Canada says anti-greenwashing law prevents industry from ‘speaking up’

In a new article from The Narwhal, journalist Carl Meyer digs into Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s greenwashing-related decisions in Budget 2025. Wren Montgomery provides an expert opinion throughout.

In defense of the proposed budget, the Canadian government argues that anti-greenwashing legislation enacted in 2024 is having the opposite effect intended and companies are “withholding information that could aid in attracting investment for green innovation.”

A collective of sustainability leaders wrote an open letter opposing this assertion and arguing that renewed greenwashing would be a barrier to genuinely green firms entering the market.

The government notes significant pushback, but Wren Montgomery writes that “the only lawyers I’ve heard complain about it are the lawyers actually working in these corporations.” “So it seems either just that [corporate lawyers] are too thinly spread, and don’t really understand competition law or sustainability reporting very well, or that they’re using it as an excuse.”

Read how the fossil fuel industry has influenced policy and dialogue, and how Canadian business leaders are fighting back.