Municipalities are influential drivers of broader climate action

Towns including Newmarket and Aurora are embedding sustainability into growth plans, events planning, and infrastructure choices

When we think of climate action, our minds often leap to federal governments or massive international agreements. The truth is municipalities — our cities, towns, and local councils — are among the most effective levers for real change, both globally and here in Ontario.

Globally, cities are stepping up. Networks like the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy unite hundreds of cities worldwide that voluntarily commit to cutting emissions and increasing resilience, often going beyond national policies. Cities shape emissions in ways national governments cannot. They control land use, public transit, building codes, waste management, and energy distribution, collectively responsible for a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite being cornered in by provincial legislation of bills 23, 5, 17, and now Bill 98, the Building Homes and Improving Transportation Infrastructure Act, 2026, in its second reading, municipalities are trying to take bold steps to protect the environment and public health with sustainable solutions. Many towns have joined forces to urge the province to reduce salt pollution in freshwater, a growing threat to drinking water and aquatic life. Local councils have passed resolutions calling for legislative action, demonstrating the power of municipal advocacy to influence provincial policy.

Municipalities are also tackling waste and resource management. York Region’s waste diversion vision sets ambitious targets for reducing landfill use, improving recycling, and creating circular economy opportunities for residents and businesses. It and northern municipalities are pushing back against the inequities of the new provincial blue bin system that could lead to greater waste because of its inefficiencies. This shows local leadership can drive sustainable practices citizens experience in their everyday lives.

Green building standards are another area where municipalities are leading. Many cities now require sustainable design measures for new construction permits, including energy efficiency, stormwater management, and low-carbon materials. By embedding these standards into permitting processes, municipalities like Newmarket and Aurora ensure growth itself contributes to climate solutions.

Tourism can drive economic growth, but without careful management, it can also carry a significant environmental footprint. Around the world, cities are adopting measures to align tourism with climate goals and local quality of life. Venice, Italy, has introduced entry fees and limits on large cruise ships to protect fragile heritage sites; Cannes, France, has restricted large vessel docking to reduce port pollution; and Paris has increased tourist levies to fund sustainable transportation and climate adaptation.

In Canada, municipalities are following suit. Vancouver, Whistler and Tofino, B.C., and Mont-Tremblant, Que., have expanded visitor taxes to ease pressure on infrastructure and ecosystems, while, in 2026, major cities including Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal and Québec City are introducing or increasing accommodation taxes to support infrastructure, services, and climate resilience.

Montreal has developed a sustainable tourism framework aligned with its climate plan and recognized with global sustainability certifications, showing that proactive local strategy can make tourism part of a city’s climate solution rather than its problem. In national parks, communities are also adapting. In Banff National Park, where millions of visitors once overwhelmed roads and services, local and park authorities have introduced timed entry systems, shuttle services, and permit checks to reduce vehicle congestion and preserve sensitive ecosystems. Charlottetown now has a real-time emissions reductions tracker on its website.

Here in Newmarket, as it receives wider awards for special events, the demand for more central parking is carefully weighed against environmental impact. Many events have become pedestrian-only, and the town encourages recycling, water stations, and annual cleanup days to keep highly populated areas clean. Aurora is encouraging these things, too, though less pronounced.

Parks in both municipalities are increasingly being connected by trails, encouraging tourism while protecting natural areas and reducing vehicle emissions through active transportation.

Next steps could include electric shuttle buses from across town for central events to reduce traffic in the core, extending the timeframes for pedestrian-only zones, mandating compostable containers for fast food, and incorporating solar panels or kinetic energy sources with battery storage for lighting. If Coldplay on tour can do it …

These examples demonstrate our municipalities are not just implementers. They are innovators, advocates, and stewards of change. They influence everything from freshwater protection and waste diversion to green building and sustainable tourism, often achieving measurable outcomes national policies cannot. Their collective voice, local action, and experimental projects show climate leadership is as much local as it is global.

Supporting municipalities is essential in the fight against climate change. By empowering cities and towns, we empower communities to lead, innovate, and demonstrate climate solutions can be practical, measurable, and transformative, starting right in our own backyards.

Climate Action Newmarket-Aurora will host a town hall on May 6 called Local Action Brings Hope.

Read this article on Newmarket Today.

Province locking families into decades of higher hydro, heating costs

Ford's energy strategy relies on expensive bets and reduced role for renewables that could be deployed faster

By now, many Ontario families have opened their energy bills and felt a jolt. Even when we turn down the thermostat or switch off lights, the total keeps climbing and more increases are on the way.

That isn’t just bad luck. It is the direct result of political choices about what kind of energy Ontario builds, who benefits, and who pays.

The Doug Ford government is pursuing an energy expansion plan built around three costly pillars: prolonging fossil fuel use, doubling down on expensive new nuclear projects, and sidelining lower-cost renewable options that could be deployed faster and more affordably. The result will be higher consumer bills for decades.

The hidden cost of sticking with gas

Natural gas still plays a major role in Ontario’s electricity and home heating. But gas is far from cheap.

On a typical gas bill, about one-third of the cost comes from pipeline delivery charges for storage, meters, and other infrastructure. These are fees households pay even if they reduce usage. Gas prices themselves are volatile because they are tied to North American markets. When prices spike, families feel it immediately.

When gas is used to generate electricity, costs add up quickly. Electricity from gas can cost six to nine cents per kilowatt-hour to produce. Add carbon costs and that rises to roughly 11 to 15 cents. Those costs flow straight into hydro bills.

Continuing to expand gas generation locks Ontario into decades of fuel purchases, delivery infrastructure, and rising carbon expenses, all tacked on to ratepayers’ energy bills. It also increases greenhouse gas emissions at a time when climate-related damages are already costing taxpayers billions.

The nuclear price tag families will carry

At the same time, Premier Doug Ford and Energy Minister Stephen Lecce have made nuclear power, including a new large reactor and unproven small modular reactors (SMRs), the centrepieces of Ontario’s long-term electricity plan.

Nuclear is the most expensive form of new electricity generation available to Ontario. It requires enormous up-front public financing, takes more than a decade to deliver new power, and carries a long history of cost overruns and delays. Ratepayers begin paying for these projects long before they produce electricity.

SMRs, heavily promoted by the Ford government, remain commercially unproven. Ontario families are effectively being asked to finance a high-risk experiment.

There are additional long-term liabilities. New nuclear facilities will depend on imported enriched uranium, largely from the United States, which ties Ontario’s energy security to foreign supply chains. And each reactor adds to the growing stockpile of high-level radioactive waste for which Canada still has no operating long-term disposal solution.

These production costs do not disappear. They are embedded in electricity rates and provincial debt. Nuclear refurbishments, new reactors, and gas contracts accumulate. Electricity rates are already projected to rise significantly, locking these expenses into long-term rate structures. Families will ultimately pay through higher hydro bills, increased public borrowing, or reduced public services for decisions whose costs will last for decades.

The options being deliberately sidelined

What makes this path especially costly is that Ontario has cheaper, faster alternatives. Wind power in Ontario now costs roughly four to six cents per kilowatt-hour. Solar costs about five to cents cents, already competitive with or cheaper than gas, and far below nuclear. By 2030, wind costs are expected to fall further, potentially into the three-to-four-cent range.

Unlike gas, renewables have no fuel costs and no exposure to volatile commodity markets. Unlike nuclear power, they can be built in a few years, not decades. Once constructed, their operating costs are low and predictable for many years to come.

Renewables also avoid carbon pricing, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthen energy security by relying on resources Ontario has in abundance: wind, sunlight, water, and geothermal heat.

Beyond lower electricity prices, renewable expansion attracts private investment, creates local construction and maintenance jobs, and keeps more energy dollars circulating within Ontario communities rather than flowing out for imported fuel, foreign reactor technology, and enriched uranium.

Who pays for ‘pet projects?’

The government frames its nuclear expansion and gas buildout as necessary for reliability and growth. And as a consequence of the government having impeded investor interest in renewable projects for years, the Ford regime has made the need for all energy options almost inevitable. But it won’t change the fact a balanced system that includes renewables, storage, conservation, and grid modernization still offers lower cost with less risk.

Yet Ontario is still being steered toward capital-intensive mega projects that align with the government’s preferred technologies while pushing aside lower-cost, quicker-to-deploy renewable solutions. The financial burden of that choice will fall on monthly energy bills.

The real choice for Ontario families

Affordable energy is not about hoping gas prices stay low or betting billions on nuclear projects that won’t deliver power for 10 to 15 years. It is about choosing energy sources that are low-cost, fast to build, stable in price, and locally available.

Ontario has strong wind resources, ample solar potential, growing geothermal expertise, and skilled workers ready to build. What is lacking is political will.

Energy bills do not rise on their own. They rise because governments choose expensive pathways and ask consumers to carry the risk.

For Ontario families concerned about rising hydro and heating costs, the lesson is clear: Ford’s laser focus on fossil fuels and nuclear mega projects comes at a higher-than-needed price. And it is one consumers will be paying for generations.

Renewable energy offers a different path: lower long-term costs, faster relief, more local jobs, and greater energy independence. The question is not whether Ontario has options. It is whether the government will choose the ones that protect household budgets instead of doubling down on its most expensive bets.

Read this article on Newmarket Today.

Resiliency of swans inspires reminder of reasons for hope

The power of yes is also the power of resiliency and getting through the darker times

All you need is love’ — in this month of February with Valentines, Family Day and Inn From the Cold fundraisers, we aspire that everyone has someone or something to love. We can lose sight of this among the onslaught of contagious negativity that predominates daily media and when faced with money and health issues, whether we will have a roof over our heads and food on the table.

Just within climate advocacy, I found it challenging in 2025 to stay positive among all the upheaval in policies and the cancel culture decisions — on both sides of the border —  and I wondered if I had to move to acceptance of a new less hopeful norm for the future.

It was the trumpeter swans and playful loons on the Severn River a couple of weekends ago in -22C to -39C temperatures that reminded me that I had lost some focus —  there is still love in nature and this small corner of the planet.

I wondered, as I watched in fascination at the 12 swans as they swam elegantly around the unfrozen patch of river, how they could possibly survive just even that one night —  in the wide open space, on ice and with the windchill. I heard a couple calling in the middle of the night and was saddened to think that I would wake up to find some hadn’t made it.

At 5 a.m., I dared to look out and could barely see through the mist that rose off the river — the water was warmer than the air, yet the swans were not there. I looked up and down. Where could they have all gone to stay warm if not in the river? I was wrong, at least then, to worry. I zoomed in more closely and caught the hint of movement in a mound of snow.

Then I realized, it wasn’t snow at all but the swans all tucked up into themselves, clearly sheltering their heads and necks from the cold into their feathered bodies. Twelve mounds of ‘snow’. Then I spied the loons popping up out of the water on their early morning fish ‘n' feed. A couple hours later with a beautiful sunrise, the snow-like swans slowly but surely lifted themselves up, stretched their willowy necks, and took to the water.

It was resilience personified. That is what has to be transferred to our individual and collective efforts to fight climate change. To be as resilient as those swans. To find a way through and offer a helping hand to those around us who are struggling with resiliency. Keep looking to the positive —  it's out there, and in leaps and bounds for the start of 2026.

Quiet signs can be seen of that positive shift, even now. Around the world, renewable energy continues to grow faster than expected, if not here, and major emitters are seeing emissions level off as cleaner power replaces coal oil and gas.

New global agreements to protect the high seas have finally come into force, safeguarding vast stretches of ocean for future generations, and the first international meeting on a transition away from fossil fuels is on the horizon.

Here at home, municipalities are steadily investing in sustainability and clean energy. In places like Newmarket and Aurora, climate plans, tree planting, electrification, and community action continue —  not loudly, not perfectly, but persistently. None of it makes daily headlines the way conflict does. But, like the swans along the Severn River, it is happening —  steady, tucked in against the cold, enduring.

Look beyond our borders to the bigger global picture of change, and then look closer in, to how hope can be found in the actions of local individuals and communities. The power of yes is also the power of resiliency and getting through the darker times.

Read this article on Newmarket Today.