Coal ban? What coal ban? Canada broke promise to end thermal coal exports

In a scathing report tabled Thursday on behalf of the Auditor General of Canada, a federal climate watchdog says Ottawa effectively broke its promise to ban thermal coal exports more than a year ago — but never told anyone. 

Five years ago, the federal government announced it would ban thermal coal exports by 2030, referring to the type of coal burned in power plants to generate electricity. The government set up a series of initiatives to help meet that goal, including co-chairing the international Powering Past Coal Alliance, and earmarking $1 billion to help countries transition off coal-fired electricity. 

But in 2025, as part of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government-wide review of spending, that work was quietly shut down but was not publicly communicated. 

“I don't remember a time in the past 20 years where I’ve seen work stop like that,” Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes said.

That year, thermal exports remained higher than in 2021, when the promise was first made.  

The audit found Westshore Terminals and Trigon Pacific Terminals, the two ports in British Columbia that thermal coal is shipped from, lobbied Environment and Climate Change Canada and other senior officials while the ban was under development. 

The findings are detailed in a new report from the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Jerry DeMarco, on behalf of the Auditor General of Canada. The audit examined the government’s commitment to end thermal coal exports, and concluded that not only did Environment and Climate Change Canada fail to tell the public that it had ended the program, it also did not share information with Global Affairs Canada, affected parties or Indigenous communities. 

The audit also says it could not find any “clear records” that Environment and Climate Change Canada ever filled Minister Julie Dabrusin in on the change. It does not say whether she ever requested the project be reassessed.

In a statement to Canada’s National Observer, Dabrusin’s office did not say why the decision to stop work on the ban was never communicated, or if she ever requested an assessment from the department on the implications of ending the work. 

“In 2024, the previous government paused efforts to implement the thermal coal export ban,” spokesperson Keean Nembhard said. “Canada's new government is assessing current policies against the backdrop of ongoing energy availability, affordability, security pressures, and Canada’s wider climate ambitions.”

Dabrusin has sat as a Liberal MP since 2015, but was first appointed as the environment minister by Carney in 2025.

The audit recommended Global Affairs Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada should better coordinate their work, publicly communicate decisions, and publicly report on lessons learned. The departments said they agree and would commit to doing so. 

Over the past decade, exports of thermal coal have increased, reaching a peak in 2023. Last year, about 61 per cent of the thermal coal exported from Canada originated in the US. It was passed through Canadian ports because of export restrictions in Washington, Oregon and California that had been put in place over environmental and safety concerns. 

Burning coal to generate electricity releases a massive amount of climate pollution. According to the International Energy Agency, nearly a third of global carbon dioxide emissions come from burning coal for power, representing the largest source of energy-related emissions. 

According to the Lancet Countdown, in 2022, emissions from burning coal in power plants were responsible for more than 600,000 premature deaths worldwide. For emissions to drop in line with the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement would require global coal use to drop to 80 per cent below 2010 levels by 2030, according to a study from Climate Analytics. 

“This report confirms how the federal government is failing Canadians and the world through its inaction on thermal coal,” said Candela Cerpa, a climate organizer with Stand.earth, in a statement. “The Canadian federal government claimed they heard us, but that claim is worthless if it isn’t followed by action.”

In a statement, Ecojustice lawyer Fraser Thomson called the report a wake-up call. 

“Largely driven by US thermal coal, exports out of the Port of Vancouver have more than doubled over the past decade,” he said. 

“As we continue to act as a pollution corridor for US thermal coal and shipping our own, we are contributing to climate trends — like Canada warming at twice the global average rate and northern Canada warming at three times the global average rate.”