Transportation Shift is a project of the Green Resilience Project (GRP) led by Energy Mix Productions. The project took place between April 2023 – March 2024. Energy Mix Productions is a community news organisation committed to faster, deeper carbon cuts and is the co-lead of the GRP, which began as a series of community conversations hosted in 2021-22 on climate change, income insecurity and community resilience. A key takeaway of the GRP conversations is that climate change and income insecurity are deeply connected and their impacts are being felt across the country. There is an urgent need for bold policy that stands at the intersection of these issues.
In Phase One of GRP, we heard repeatedly that transportation needs are not being equitably met across Canada. The consequences of this can range from isolation, financial hardship, or significant loss of personal time, to the inability to remain living in a community or particular location. We also heard that transportation can be redesigned to be more affordable and accessible and produce fewer emissions.
Transportation Shift is a series of community conversations that focused on how communities’ transportation needs are being met, what’s missing, what could be better, and how these needs interact with the transition to electric vehicles or electric mobility solutions, like e-bikes. We defined ‘community’ by geography, or it could be a community of people connected by culture, health, economic status, livelihood, identity, faith, or other factors.
Why Now?
Climate change is already having financial and physical impacts on communities across Canada, and it’s by no means the only challenge we’re facing: we’re also seeing high cost of living, suppressed wages, failing social systems, and increasing gaps between rich and poor. These challenges can cause a lot of concern about what our lives are going to look like as our community continues to change.
Electric vehicles are being promoted across Canada as a tool to help address climate change by reducing vehicle emissions. The federal government has mandated that all new light-duty cars and passenger trucks sold in Canada after 2035 be zero emissions. However, the people most affected by climate change are often least able to participate in solutions like this, due to systemic barriers.
Transportation Shift offered an opportunity for community members to discuss their transportation needs and gaps, and solutions that meet the needs of everyone in the community.
This project was funded in part by Natural Resources Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative. We are also grateful for Iron & Earth’s additional support to Transportation Shift conversations.
While the funded portion of Transportation Shift has concluded (for now!), we encourage you to consider hosting a conversation in your own community. We have made our Transportation Shift conversation materials publicly available. These include a conversation planning guide, general tips, and a backgrounder on ZEV’s in Canada (prepared in 2023).
The Transportation Shift conversation toolkit is available here.
The Transportation Shift 2024 Final Report is available here.
To learn more, please visit our Transportation Shift FAQ.
