ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on what the Just Transition means for everyday Canadians as well as the world’s most marginalized groups. In countries like Canada—where a significant amount of individuals’ and the government’s income depends on oil and gas extraction—the conversation invariably ends up at jobs and revenue. Canadians have already witnessed the results of doubling down on the oil and gas sector—a decision made during the Stephen Harper administration and respected by the Trudeau administration. Oil and gas production does contribute substantially to Canada’s economy, but perhaps less than many Canadians would surmise from discourse opining the economic indispensability of the sector. Phasing down production would leave more room for Venezuelan oil to be sold abroad during the global energy transition. Fossil fuel subsidies present one of the most obvious barriers to the energy transition. Exiting fossil fuel production may be politically challenging, but the alternative is unacceptably worse.
