Media Release: For Immediate Release, June 4th, 2026
OTTAWA / TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE — In a deeply disappointing decision, the Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the federal government’s approval of the Bay du Nord offshore oil and gas project, despite serious concerns about impacts on biodiversity.
Gretchen Fitzgerald, Executive Director, Sierra Club Canada said:
"The benefit of this project to the local economy is in doubt – even more so today than when it was approved. Given an expected peak in oil demand around 2030, it is unlikely the project would have a long-term business case. Demand destruction because of the current energy crises could well have moved this peak to before 2029. Bay du Nord would not come online until 2031 at the earliest and needs decades of future demand to be viable. Fatih Birol of the IEA, the world’s leading energy economist, has warned against North Sea oil and gas expansion in the UK as a result. North Sea expansion arguably already faced less financial risk than Bay du Nord, making the latter all the less viable.
“Bay du Nord may have cleared a legal hurdle today — but the fight to protect our future is far from over. The science is clear: there is no room for new oil and gas if we want a safe future. The law must catch up with the entwined climate and biodiversity crisis.
“This loss is not the end. Communities across Canada are rising up, demanding an end to fossil fuel expansion and environmental backsliding, and real protection for the lands, waters, and ecosystems that sustain us.
“We will be considering our options to continue to fight for justice on this project, including whether to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.”
Sierra Club Canada and Mi'gmawe'l Tplu'taqnn Incorporated, represented by lawyers from Ecojustice, had appealed a lower court’s ruling upholding the Minister of Environment and Climate Change’s 2022 approval, arguing that the review process ignored the environmental impacts that shipping the oil could have on Indigenous fishing rights and failed to uphold constitutional consultation duties.
The court’s ruling comes as governments across Canada are dismantling environmental safeguards — from Bill 5 (the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act) that guts species protection in Ontario to the federal government’s recent proposal to gut environmental laws. Canada is doubling down on fossil fuel expansion while biodiversity collapses and climate disasters accelerate.
Bay du Nord would extract up to 1.3 billion barrels of oil, generating 520 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions — equivalent to running 124 coal plants for a year.
The project would also increase oil tanker traffic by 78 trips annually through fragile Atlantic waters — threatening endangered Atlantic salmon, corals, humpback whales, and the waters they inhabit.
The federal government has agreed to subsidize $1 billion in costs for the project, and critics have questioned its supposed benefits, which casts doubt on the project’s viability. Sierra Club Canada is concerned that Bay du Nord could wind up as a stranded asset and would be a bad public investment as a result.
About
Sierra Club Canada Foundation is a national grassroots charity that empowers people to be leaders in protecting, restoring, and enjoying healthy and safe ecosystems. With four regional Chapters and the Sierra Youth Chapter, Sierra Club Canada Foundation works with volunteers and members across the country to advance change in a range of environmental activities that directly benefit both people and the planet. In 2020, in the face of the growing climate and biodiversity crises, we committed to a Decade of Change and achieving wins in the following key areas: championing climate solutions and a rapid transition to clean energy; fighting for environmental and social justice; working to protect and restore nature and endangered species; getting people outside to explore and enjoy the outdoors; and promoting the conservation of resources.
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For interviews please contact:
Gretchen Fitzgerald, Executive Director, Sierra Club Canada
Phone: 902-444-7096
Email: gretchenf@sierraclub.ca
For any other matters please contact:
