Ontario is a beautiful place to live.

We are lucky to have the lakes, rivers, wetlands, forests and natural beauty we all enjoy, from the Scarborough Bluffs to the Northern Lights. 

One of the reasons I first ran for the Ontario Liberals in 2011 was our record on the environment. Our Liberal government made major progress, leading North America in the fight against the climate crisis. I am proud of our successes, including:

• Phasing out coal plants
• Creating the Greenbelt
• Putting a price on pollution. 

Climate change is an urgent threat. Since elected, the Ford Conservative government has denied and downplayed this threat. Under my leadership, the Ontario Liberals will stand with Ontarians and do our part to protect our planet. We will work with the current government to help change their direction, always looking to do better.

A green Ontario is not only an environmental imperative, it is a massive building block for constructing our future prosperity. I will guide our party and our government to ensure Ontario leads Canada’s transition to the multi-trillion dollar, low-carbon economy, and that we secure the jobs and benefits of diversification and innovation. Already, our country’s green-energy sector is outpacing the rest of our economy, and will generate more than half a million new jobs in the coming decade that we must secure for Ontarians.

I propose the following broad directions and specific measures to shape the Ontario Liberal Party’s environmental agenda. As with other parts of my leadership platform, these principles and ideas must be developed and refined through an inclusive policy process that ensures we listen to grassroots party members and Ontarians.  

A Michael Coteau led Ontario Government will: