Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat | February 18, 2025 — Amid concerns about rising misinformation, disinformation and corporate influence, a new report by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and For Our Kids with support from the Raffi Foundation for Child Honouring reveals that oil and gas companies have funded and supplied misleading climate education to children across Canada.
“Polluting Education: The Influence of Fossil Fuels on Children’s Education in Canada” documents the fossil fuel industry’s extensive influence on climate education for elementary and secondary school students. At least 39 oil and gas companies and 12 industry-tied organizations, including Shell, TC Energy and Pathways Alliance, are involved in climate education, either by supplying education materials directly to schools, through government partnerships, or funding third-party nonprofit providers of such materials. The reach of these programs extends to every province in Canada.
The report finds that industry-supported materials routinely downplay the fossil fuel industry’s role in climate change (responsible for >75% of climate-heating greenhouse gas emissions), while they exaggerate fossil fuel companies’ pro-environmental actions, oversell technical fixes to climate change, and emphasize consumer responsibility and modest individual behaviour change. Examples of fossil fuel industry influence in education across Canada include:
- Inside Education is funded by multiple oil and gas companies including BP, Cenovus Energy, Enbridge, and Suncor. The non-profit produces curricular materials such as “Oil Sands Field Trip” and runs initiatives such as Generate, a fully-funded, four-day “climate and energy education” summit for high school students, including free meals, accommodation, and a travel subsidy. Inside Education’s programming reached nearly 25,000 students across Canada in 2023, down from 32,500 students in 2019.
- SEEDS Connections, Let’s Talk Science and Earth Rangers each provide national education programming and are funded by multiple fossil fuel companies. SEEDS had a film called “The Amazing Athabasca Oil Sands” created, and promoted this to teachers as an educational resource.
- In British Columbia, FortisBC’s “Energy Leaders” program was downloaded over 35,500 times by teachers and parents before being removed in 2022 following public pressure led by CAPE. The program’s materials consistently downplayed or completely omitted information about climate change impacts, fracking dangers, and indoor air pollution from gas appliances. FortisBC now funds a new program called “Live It Earth”.
- In Alberta, the government enlisted Suncor Energy and Syncrude to partner on the creation of its 2014 curriculum for Kindergarten to Grade 3, and Cenovus to partner on developing the curriculum for Grades 4–12.
- In Saskatchewan, a new 100-hour oil and gas high school course was created in partnership with Teine Energy.
- In Ontario, Imperial Oil partnered with Forests Canada on information sessions about the importance of tree planting to high school students living near its Sarnia oil refinery.
- In Quebec, Énergir sponsored the Carbon Scol’ÈRE program, which teaches children how to reduce their own carbon footprint while ignoring industry’s role.
Experts have identified education as key to avoiding the most severe impacts of climate change. Children are especially vulnerable to climate impacts, with greater exposure to air, food, and water pollution per unit of body weight than adults. Youth in Canada also face mounting climate anxiety, with 3 in 4 (78%) reporting that concern about climate change affects their mental health. Experts point to the importance of evidence-based climate change education that accurately describes the problem, addresses mental health concerns and climate anxiety, and equips youth with the knowledge and skills required to build a more just, sustainable, and low-carbon future.
The report identifies a gap in government funding for climate education, leaving schools dependent on corporate-funded and sponsored materials and programs. It calls for federal and provincial governments, school boards and educators to take immediate action to remove fossil fuel industry influence from schools in Canada and implement comprehensive, science-based climate education across all provinces and territories. There is extensive documentation about the fossil fuel industry’s actions to mislead the public and policy-makers about climate change, stretching over decades.
Quotes:
- “In the face of the accelerating climate crisis, young people are understandably anxious about their futures. They need—and are calling for—climate change education that addresses the causes and impacts of climate change and equips them with the knowledge and skills to take collective action to advance the equitable transition off fossil fuels. This is a matter of urgency—but unfortunately, right at this critical moment, we are seeing that fossil fuel involvement in education is working to limit students’ understanding of causes and impacts and the solutions needed to secure a liveable future. We need to do better,” said Anne Keary, For Our Kids Toronto and report co-author.
- “An industry with such a clear conflict of interest should not be funding education. As a physician and a mother, I am appalled by the fossil fuel industry’s efforts to mislead our children, who are particularly endangered by both disinformation and the health impacts of climate change. Kids need education based in reality, not industry propaganda designed to prolong fossil fuels for corporate gain. Let this be our wake-up call,” said Dr. Melissa Lem, a family physician and President of CAPE.
- “When climate change does enter the classroom, the curriculum in Canada has been tainted by the fossil fuel companies that sponsor it. They manipulate teaching materials to try and mold perceptions of oil, coal, and gas for their benefit, at a time when we clearly must phase out fossil fuels so our children can have a chance at a safe and secure life. We must call this out for what it is: shameful,” said Raffi, well-known children’s musician, and Britt Wray, climate researcher and author of Generation Dread.
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Resources:
“Polluting Education: The Influence of Fossil Fuels on Children’s Education in Canada” full report
For media inquiries:
Reykia Fick, Communications Director | Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
647-762-9168, media@cape.ca