The contested futures of just transition in Canada’s energy sector

Abstract

The Government of Canada’s long-awaited just transition legislation (termed the Sustainable Jobs Act) passed through the House of Commons recently. However, the future of this policy is contested, especially within Alberta’s oil and gas sector. Here, we identify four distinct discourses of just transition based on a textual analysis of public, corporate, and civil society rhetoric. We argue that the Sustainable Jobs Act attempts a strategic political balance by allying with labour and using discursive tactics to simultaneously appease more radical Left and Right perspectives. As a result, it does not substantively support meaningful climate action or climate justice, and leaves Canadian workers at risk of forthcoming global economic shifts.