'm very grateful that (crop insurance) exists, but I think there's probably better uses for our tax dollars than that," he said. "But that is what's happening because we don't have access to really important tools for the control of gophers."

Jeff Yorga, president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, said he lost a cow that broke its leg while stepping into a gopher hole on his land near Flintoft, Sask.

"I hope it's something that nobody ever has to see, because there's no solution (other than) to euthanize," he said. "It's a difficult situation for everybody when something like that has to happen."

Only certain areas of Saskatchewan and Alberta are allowed to use strychnine this year.

Welter said he lives just outside the allowable zone, but he hopes his area can be included.

"I think this is a good start," he said. "Now we need to work on making the right additions and changes to it to make it a comprehensive and complete program."

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit said the decision to only allow strychnine to be used in some areas was based on past crop insurance claims and considerations for at-risk species.

He said there likely won't be changes to allowable zones this year.

"For next year's application, we can maybe see an expansion on that," he told reporters in Regina. "I'm very thankful we got what we have here now."

Alberta Agriculture Minister RJ Sigurdson told reporters in Edmonton he's also appreciative of Ottawa's decision.

"I have farmers that have put in front of me irrigation lines, natural gas lines that have been damaged from the population growth (of gophers)," he said. "These are serious concerns. We are in an emergency."

Animal Justice, an advocacy group, said in a statement it's disappointed by the decision, arguing strychnine is not safe or environmentally acceptable.

The group warned the poison can kill dogs or other animals that ingest baits or carcasses.

"It is an indiscriminate poison that causes excruciating pain to all animals who ingest it," said Alexandra Pester, a lawyer with the group.

Michel and MacDonald said producers are to follow a stewardship program when applying the poison, arguing it will reduce environmental risks.

"To support the Canadian economy and agricultural sector, we need a Team Canada effort as we steer the country toward a better path forward," the ministers said.

The federal Conservatives took credit for the temporary approval.

"Following months of relentless advocacy from Conservatives and provincial partners, the Liberal government has backed down on its refusal to approval the emergency use of strychnine," the party said in a statement Tuesday.

Welter said he's glad Ottawa listened to concerns raised by the provinces and industry groups.

"There's at the very least an undercurrent or maybe a very obvious current of people that feel like the government isn't listening and isn't paying attention to us," he said. "This is evidence to the contrary and really indicative of co-operation."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

Jeremy Simes, The Canadian Press

The November memorandum of understanding outlined a number of commitments and steps both levels of government would take to eventually see a new bitumen pipeline built connecting Alberta to B.C. tidewater.

It set an April 1 deadline for four key arrangements that would be needed before a pipeline gets the greenlight, and Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney have announced "agreements in principle" on two of the items -- methane emissions and project assessment processes.

Smith told reporters Tuesday that there's still more work to do on an agreed-upon carbon pricing system as well as another memorandum of understanding with the Oil Sands Alliance, formerly known as the Pathways Alliance.

The energy deal stipulated that Alberta's industrial carbon price would eventually reach $130 per tonne, and Smith said how quickly that price is reached is what is still being negotiated.

"I've got a different number than the prime minister at the moment, but we're hoping to land on the same number," she said.

Smith pointed to other jurisdictions, like the United States, that currently don't have carbon pricing systems and said they are more attractive investment environments.

That doesn't mean she's pushing for Alberta to not have a carbon price, but Smith said she didn't want to see Alberta ramp up its price to $130 per tonne too quickly.

"We don't want to raise it so quickly in this environment, ends up having the exact opposite impact of driving away investment when we're trying to drive all that investment here," she said.

"I don't want to lock in on a certain date just yet. I'd rather the prime minister and I both announce what that date is when we agree."

She also said that "quite a bit of work" has been done on the separate memorandum of understanding with the Oil Sands Alliance, but that it can't be finished without the carbon price deal in place.

The alliance is made up of five major oil and gas companies and for years has been planning a major carbon capture and storage project as well as a pipeline to transport CO2 away from the Alberta oil sands.

Carney has said the project is a "necessary condition" of any new bitumen pipeline.

Smith said Tuesday she was hoping to have the carbon pricing deal complete in the next few days, and that the agreement with the Alliance will in turn be finished before the end of April.

"I think we all have a sense of urgency to get this landed," the premier said, adding that she and Carney discussed the issue Monday.

Carney told reporters in Quebec on Tuesday that he felt good about the progress being made.

"It's a complex, very important set of negotiations," he said.

"We want to get it right (and) we want to have a framework that works."

Smith's office has set a July 1 deadline for itself to submit plans for the new pipeline to Ottawa's major projects office, though it has said it could submit it earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

-- With files from Nick Murray in Wakefield, Que.

Jack Farrell, The Canadian Press

Critics said the move by the government's Endangered Species Committee could doom a rare whale species and harm other marine life. Nicknamed the “God Squad” by groups who say it can decide a species’ fate, the committee comprises several Trump administration officials and is chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

It met Tuesday for the first time in more than three decades amid global oil shocks and soaring energy prices brought on by the Iran war. The U.S. pumps more oil than any other nation, but that hasn’t insulated it from spiking prices: The national average for a gallon of gasoline topped $4 Tuesday for the first time since 2022.

“Disruptions to Gulf oil production doesn’t hurt just us, it benefits our adversaries,” Hegseth told the committee. “We cannot allow our own rules to weaken our standing and strengthen those who wish to harm us. When development in the Gulf is chilled, we are prevented from producing the energy we need as a country and as a department.”

Environmental groups sought unsuccessfully to block Tuesday’s meeting and pledged to challenge the exemption. They say the exemption would speed the extinction of the rare Rice’s whale, which is found exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico. Government biologists say only about 50 of the animals remain.

“If Trump is successful here, he could be the first person in history to knowingly extirpate a species from the face of the earth. That’s how precarious the condition of the Rice’s whale is,” said Patrick Parenteau, emeritus professor of law at Vermont Law School. Parenteau dismissed Hegseth’s claims of a security threat, since companies have continued to look for and extract oil in the Gulf despite legal challenges over the critically endangered whale.

Streamlined approvals for drilling

During his last days in office, former Democratic President Joe Biden sought to ban new offshore oil and gas drilling in most U.S. coastal waters, citing the climate crisis.

President Donald Trump reversed that policy and made increased fossil fuel production a central focus of his second term. The Republican wants to open new areas of the Gulf off the Florida coast to drilling, and has proposed sweeping rollbacks of environmental regulations disliked by industry.

Hegseth notified Burgum on March 13 that an Endangered Species Act exemption for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf was “necessary for reasons of national security.”

Hegseth told committee members Tuesday that Iran's efforts to block shipping through the world's busiest oil route, the Strait of Hormuz, underscored the national security imperative of robust domestic oil production. He said pending litigation from environmental groups “threatened to halt" oil production in the Gulf.

Industry observers said the exemption could have significant implications for energy companies by streamlining approvals of new projects and impeding opponents’ ability to derail drilling plans.

“Serial litigation from activist groups targeting a lawful, well-regulated industry should not be allowed to indefinitely obstruct projects of clear national importance,” said Erik Milito with the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore developers.

The Gulf of Mexico is one of the nation’s top oil regions, producing 2 million barrels a day. It accounts for almost 15% of crude pumped annually in the U.S., plus a small share of domestic natural gas production.

The Gulf also has been the scene of environmental disasters such as BP’s Deepwater Horizon blowout in 2010 that killed 11 workers and spilled 134 million gallons (500 million liters) of oil. Rice's whale numbers dropped by 22% following the accident and could take decades to recover, scientists said.

A spill in the Gulf earlier this month off the Mexican coast spread 373 miles (600 kilometers), contaminating at least six species and polluting seven protected natural reserves.

The Trump administration in mid-March approved BP’s new $5 billion ultra-deepwater drilling project in the Gulf.

Whales, turtles and sturgeon at risk

A 2025 National Marine Fisheries Service analysis determined the Gulf oil and gas program was likely to harm several species of whales, sea turtles and Gulf sturgeon. They face potential harm from ship strikes, oil spills and other impacts.

The Gulf exemption is the first time national security has been cited to justify action by the Endangered Species Committee. Conservation groups immediately condemned the action and asserted it was done illegally.

“The Endangered Species Act has not slowed an iota of oil from being extracted from the Gulf,” said Defenders of Wildlife President Andrew Bowman. “I cannot stress enough how unprecedented and unlawful this action is.”

Since 1973, the Endangered Species Act has made it illegal to harm or kill species on a protected list. The committee was formed in 1978 as a way to exempt projects if no alternative would provide the same economic benefits in a region or if it was in the nation’s best interest.

Before this week, the panel had convened just three times and issued only two exemptions. The first was in 1979 to allow construction on a dam on the Platte River in Wyoming, home to the whooping crane. It last met in 1992, allowing logging in northern spotted owl habitats in Oregon. That exemption request was later withdrawn.

Its latest meeting follows a federal judge’s ruling on Monday that struck down attempts during Trump’s first term to weaken rules for endangered species.

The panel's members include the secretaries of agriculture, interior and the Army, the chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisers, and the administrators of both the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They all voted in favor of Hegseth's request for an exemption.

Matthew Brown, The Associated Press

Posing for selfies in front of her phone mounted on a tripod, Yue, from Calgary, struck various poses, flouncing in her sparkly dress. But she knew to keep her hands off the blossoms.

"I don't know if you noticed, but as I was swinging, I'm the one moving, not the tree," said Yue, a former Vancouver resident who was in town to visit family.

The park, directly in line with the airport's south runway, is a favourite with plane spotters, but in recent days it has been taken over by crowds of cherry blossom fanciers.

RCMP in Richmond, B.C., said the crowds have been creating traffic hazards because of illegal parking — although Yue had arrived early enough on Tuesday to find a proper space in the parking lot.

Police said in a statement that they conducted a targeted enforcement operation over the weekend, handing out 32 tickets, issuing "numerous" verbal warnings and having two unoccupied vehicles towed from the site.

At one point, 50 vehicles were illegally parked on Russ Baker Way, next to the park, "contributing to traffic flow and safety concerns," police said.

The City of Richmond has meanwhile posted a "cherry blossom safety" guide on its website, warning of "significant traffic congestion, pedestrian safety concerns and parking challenges" in blossom hot spots.

The guide says growing crowd volumes in recent years have caused a number of issues, including "traffic backups, jaywalking, illegal parking and limited emergency vehicle access."

Linda Poole, founder and creative director of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival that runs until April 17, said it has established etiquette rules for flower viewing, including no shaking of trees or breaking branches.

She said she noticed that people had become more respectful at an event in David Lam Park in Vancouver, which drew thousands of people over the weekend.

“Do you know this year, I only had to remind one father who was shaking the branch a bit so that the petals would fall on his baby,” Poole says. “It's like people have learned, finally, to be respectful.”

Not far away from Yu at the Larry Berg Flight Path Park, Ariella Yan was dressed in a traditional Chinese dress and carrying a fan, cosplaying as a character from a video game while a friend took photos. It was her second trip to the park in recent days.

“I do shoots like this for fun, just to be creative,” said Yan. “I love the fantasy stuff.”

She said she visits the park every year during blossom season and is very respectful of flower-viewing rules.

“Even if we use flowers, we always pick the ones from the ground, which have already dropped,” said Yan.

Yue agreed that people need to be gentle with the trees.

"And you know we don't need to do too much with the tree. They say nature is beautiful, and the more natural it is, the more beautiful it is," said Yue, adding that the tree "just sits there, and it's pretty, and it's you who moves."

Fernanda Gonzalez was busy posing with the blossoms for her friend Cristiano Silva.

“My friend is a top model from Mexico,” Silva said as a joking introduction to Gonzalez.

“I used to live in Calgary, and there is no kind of this tree, so it should be planted everywhere,” he added.

Japanese cherry trees were first introduced to Vancouver in the 1930s as a gift from Japan, to honour Japanese Canadians who fought in the First World War.

Poole said Vancouver is currently enjoying the blossoms of the akebono variety, which will be followed in April by the showy double kanzan blossoms, which will only last about two weeks.

“I also want to tell people not to take them for granted," Poole said of the city's cherry blossom trees. "We have to take care of them."

Yue said a lot of her friends want to visit Japan in spring to enjoy its famous cherry blossoms.

"But I feel like I don't need to go to Japan because I'm right here. It's all here," said Yue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press

Announcing the new plan at an event in Wakefield, Que., Carney said the federal government will create new national parks, urban parks and marine conservation areas.

Carney said his government is taking an "ambitious" approach to conservation spaces and urban parks. He said the plan will require "significant" federal funding and includes aspirations to spur private-sector investments.

The new conservation areas will include the Wiinipaawk Indigenous protected area and national marine conservation area in Eastern James Bay, and the Seal River watershed national park in Manitoba.

Carney said the Seal River park will help protect the world's largest intact watershed.

"Think about that — the world's largest intact watershed, providing natural carbon storage, water filtration and flood protection, while preserving the habitat of polar bears, caribou and other iconic Canadian wildlife," Carney said.

"It's a good day to be a polar bear in Canada."

Tuesday's announcement included commitments to fund as many as 14 new marine protected and conserved areas, along with 10 new national parks and freshwater conservation areas.

The government says the measures will allow Canada to protect 30 per cent of its lands, and 28 per cent of marine and coastal areas, by 2030.

The federal government committed four years ago to protecting 30 per cent of the country's land and waters by 2030.

Tuesday's announcement also included a commitment of $230 million to expand the Indigenous Guardians Program to add an Arctic-specific component to it. The government also committed to further fund the removal of "harmful fishing gear" from Canada's oceans — also known as ghost gear.

The new plan comes just a few weeks after conservation groups warned that federal funding was running out. A key funding initiative was to sunset after Tuesday.

Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin was questioned about the expiring funding earlier this month at a Parliamentary committee hearing. She told MPs the government was working on it.

Speaking to The Canadian Press on Tuesday, Dabrusin said she was excited to finally be able to share the news.

"Being able to announce two new parks, talking about what we're doing in the area of marine conservation with ghost gear, all these things, it's so many good pieces today," she said.

A spokesperson for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wasn't sold on Tuesday's announcement, calling it "a whole new bureaucracy to burn taxpayer money while continuing to get the same poor results" and predicting the Liberals will still miss their targets.

In a statement, Greenpeace Canada said Tuesday's announcement, while welcome, lacked ambition.

"More parks won’t restore the grasslands, forests and waters threatened by climate change, pollution and resource exploitation as long as Canada continues its 'extraction first, nature and people last' approach," Salomé Sané said in a statement.

Bloc Québécois environment critic Patrick Bonin, who at the committee meeting grilled Dabrusin on the government's conservation targets, welcomed Tuesday's news.

"As long as Ottawa cements its walking back of environmental policies, the injection of new money and the will to protect 30 per cent of lands and waters is welcomed," Bonin said in a statement in French.

Bonin did call for more funding for Quebec to help meet Canada's goals.

"The federal government does not own the territory or the tools that would permit it to protect nature. Quebec is better positioned to manage its own territory and combat the decline in biodiversity."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

— With files from Kyle Duggan

Nick Murray, The Canadian Press

The study, which homes in on the United States, suggests one in three Americans could be breathing summer air considered unhealthy for sensitive groups by 2100, a seven-fold increase compared to the turn of this century.

In that worst-case scenario, the study suggests young children, the elderly and other sensitive groups could be alerted to stay inside every other summer day on average.

University of Waterloo associate professor Rebecca Saari says the results indicate that just telling people to stay inside cannot compensate for the rising climate-driven health risks of poor air quality.

"It's not a short-term problem anymore, it's a chronic issue," said Saari, a Canada Research Chair in global change, atmosphere and health.

Alongside efforts to cut planet-warming emissions driven by fossil fuels, she said there needs to be a greater emphasis on improving indoor air filtration and the airtightness of buildings to keep out harmful pollutants.

"We need attention on longer-term protective adaptations," she said.

While other studies have detailed how climate change worsens pollution, the authors suggest this is one of the most detailed accounts of how it could affect U.S. air quality alerts that tell people to stay indoors. Saari and former PhD student Matt Sparks worked with three U.S. researchers on the project.

The study models those alerts during the smog season, from May 1 to September 30, under three scenarios: if global warming hits two degrees above pre-industrial levels, if it is kept to 2.5 C or if, in the worst case, no action is taken to fight climate change. Two key pollutants are modelled: ozone and fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5.

Unmitigated climate change could add an average of 28 alert days for sensitive groups by 2100, the study finds. That number would be cut by about 30 per cent if climate action is taken to cap global warming at 2 or 2.5 C.

The sharpest rise would appear in already population- and pollution-dense areas in California and the eastern United States, with the latter getting two months of additional alerts for sensitive groups per year, the study says. Keeping global warming to two degrees would cut down about a month of those alerts.

People 65 and older, compared to other age groups, shoulder the bulk of the health burden linked to poor air quality, the study suggests. They also see the highest benefits in complying with air quality alerts to stay inside.

Yet widespread compliance cannot compensate for the rising costs of poor air quality, the study says. Under the worst-case scenario, full compliance with "unhealthy" alerts would only offset about 15 per cent of the economic impact of poor air quality, such as from spiralling health-care costs and lost wages. Those savings rise to about 40 per cent if global warming is limited to 2 C by end of the century.

There are limits to the study. The scenarios are modelled on 2005 population data. Larger and older populations in the future could increase the estimated health burden.

It also doesn't account for wildfire smoke, a pollution source expected to get worse as climate change increases wildfire frequency and intensity.

Wildfire smoke exposure, largely from the tiny particles of burned vegetation that can penetrate deep into lungs, poses one of the greatest risks to outdoor air quality in Canada.

A recent Health Canada review estimated that PM2.5 exposure from the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season could contribute to around 400 acute and 5,400 chronic premature deaths. The study suggests that could translate into $52 billion in economic costs, including from medical costs, reduced productivity, and pain and suffering.

A warming climate is also likely to increase ozone levels in heavily populated and industrialized areas of Canada, including southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec.

Ozone, which thrives on hotter and sunnier days, forms when sunlight reacts with certain precursors, such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. Short-term exposure can exacerbate asthma and other lung diseases, while long-term exposure has been linked to onset of asthma and increased respiratory symptoms in some groups.

The University of Waterloo-led, peer-reviewed study was published this month in Environmental Science & Technology.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 31, 2026.

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press