Localism Over Globalism Declaration
Canadian sovereignty. Local responsibility. Democratic accountability.
Presented to the people of Canada
Canada is a vast country. The people who live in a community know its land, its needs, and its character. They should have a meaningful say in what their municipality takes on, where it spends public money, and how it protects the places they call home.
International agendas can seem far removed from everyday life. Yet some of the decisions that put them into practice are made at our own council tables. That is where Canadians can act.
How global priorities reach local councils
Canadian municipalities took part in the preparations for the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, where governments adopted Agenda 21. The municipal primer prepared for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) shows how Agenda 21 was intended to reach the local level.
One route into Canadian municipalities is through programs offered by FCM and its partners. Partners for Climate Protection, delivered by FCM and ICLEI Canada, invites municipalities to join voluntarily through a council resolution. A short resolution can begin years of work on emissions targets, action plans, and reporting. A new council may inherit that work without ever having debated the original decision.
Respect provincial authority over municipalities
Section 92(8) of the Constitution Act, 1867 places municipal institutions under provincial legislative authority. KICLEI’s concern is that federal funding conditions can sidestep that division of responsibility in practice. When access to a grant depends on pursuing federal or internationally aligned goals, those conditions can steer local decisions before residents have had a chance to debate the priorities.
Council should review every FCM program its municipality participates in. That includes the Green Municipal Fund, Partners for Climate Protection, and other programs that provide funding, training, or guidance. For each one, council should disclose which federal or international goals are reflected in its criteria, what conditions the municipality accepted, and how those commitments affect local plans, budgets, and staff time.
Municipalities should be able to seek federal support for local needs without having to adopt outside policy priorities to qualify. Residents should be able to see the terms before council decides whether to accept them.
Get back to the work residents elected councils to do
Councils should put the work residents rely on first. Maintain roads and infrastructure, protect drinking water and local waterways, provide reliable services, and prepare for emergencies. Use the authority available under provincial law to protect residents and care for the land and character of the community.
Councils should use their policy and oversight responsibilities under the municipal legislation that governs them to review the programs and policies they inherit. In Ontario, for example, council’s role includes developing and evaluating municipal policies and programs . Ask what each commitment costs, what it requires of staff, and whether it still serves residents and the municipality.
If an outside program diverts money or staff time from core municipal services without a clear local benefit, council should decline it, revise its participation, or withdraw where the terms allow.
Review voluntary emissions targets before spending tax dollars
A past council may have voluntarily adopted a target such as net zero by 2050 or a 40% emissions reduction by 2030. Before spending public money to meet an inherited target, council should ask why it was adopted, what it will cost to achieve, and whether it still serves the community.
We call on councils to reject the use of municipal tax dollars to buy carbon credits or offsets to meet voluntarily adopted targets. Keep that money available for local services and infrastructure. Start by estimating what normal maintenance and scheduled equipment replacement would achieve, including any efficiency gains. Consider additional upgrades where they solve a local problem and justify their full cost.
When property taxes are rising, residents should be able to see how much the municipality spends on discretionary programs and what it could save by scaling them back or leaving them. Councils should distinguish what the law requires, what existing agreements commit them to, and what they can still choose. Before asking residents to pay more, review voluntary spending and put essential municipal services first.
Challenge greenwashing and scrutinize technology purchases
Municipal climate targets can create a market for technology vendors. A sales pitch can make a purchase sound necessary simply because it promises to help meet a target.
From electric vehicles and charging stations to battery energy storage systems (BESS), solar and wind projects, carbon capture plants, and AI data centres, councils should ask who stands to profit and what local problem this would solve.
We call on councils to reject purchases and subsidies driven by marketing claims. Before committing public money, compare the proposal with maintaining, repairing, or replacing what the municipality already uses on its normal schedule. Ask how long the equipment will last, what it will cost to operate and maintain, and whether it can be repaired during its service life or recycled when it wears out.
Councils should also ask whether buying from Canadian suppliers or using Canadian energy sources, including oil and natural gas where practical, would cost residents less and do more to support the Canadian economy.
Municipal spending should serve a clear local need and deliver demonstrable value to residents.
Review what past councils signed up for
A new council can inherit years of commitments from a single joining resolution. Start with the original resolution, the program terms, any funding agreements, and the staff reports that followed.
- Find out what was approved. Identify who authorized the commitment and what it has meant for municipal plans, budgets, and staff time.
- Separate requirements from choices. Ask staff to distinguish what the law requires, what the municipality agreed to, and what remains voluntary.
- Identify what council can change. Ask what can be revised by motion, what can be declined at renewal, and what notice, repayment, or other conditions may apply if the municipality withdraws.
Review inherited commitments in public. Explain why council is keeping, changing, or ending each commitment. Where a program no longer serves residents, consider an alternative designed around local needs.
Put localism into practice
For residents
Share the toolkit and ask your council to review the commitments your municipality has already made.
Find the council email templateFor councillors
Use the toolkit’s audit requests to bring a review forward through your municipality’s established procedures.
Explore the toolkit