Ottawa releases plan to slash methane pollution, as new footage shows the extent of the problem
Sources tell CBC News that new regulations were delayed since March
The federal government announced Tuesday new regulations to tackle one of the most potent forms of climate pollution: methane from the oil and gas industry.
The announcement comes as an environmental group releases new footage that shows the extent of of the problem in Alberta while Ottawa softens its approach in that province.
The regulations, which sources say come after months of delays, contain significant emission reductions but offer more leeway to oil and gas producers after many complained the draft proposal by the Trudeau government was too strict.
Since becoming prime minister, Mark Carney has surprised some environmentalists by stripping away key planks of Canada’s climate policy and backing a potential pipeline to the Pacific coast.
Tuesday’s announcement is the Carney government's first major one where it is adding a climate policy, instead of removing one.
However, sources tell CBC News that new methane regulations were ready to roll out as early as nine months ago.
Dabrusin did not deny the methane regulations were delayed and suggested they were ready at a time when Liberals were electing a new leader and Canadians were about to go to the polls.
CBC News is not naming the sources because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
Alberta gets more time
The federal government is also giving the Alberta government more time to comply. A memorandum of understanding that the two levels of government signed in November gives Alberta until 2035 instead of 2030 to meet the methane targets.
Because of this, some experts are calling the regulations a step forward in one sense, but a step backward in another.
"The effectiveness of these regulations will be undercut by this delay in Alberta," said Amanda Bryant, a senior analyst at Calgary-based energy think-tank the Pembina Institute.
"I will actually push back on the idea that today is about dilly-dallying," Dabrusin said when asked about the Alberta exception. "Today is the day when we put into action regulations that are going to reduce methane emissions across the country."
In a statement the Alberta government said it will sign a side deal with Ottawa instead of negotiating what's known in technical terms as an equivalency agreement.
Methane pollution mostly comes from fossil fuel extraction and production, often through accidental leaks or intentional releases. Some facilities burn off excess natural gas — which has methane as its primary component — through a practice known as flaring instead of capturing the valuable fuel.
But the climate-warming impact of releasing methane into the atmosphere is enormous. Its global warming potential is more than 80 times that of carbon dioxide.
The new regulations ban those releases, also known as "venting," and "establishes an inspection schedule to find leaks and repair them," according to an advance copy of the announcement.
Operators have another compliance option. They can design their own approaches, providing a facility meets "methane intensity thresholds" that are on par with standards from "leading international voluntary certification programs."
Fossil fuel companies, like MEG Energy, argued the Trudeau government's proposed regulations were "excessively prescriptive" and called for more flexibility.
One industry group said it is still not happy with the final regulations.
"We're disappointed today," said Paul Cheliak, a vice-president with the Canadian Gas Association. "We're not seeing eye-to-eye on the costs … and these costs will be passed on to the consumer."
The association said it estimates the regulations will cost industry around $3,000 per tonne to implement — largely from monitoring and detecting methane leaks.
The government states its analysis shows these new regulations are expected to reduce oil and gas production growth by an estimated 0.2 per cent between 2025 and 2035. But in terms of greenhouse gas emissions reductions, the policy is expected to slash 304 million tonnes.
Health impacts of natural gas leaks
Aside from its planet warming impacts, methane is harmless to humans. But natural gas also contains hazardous compounds like ethane, propane and butane.
"Those are complex chemicals that have been implicated in such things as cancers in humans," said Dr. Joe Vipond, an emergency physician in Calgary who works with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.
The government says the regulations are "expected to result in fewer premature deaths, reduce symptoms among asthmatics and prevent crop losses due to ozone damage."
Aside from cleaner air, conserving natural gas instead of wasting it could provide enough fuel to heat over 11 million Canadian homes for a year, according to government estimates.
The federal government is also releasing new measures for landfills.
Methane from food, paper and other organic waste in garbage dumps will now, in some cases, have to be monitored and captured.
Between 2026 and 2040, the landfill regulations are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100 million tonnes.
Climate targets in question
According to an analysis by the Canadian Climate Institute Canada, won’t meet its 2030 climate targets and it would be lucky if it eliminates half the pollution it pledged to achieve. The analysis cited the government's decision to roll back some Trudeau-era environmental regulations.
"I mean it's really inexplicable. Here we have a methane pollution problem," said Thomas Green, the senior manager of climate solutions at the David Suzuki Foundation, about the government's decision to delay rolling out the new methane rules.
The foundation has surveyed oil and gas sites in Alberta and Saskatchewan with the help of a specialized camera that can detect methane emissions, which are invisible to the naked eye.
Visiting the same locations in both 2022 and 2025, the environmental group said it found the problem has gotten worse.
"In some cases, we see large volumes moving across the scene and across the landscape and heading towards farms or communities, and that's very concerning for us given, you know, how the methane brings with it other volatile organic compounds that have health impacts," Green said.
Corrections
- A previous version of this story said Canada is on track to achieve its climate targets. In fact, projections data shows it is not.Dec 16, 2025 10:28 AM EST
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