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Some Islanders are raising concerns that federal budget cuts to climate-related programs could have serious consequences for Prince Edward Island.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s first federal budget outlined how dozens of government departments plan to rein in spending \u2014 including the Department of Environment and Climate Change \u2014 which will end some small-lease agreements, cut external training contracts, and slash activities and programs that aren’t within its core mandate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Natural Resources Canada is also planning to wind down several programs, including the Canada Greener Homes Grant and the 2 Billion Trees program.<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall from a climate perspective, the budget was very disappointing to me,\u201d said Jill MacIntyre, a national climate justice organizer based in Charlottetown.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said her disappointment stems from this budget\u2019s heavy investments in natural gas, cutting of the proposed emissions cap, and more investments in fossil fuels and \u201cfalse climate solutions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Prime](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764522233_331_default.jpg\")
Mark Carney’s first federal budget outlined how dozens of government departments plan to rein in spending \u2013 including the Department of Environment and Climate Change \u2013 which will end some small-lease agreements, cut external training contracts, and slash activities and programs that aren’t within its core mandate.
\n (The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n
MacIntyre also pointed to many climate-related programs that were cut or reduced that had a big impact on the day-to-day lives of Canadians, like the Greener Homes program, which provided loans and grants to help people retrofit their homes and make more energy efficient upgrades, like installing heat pumps.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re just sunsetting that program even though it\u2019s been quite successful for the entire time it\u2019s been running,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Steve Howard, a former Green Party MLA who owns a renewable energy installation and sales company in Summerside, agreed and said he\u2019s disappointed to see how the federal government\u2019s climate priorities seem to have shifted in this budget.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764522234_937_default.jpg\")
‘It\u2019s a major responsibility of our political leaders to really be galvanizing support for climate action,’ says Jill MacIntyre, a national climate justice organizer based in Charlottetown.<\/p>\n
(Submitted by Jill MacIntyre)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been quite disappointing to see some things that were quite popular be cut out of the budget, and some things that probably work completely against the climate change agenda added to the major prioritized projects,\u201d said Howard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe seem to be prioritizing large-scale capital projects, very localized projects, rather than some programs that were in place that perhaps more typical Canadians would have taken advantage of across the country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Galvanizing support for climate action\u2019<\/p>\n
Howard said cuts to programs like the Greener Homes program mean for a lot of Islanders, making more energy efficient upgrades to their homes will be out of reach. He said the cuts will also have an impact on Island companies \u2014 including his own \u2014 that provide renewable energy installation services.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we have Islanders, or Canadians, wanting to make these changes we should be doing everything we can to encourage them to do so.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
MacIntyre said that encouragement is particularly important for places like P.E.I., which will be among the first to experience and live with the effects of climate change.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a major responsibility of our political leaders to really be galvanizing support for climate action because it is, you know, for the greater good\u2026 we\u2019re on an Island \u2014 a low-lying Island \u2014 we\u2019re very vulnerable to climate change,\u201d MacIntyre said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s a responsibility there to be stewarding us toward climate action.\u201d<\/p>\n
MacIntyre said she\u2019s even more disappointed to see the federal government actively investing in the fossil fuel industry, like Ottawa\u2019s recent agreement with the Alberta government <\/a>for a new energy deal, which includes support for a new pipeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n CBC News has learned that Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have agreed to the broad outlines of a memorandum of understanding that would give Alberta special exemptions from federal environmental laws and offer political support to a new oil pipeline to the B.C. coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n That deal is set to be formally announced on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s honestly just so heartbreaking because it feels like, you know, as a climate organizer these are fights we\u2019ve been fighting for decades and it felt like we had some big wins and it felt like, circa 2019, we were having some momentum and people were really on board,” MacIntyre said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe absolute fact is that a climate-just future is not possible if we\u2019re continually building more pipelines.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But there are some lines in the federal budget that MacIntyre and Howard were happy to see, including the commitment to keep industrial carbon pricing.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764522234_976_default.jpg\")
‘It\u2019s been quite disappointing to see some things that were quite popular be cut out of the budget and some things that probably work completely against the climate change agenda added,’ says Steven Howard, a former Green Party MLA who owns a renewable energy installation and sales company in Summerside.
\n (Zoom)<\/p>\n