Comments on the Draft 2026–2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy
Report metadata
- Release date:
As required under the Federal Sustainable Development Act, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development provided comments to the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Nature on the draft 2026–2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.
The Commissioner noted that while the draft strategy continues to advance an integrated approach to sustainable development, Canada has often struggled to achieve its sustainable development commitments. Drawing on observations from our 2025 report Lessons Learned from Canada's Record on Sustainable Development, the Commissioner focused on 6 key areas that could strengthen leadership, accountability, and results across the federal sustainable development framework.
The sections below summarize the Commissioner’s key observations and recommendations. Consult the full letter for additional context and the complete comments on the draft 2026–2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy.
Strengthening leadership and accountability for sustainable development
Implementing the strategy will involve 59 federal organizations, creating a risk of fragmented and uncoordinated efforts. A more strategic government-wide approach could help identify gaps, establish priorities, and strengthen accountability for results.
Recommendation
We recommended strengthening the development of future strategies through a more strategic and coordinated approach that identifies priorities, addresses gaps, and supports the achievement of sustainable development outcomes.
Improving coherence among sustainable development frameworks
The federal government uses several sustainable development frameworks, including the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, the Canadian Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Quality of Life Framework for Canada. Opportunities remain to improve alignment and reporting across these frameworks.
Recommendation
We recommended improving policy coherence by aligning targets and indicators where appropriate, clearly explaining areas that are not aligned, and identifying linkages with related government strategies and initiatives.
Clarifying collaboration and governance arrangements
Many implementation strategies do not clearly identify where collaboration with provinces, territories, Indigenous governments, municipalities, or other partners is required or how these relationships will contribute to achieving results.
Recommendation
We recommended increasing transparency by identifying key partners, clarifying their roles, and explaining how shared responsibilities and progress will be monitored and reported.
Better operationalizing commitments to Indigenous Peoples
The draft strategy references Indigenous leadership, Indigenous Knowledge, treaty rights, and distinctions-based approaches. However, these commitments are not always reflected in measurable targets and indicators.
Recommendation
We recommended strengthening accountability by incorporating measurable targets and indicators where appropriate and increasing the use of distinctions-based approaches and reporting.
Strengthening targets, indicators, and accountability mechanisms
Some targets have measurability issues, while others have been modified in ways that make long-term progress more difficult to assess. Changes from the previous strategy are not always clearly explained.
Recommendation
We recommended ensuring targets are measurable, clearly explaining significant changes from previous strategies, and maintaining transparent reporting on progress over time.
Better integrating sustainable development principles into decision making
The strategy does not clearly explain how key sustainable development principles, including intergenerational equity, will be applied in federal decision making or reflected in performance reporting.
Recommendation
We recommended clearly articulating how sustainable development principles will be integrated into decision-making processes and how results will contribute to outcomes for current and future generations.
Overall conclusion
The draft 2026–2029 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy provides an important framework for advancing sustainable development across the federal government. Addressing the opportunities identified in our comments would help strengthen leadership, improve policy coherence and accountability, and better position the government to achieve meaningful and lasting results for Canadians.