Keyword Economics

Winter is central to the Canadian prairie identity. It’s the defining season for a people whose common enemy is also their strength. The long cold snowy winter is also important to economies and ecosystems. And that winter is changing. Set to the backdrop of the Nestaweya River Trail, one of Canada’s longest skating trails, resilient settlers and newcomers alike talk about adapting to a world where the joys of the season are shrinking and what that will mean for future generations.

Like many Métis communities, hunting, trapping, and fishing are a way of life for the people of St. Laurent. But with climate change making winters shorter and ice less reliable, their season for ice fishing is shrinking, disrupting their land use and livelihoods. These Métis experiences demonstrate that both climate and culture are changing along the shores of Lake Manitoba.

In oil-rich Oxbow, Saskatchewan, 101-year-old retired farmer, Frank Cushon has been watching the weather. He says it’s been warming and farmers have to adapt. Observing how soil and crops are affected by conventional farming practices and the variable weather, Frank’s son Ian has converted 4400 cultivated acres to organic on their third-generation family farm. They’re continually learning to improve farming practices and find ways to use less fossil fuels. The Cushon’s goal is to reduce their impact to keep the land sustainable for many more generations.

Aquaculture is just one of the ways that the Magdalen Islands’ residents make a living off the sea. Lisandre Solomon of the Merinov research centre explains how climate change is jeopardizing aquaculture, affecting species like oysters and scallops. But through research and development, Merinov is helping islanders adapt and move towards a sustainable future.

In Quebec’s remote Magdalen Islands, waste is responsible for a lot of fossil fuel emissions. The Matériauthèque is trying to change that. This innovative social enterprise project recuperates and promotes usable building materials to prevent them from going to the landfill. Join Mayka Thibodeau, from the Centre de recherche sur les milieux insulaires et maritimes (CERMIM), as she gives us a tour.

Fishing and hunting are not only a major part of the economy for the Magdalen Islands- they’re a way of life. But global warming is causing major changes on the islands, from coastal erosion to worsening storms, species distributions in the sea, and more. We met with three local fishermen and hunters, who told us about the changes they’re seeing firsthand, and how they’re adapting.

Featuring members of the Canadian Institute of Planners (CIP), this video showcases how the planning profession is at the forefront of developing policy, capacity, and climate resilience within communities and environments across the country.

Canada’s forests are some of the largest in the world. They have enormous economic, cultural, environmental, and recreational value for Canadians of all walks of life. [1]

Livestock producers Troy Stozek and Don McIntyre – both from southwestern Manitoba – are on the frontlines of farming carbon. By practicing rotational grazing, they’re able to raise more cattle on less land, and in doing so they’re restoring the soil and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere at the same time. Their stories and farming practices show that animal agriculture can be an important part of the climate solution.

Darrin Qualman is a writer and researcher – with extensive farming experience – and who has been doing some long-term thinking about agriculture, climate change and energy systems. Given the large-scale and costly use of nitrogen fertilizer, fossil fuels and other inputs in agriculture, he has determined that it takes about 13.3 calories to make every calorie we eat. For Qualman, the solutions to climate change and the farm income crisis is to shift away from high-input, high-energy agriculture.