National environmental education strategy
Petitioners ask the House of Commons to enact a Canadian national strategy for environmental and sustainability education to support educators, community leaders and provincial and municipal governments to enable actions for healthy, sustainable communities. The government responds that it has published an opt-in National Framework, invested in projects and is working to integrate Indigenous Knowledge.
Why we would sign this petition
- Establishes national leadership and coordination to improve environmental literacy across jurisdictions, helping educators and local leaders align efforts and share best practices.
- Explicitly supports educators and community leaders, which can build capacity for teaching complex environmental issues and fostering civic action.
- Recognizes Indigenous Knowledges, promoting inclusion of Indigenous perspectives that enhance ecological understanding and culturally relevant education.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Education is provincially controlled; a federal strategy may have limited authority and could require complex coordination or be resisted by provinces and territories.
- If the strategy is high-level and voluntary it may lack binding measures or sustained funding needed to produce meaningful change.
- Risk of duplicating or overlapping existing provincial and local programs, creating inefficiency rather than clearer support for educators and communities.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following: THAT, WHEREAS given current ecological, social and economic crises, our collective future depends on all levels of government and Canadians to make informed and responsible decisions regarding environment and sustainability matters; WHEREAS we have entered an age whereby human impact is approaching many ecological system boundaries such as fresh water usage, atmospheric pollution, and extinction of species; WHEREAS the current state of environmental education in Canada is inadequate to address these challenges and empower citizens to understand the complexity of the issues and take effective action; WHEREAS the government of Canada should provide coherent national leadership in environmental and sustainability education and recognize the importance of Indigenous Knowledges and practices in the education of Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. THEREFORE, YOUR PETITIONERS call on the House of Commons to take a leadership role in enacting a Canadian strategy that supports educators, communicators, community leaders, as well as provincial and municipal governments to take actions that result in healthy, sustainable, and flourishing human and ecological communities.
Government response
Response by the Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature Signed by The Honourable Julie Dabrusin Environmental education is critical to tackling the environmental challenges Canada is facing today and will face tomorrow. It is an important part of Canada’s international and domestic commitments, including the 2022-2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Canada’s Nature Strategy and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and Action Plan (2023–2028), Canada’s Sustainable Jobs Plan, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Paris Agreement. Canada is actively engaged in the work of Action for Climate Empowerment of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Action for Climate Empowerment emphasizes the importance of education to address the climate crisis and promote sustainability. These obligations are taken very seriously, and Environment and Climate Change Canada recognizes that further action is required to improve climate and environmental education and integrate Indigenous Knowledge. Over the last four years, Environment and Climate Change Canada has been working with partners and stakeholders to advance environmental literacy, including through the development of Canada’s National Framework for Environmental Learning, published on December 8th, 2025. A national consultation took place in 2024 with a focus on youth engagement, and a national forum was co-hosted with partners in 2025. In the national consultation, Canadians called for a holistic and empowering Framework. Indigenous leadership and collaboration were highlighted as important areas for the Framework to address. The Framework is an opt-in guidance resource that is high-level by design, to respect provincial and territorial jurisdictions and recognize the need to adapt it to local contexts. The Framework intends to complement and enhance the notable environmental education work already underway in formal and non-formal education sectors, foster the sharing of best practices, and encourage collective progress while respecting provincial and territorial jurisdiction. Many of the stakeholders that have contributed to this work will be gathering in March 2026 to discuss a new governance structure and the elaboration of Framework benchmarks and indicators. The Government of Canada has invested a total of $55.2 million in 36 projects to support environmental literacy since 2020. Federal Sustainable Development Strategy The Federal Sustainable Development Strategy is the Government of Canada’s main instrument for federal leadership on sustainable development, as mandated by the Federal Sustainable Development Act. The Federal Sustainable Development Strategy is based on a three-year cycle, and sets out the government's sustainable development priorities, goals, targets, and plans to achieve them. All designated entities under the Act are required to develop and table a Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy and report on its progress. These include departmental actions, which are concrete activities that directly contribute to specific implementation strategies in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy. Key principles of the Act are openness and transparency in providing information about sustainable development to support accountability and public engagement as well as the importance of involving Indigenous peoples because of their traditional knowledge and their unique understanding of, and connection to, Canada’s lands and waters. Another key principle is intergenerational equity, which is the principle that it is important to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The 2022-2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy outlines commitments related to environmental education in Goal 4 “Promote Knowledge and Skills” and recognizes that education is a primary driver of progress across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Knowledge and education are also critical to increasing climate literacy and supporting climate action. The Strategy recognizes that provinces and territories are responsible for the education jurisdiction and that the federal government supports quality education and lifelong learning and recognizes the benefits of a well-educated population to the prosperity and well-being of all Canadians. The Government of Canada also contributes to sustainable development knowledge and education by funding research. The Government of Canada recently published the draft 2026-2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, which is currently open for public consultation. The consultation period provides the public, parliamentarians, organizations, Indigenous partners, and other stakeholders, including youth an opportunity to provide input to help strengthen the final Strategy. Feedback received through the consultation process will inform the final Strategy and be considered by federal organizations in the development of Departmental Sustainable Development Strategies. The draft brings together clear goals and 27 targets that reflect government priorities, as well as implementation strategies to achieve them. It provides a balanced view of the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainable development. Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators The Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators program supports the provision ofcoherent national leadership in environmental and sustainability education by publishing reliable and authoritative information on the state of the environment. Reports, graphs, tables and interactive maps and figures are available to the public and easily adaptable for inclusion in educational materials. Indigenous Knowledge Indigenous communities have adapted to environmental change and hold deep knowledge of ecosystems, resource management, and climate adaptation. Environment and Climate Change Canada recognizes the value of Indigenous Knowledge and the department's Indigenous Science Division is working to bridge, braid, and weave Indigenous science alongside western science approaches within Environment and Climate Change Canada policy, programs, and decisions. Through its Open Science Action Plan:2021-2026, Environment and Climate Change Canada is mobilizing knowledge and making its science more transparent, accessible and inclusive, to the benefit of the Canadian public. Through its departmental Policy on Scientific Integrity, Environment and Climate Change Canada recognizes and supports researchers’ and scientists’ freedom of expression on matters of science and research, including their important role in communicating information to the public and their right to speak about their work without approval, pre-approval, or designation as an official spokesperson. Environment and Climate Change Canada also embeds transparency, knowledge mobilization and science communication as core values and foundational supports within its departmental Science Strategy 2024-2029. The Indigenous Science Division within the Science & Technology Branch at Environment and Climate Change Canada is an Indigenous-led division created in January 2022. The Indigenous Science Division was established to create science collaborations between Environment and Climate Change Canada researchers and Indigenous partners, with the mandate to bridge, braid, and weave Indigenous science with Western science approaches to inform and enhance decision-making. The Indigenous Science Division also delivers the Voices of Indigenous Science Speaker Series, a webinar series designed to elevate and amplify the voices of Indigenous scientists, Knowledge Holders, researchers, and practitioners on the topic of Indigenous Science. The series aims to inspire attendees to understand the importance of Indigenous Science, challenge preconceived notions, and create space for new ways of knowing and being in science. Each session welcomes between 150 and 500 attendees from Environment and Climate Change Canada, as well as other federal departments such as Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the National Research Council, Indigenous Services Canada, and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada. Sessions include a one-hour presentation by the guest speaker, followed by 30-minute questions and answers with attendees.