What we’re fighting for

A Climate Corps would be a new government program to connect thousands of Albertans to good work fighting climate change and its ongoing impacts. It would tell any person who is ready to pick up a shovel, hammer, or clipboard: “there’s a job for you”.

Our leaders say they care about getting to net-zero, but the timelines they offer get us nowhere close to emissions targets. The current model of action has us relying on private industries with no motivation or capacity for the scale of action needed. Only government action can meet the challenge of the moment where it matters. That means expanding the public sector to fund long-term positions in renewable energy, infrastructure like high-speed rail, land reclamation, ecosystem protection, emergency readiness, and the care work necessary to take care of each other when facing extreme weather.

Alberta’s Climate Corps will:

  1. Create thousands of good, low-carbon union jobs in a new public sector institution with at least $1 Billion per year in initial funding. Good work means union representation, thriving wages, benefits, pension, and direct pathways to apprenticeships or post-secondary programs.

  2. Offer educational grants useable for any level of advanced education or to pay off student debt.

  3. Prioritize the recruitment of local workers, bridging meaningful climate work with sustained benefits in urban, rural, and Indigenous communities. Where needed, the Corps would offer room and board.

  4. Emphasize employment for women, LGBTQ, Black, Indigenous, racialized, immigrant, low-income and disabled communities, who already face higher rates of unemployment. 

  5. Empower Indigenous communities to lead and direct projects while upholding Indigenous rights and sovereignty, with free, prior, and informed consent.  

  6. Create jobs in green industries like care work and stewardship that will sustain our communities in a changing world. From reclamation infrastructure for intercity mass transit, a Climate Corps will bring us closer to a low-carbon future with proven solutions rather than continue propping up fossil fuels with false promises like hydrogen and CCUS. 

  7. Directly employ new and existing workers with diverse skills, including conservation experts; home care, childcare, and eldercare workers to foster community resilience and disaster response; and construction/energy workers who will gain specialized skills in retrofits and green infrastructure.

READY TO JOIN THE CALL?

 FAQs

  • While there are some programs, from Katimavik to several federal subsidies that help offer green jobs, they are almost universally limited by offering limited placements or short work terms. The Climate Corps demands a commitment to green work within a broader strategy for a just transition.

    In the Kootenays, the non-profit Wildsight has run a successful Youth Climate Corps program (who provides many of the photos for this site). The high demand for the program has led to expansion throughout British Columbia. Grown by alumni of the Nelson program, Youth Climate Corps BC is looking to gain similar victories as the AB Climate Corps.

  • Contrary to private subsidies that encourage employers to offer green job placements, the Climate Corps represents the expansion of the public sector. That means collectively paying for the Corps. Here are some ideas of where that money could come from:

    1. Redirecting fossil fuel subsidies. Alberta consistently invests over a billion dollars into oil and gas, money which is better spent in creating a more livable future.

    2. Make polluters pay. In 2022, oil and gas companies delivered record profits, but consistently skipped out on paying taxes to rural communities — accounting for unpaid taxes while increasing royalty rates means public risks equate to public benefits.

    3. Establish a Federal Just Transition Transfer. Despite having 12% of the population, Alberta represents 38% of Canadian emissions. We have the heaviest lifting to do: we should receive a proportional amount of funding to transition quickly and fairly.

    4. Redirect government surpluses. In 2022, Alberta recorded a $12.3-billion surplus, of which some could serve to establish robust social programs like a Climate Corps.