Top court asked to reopen climate case after Ontario scraps emissions target law
Written by The Canadian Press on February 3, 2026
TORONTO — Young activists behind a legal challenge of Ontario’s climate plan are set to ask the province’s highest court to revive their case.
Premier Doug Ford’s government put the case in limbo late last year when it gutted its own climate legislation days before it was to answer for its weakened 2018 emissions target in court.
Courts had previously found the gap between that target and what’s required to help avoid severe climate impacts was large and without any apparent scientific basis.
The premier’s office cited U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty in November when the government repealed the legal requirement to set an emissions-reduction target and routinely update its climate plan.
That law was a basis for the youth-led challenge and the move to repeal it was seen by some legal experts as Ontario’s attempt to dodge accountability.
Now, a lawyer for the climate activists says the Appeal Court should revisit the case and ensure a final decision is made on whether Ontario’s climate plan violates the Charter.
“We’re in a climate emergency and it’s in the interest of justice not to turn away when the government takes these kind of cynical last-minute steps to avoid accountability,” said lawyer Fraser Thomson with the environmental law charity Ecojustice.
The Canadian Press has requested a comment from the province.
Ontario’s top court is expected to decide whether to reopen the case once written arguments from both sides are filed by April.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2026.
Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press