Policy plays a crucial role in advancing the circular economy, creating the enabling conditions for systemic change, innovation, and collaboration. Cities and governments are increasingly recognizing the economic, environmental, and social benefits of transitioning to a more circular model—one that minimizes waste, optimizes resource use, and prioritizes reuse, repair, and regeneration.
Policy can be both strategic and broad in nature, or more focused and targeted. As one example of strategic policy effort in Canada, the City of Montreal released its first-ever Circular Economy Roadmap earlier this year, a milestone policy framework that reflects the city’s commitment to fostering circularity as a key pillar linked to many of its existing socio-economic and environmental priorities. Montreal’s Roadmap looks at value chains holistically and identifies opportunities to improve circular performance. This approach aligns with broader efforts, including the Province of Quebec’s Circular Economy Roadmap. To implement its vision, Montreal is developing an action plan that will focus on boosting the ecosystem’s transition and building on the progress already made.
At the federal level, Canada’s work on Right to Repair marks another critical area of opportunity where policy could support circular economy efforts and investments, following in the footsteps of Europe’s progress in repairability and durability standards. As part of a broader consultation process, the Federal Government has been exploring how Right to Repair policies for home appliances and consumer electronics could empower consumers, reduce waste, and strengthen the repair ecosystem creating local jobs—all while considering key issues, such as health and safety, intellectual property, and access to spare parts, as well as skilled labour. A well-developed repair ecosystem, supported by clear policies, could help improve access to affordable products and services.
Related to supportive policy as a critical enabler, Circular Economy Leadership Canada recently launched a Government-to-Government (G2G) Circular Economy Policy Incubator. This potentially transformative, multi-year initiative is designed to support a strategic, harmonized approach to developing policy that accelerates circular economy efforts in Canada. You can learn more about this initiative by checking out this blog post.
By fostering supportive ecosystems, setting ambitious goals, and learning from global examples, Canada can accelerate its transition to a circular economy—unlocking economic opportunities, reducing waste, and building a more sustainable future for all.
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