Provincial and Territorial Politics in Canada and Beyond

J16(a) - Contention and Coalitions in Provincial Environmental Politics

Date: Jun 14 | Time: 08:30am to 10:00am | Location: 680 Sherbrooke St. West 395

Chair/Président/Présidente : Heather Millar (University of New Brunswick)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Elizabeth Schwartz (Memorial University)

Canadian environmental politics scholarship has moved beyond its initial focus on international negotiations, federal climate politics, and public opinion to explore the regional politics of energy transitions. How do energy discourses shape and inform climate action at the regional level? How do energy transition pathways vary across provinces? How can we identify and measure new types of carbon lock-in? What are the opportunities for building a strong transition movement in Canada? Drawing on recent theoretical and empirical work on decarbonization pathways, energy discourses, and contentious politics, the papers in this panel explore the empirical nuances of provincial energy transitions in energy, electricity, and transportation sectors.

Framing Our Future: Analyzing Energy Transition Discourses in New Brunswick: Janice Harvey (St. Thomas University), Emma Fackenthall (St. Thomas University), Erin Hurley (St. Thomas University)
Abstract: “…[O]ur systems and processes of communication are at the centre of a struggle over whether we continue with our energy fantasies or begin to tear them down…(Gunster et al, 2018, p. 3). As energy transition discourses compete for space and influence in the public sphere, the assumptions underlying them are typically unexamined, each prefiguring a type of future that is also unexamined yet materially significant. Our research is concerned with transparency which is essential to participatory democratic decision-making about which transition pathway will best meet ecological-climate and social goals. Applying three broad theoretical frameworks - climate capitalism, ecomodernism, and climate justice (after Helker Nygren and Katz-Rosene, 2021), we analyze hegemonic and counter-hegemonic discourses represented in media sources in New Brunswick to reveal i) their embedded assumptions about desired futures; ii) the advocacy coalitions promoting them and their stake in the outcome; and iii) the justice implications of each in terms of the distribution of benefits and risks. This is the first of four studies in the research project Contesting Energy Discourses through Action Research (CEDAR) based at St. Thomas University.

Toward a Blue or Green Future? Provincial hydrogen politics and the decarbonization of the trucking sector in Canada.: Orland Clark (University of New Brunswick), Heather Millar (University of New Brunswick)
Abstract: Canada’s transport sector is the second largest emitting industry in the country, contributing 22% to the country’s overall GHG emissions. Despite substantial uptake of electric passenger vehicles, electrification of long-haul transportation has been slow to unfold, in part due to the challenges of battery weight and cold weather. An emerging solution at both federal and provincial levels has been to invest in the development of hydrogen, a fuel alternative that does not produce GHG emissions during use. Although the production of traditional “grey” hydrogen has been fossil fuel intensive, both “blue hydrogen,” which is generated by natural gas and mitigated through carbon capture and storage, and “green hydrogen” which is produced through electrolysis have the potential to catalyze deep decarbonization. Yet both “blue” and “green” hydrogen technologies also demonstrate potential opportunities for ongoing climate delay: on the one hand, blue hydrogen has the potential to lock-in dependency on natural gas, while the scaling up of green hydrogen depends on the speed of decarbonization in provincial electricity sectors. Drawing on recent studies on the politics of mid-transitions (Bernstein & Hoffmann, 2019; Breetz et al., 2018; Janzwood & Millar, 2022; Rosenbloom, 2017), this paper explores the degree to which blue hydrogen coalitions hinder decarbonization in the transport sector. Using a cross-provincial comparison of hydrogen development in British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec, this study draws on a combination of process tracing, document analysis, and key informant interviews conducted in 2023 and 2024, contributing to a burgeoning literature on Canadian climate delay.