Anxious about his plummeting approval rating, Quebec Premier François Legault is shrinking away from one of his strongest positions: Fighting climate change. Earlier this month, Legault’s government announced it will end funding for the Climate Action Barometer (CAB), an annual survey that allows Quebecers to voice their opinions about their municipal, provincial, and federal governments’ environmental policies.
Curtailing this communication channel removes agency from a populace that has been clamouring for climate action. Meanwhile, Legault has hinted at more potential rollbacks—such as cutting the gasoline tax—at a time when climate action policies need to be front and centre.
Annual average surface temperatures are rapidly rising, and the frequency of extreme weather events is increasing. Tropical storm Debby was a brutal reminder of this for Quebecers. In 2024, the freak inland tropical storm killed an elderly man and became the costliest weather event in the province’s history.
By ending the democratic outlet that the CAB provided, Legault alienates his constituents. Most CAB respondents support climate action; in response, he chooses to throw the survey out. This is not just a poor policy choice—Legault is silencing a mechanism that allows citizens to hold their government accountable.
However, it does not have to be this way. Working with Quebecers to implement climate action is a ripe opportunity for Legault to regain some of the public faith he has lost, and it is imperative in the context of rampant global warming.
One of the shining stars of the Legault government has been its energy in fighting climate change. Thanks to his government’s investments, Quebecers around the province—from pilots-in-training in Gatineau to CEGEP teachers in Montreal—have tested commuting on electric bicycles through Equiterre’s Velovolt Program.
Last year, the Fonds d’action québécois pour le développement durable (FAQDD) provided $1.5 million CAD to support thousands of farmers in a collaborative project called Agriclimat, which helps farmers adapt to climate change and modify their farming techniques to lower carbon emissions.
This progress has sparked international acclaim, notably for Quebec’s hydroelectric power system and research on circular economies of reuse.
If battling climate change has been such a bright spot for Legault, then why is he retreating from it?
The answer is affordability. He wants to recoup his losses in favourability with Quebec residents who are frustrated by his spending mistakes, like the $1.1 billion CAD spent on the well-over-budget SAAQclic project, and the $500 million CAD spent on the never-built Northvolt factory. In response, Legault is attempting to make a big deal of cutting the CAB, which costs one five-thousandth the cost of that nonexistent Northvolt factory. This is a mistake—for Legault and for the environment whose preservation he is choosing to neglect.
Counter to Legault’s rhetoric about affordability, cuts in environmental programs, such as the CAB, do not rest on sound economic logic.
Taking public transportation costs half as much as driving, and biking costs only one-seventh the cost of driving. Quebecers’ electricity bills are the cheapest in the nation—and it is not close. Environmentally-friendly options are often cheaper for individuals than high-emission ones, so building up eco-friendly options would make life more affordable for everyday people.
The strong support for climate action shown in the CAB study results should—and still could—be great news for François Legault. His government has a track record of delivering on community-focused environmental projects, so he should capitalize on this opportunity to further Quebecers’ climate priorities.
Quebec has worked hard to integrate clean energy and multimodal transportation, making many everyday necessities more affordable for residents while fighting for our planet.
Legault must not turn his back on his own progress. Defunding the CAB is detrimental to his party, his constituents, and the democratic process in which they participate, not to mention the environment as a whole, which is deteriorating and in need of swift action. Legault should play to his strengths and continue to set the pace for clean energy, sustainability, and public engagement in climate action.