MEDIA RELEASE: We have been here before

We Have Been Here Before
Canada’s Sovereignty and the Clean Energy Transition

For Immediate Release: March 4, 2025
Media Contact: Cathy Orlando, 705-929-4043 cathy@citizensclimate.org

(Sudbury) After decades of free trade and more than two centuries of peaceful relations, U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on Canadian industries as of March 4. Since his election, he has also intensified inflammatory rhetoric regarding Canadian sovereignty, raising concerns about the future of cross-border relations. 

To paraphrase Marcus Aurelius (121–180 CE), the last great emperor of Rome and a father of Stoicism: “We have been here before”.

Throughout history, empires that failed to adapt to our ever changing world crumbled. Marcus Aurelius led with wisdom through the Antonine Plague and wars, but very soon after his reign, internal strife hastened Rome’s decline. 

Similarly, resistance to change has long delayed progress. For example, the UK taxpayer was still paying off compensation to slave owners as recently as 2015—nearly two centuries after slavery was abolished in 1835. Not a penny was paid to those who were enslaved and brutalized. Today, we see echoes of this resistance in the energy transition, where entrenched interests fight to delay necessary progress toward a sustainable future.

“Canada has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead the clean energy transition—but progress always faces resistance,” says Cathy Orlando, National Director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada. “The shift from fossil fuels is inevitable, and Canada has the policies to lead. Now, we must stand on guard and ensure we seize this moment.”

Some of those who have profited from fossil fuels for decades are using every tool at their disposal—from lobbying to misinformation—to delay the inevitable decline of their industry. This includes the fossil fuel industry and their political enablers spending over a million dollars on Meta platforms on misinformation about Canada’s fossil fuel pollution pricing policy.

Canada has faced external pressure from the USA before. In 1959, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker canceled the Avro Arrow, a world-class supersonic aircraft, abruptly ending Canada’s leadership in aerospace. While the official reasons cited high costs and shifting military priorities, many believe U.S. influence played a role in steering Canada toward reliance on American-made military technology.

After a decade of building policies to secure a clean energy future, Canada now faces targeted interference from those who would rather keep it tethered to outdated, polluting systems. 

In January 2025, the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, an interdisciplinary research hub at McGill University, released its report, Climate Obstruction: On the State and Spread of Climate Disinformation in Canada. Its key conclusions were that disinformation on social media is downplaying the threats of climate change and delaying clean energy solutions.

Also in January, in the Public Inquiry into Foreign interference, uncovered that many foreign entities are now attempting to interfere in our democracy by engaging in disinformation on social networks, fostering distrust, creating division, and preventing compromise in a way that poses an even greater threat to democracy than ever previously imagined. In light of this news, MP Charlie Angus and many others, including Citizens’ Climate Lobby, have been demanding an investigation into algorithmic manipulation by Elon Musk and right-wing influencers. Canadians are so alarmed, over 360,000 Canadians have signed an official parliamentary e-petition to revoke Musk’s dual citizenship. 

Whether through trade barriers, disinformation campaigns or social media manipulation, these efforts seek to undermine Canada’s economic sovereignty and stall its leadership in the global clean energy transition. 

Canadians must recognize these tactics as attempts to stall progress toward a clean energy future. Now, more than ever, vigilance is essential. To safeguard Canada’s future, citizens must:

• Seek facts beyond social media. Disinformation is rampant and has been identified as a threat to democracy. Canadians must rely on trusted sources, reject Meta, Twitter, and YouTube as news sources, and support journalism regulated by national standards.
• Understand the economic shift. A just transition is within reach—and united as a country we can make it happen.
• Engage politically. Demand that leaders prioritize policies that strengthen our democracy and enact energy and climate policies that benefit all Canadians.

To support informed voting in the next federal election, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada has produced a booklet explaining Canada’s energy transition and the policies shaping our future. Download the booklet here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DpXBZDaNh9ySGywoEOwZZNGrSeSOlL6SAZvmaZh2T18/edit?usp=sharing

We are heartened by the many Canadians who are standing on guard for Canada and are reminded of another quote by Marcus Aurelius:  “What stands in the way becomes the way.”

-4o