Rural areas are harder hit by climate change. These communities are rising to the challenge
Climate-friendly heating and commuting flagged as difficult for people living in rural parts of Canada
Mike Hole says he wants to be a part of the fight against climate change. But he says it's not so easy for someone living in rural Canada.
"Everywhere you hear about climate change and things that you can do to help slow it down or turn it around, it's always seemed to be from a very city perspective," said Hole, who lives in Boissevain, Man., with a population of around 2,000 people.
"The things they come up with are very easy for somebody in a city to do, but very difficult for people in rural Canada to do."
About 20 per cent of Canadians live in rural and remote parts of the country. And according to a report by the federal government released in 2023, rural Canadians are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Some remote communities rely on ice roads that form only when the temperatures are cold enough, which are at risk from rising temperatures. Many rural and Indigenous communities also rely heavily on agriculture and natural resource industries such as forestry. And forest fires have taken their toll on many rural areas across Canada.
But those challenges also put rural communities on the front lines to tackle some of these pressing issues, and many are finding ways to go above and beyond in the fight against climate change.
Electric vs. gas
One of Hole's challenges is commuting. He has to drive from his home in Boissevain to get to work in Brandon.
"I'd love to be able to ride my bike to work, but, you know, 75 kilometres both ways, it just doesn't work out for me," said Hole.
He says that while electric vehicles may work great in the city, during frigid prairie winters, an electric vehicle's battery doesn't last nearly as long. While Hole says he hopes to get a hybrid for his next vehicle, but he doesn't see a fully electric vehicle as a viable option for him.
He said he worries about what would happen if he were to arrive home from work, low on battery, only to find there's a family emergency.
But Rachel Doran says that, in the long run, investments like electric vehicles can have you "driving on savings." Doran is vice-president of policy and strategy for Clean Energy Canada, a think-tank out of Simon Fraser University.
Every year, her organization calculates the total cost of ownership for electric vehicles, factoring in maintenance, costs of electricity versus gas, upfront costs, and rebates in each province.
"In every pairing we looked at, the electric vehicle came out cheaper over a 10-year lifetime of the vehicle, every single one," said Doran, whose calculations had factored in a federal rebate on EVs that has since ended.
But even if it's a better bang for your buck long term, Hole says the upfront cost can be a barrier for many people in rural areas.
Doran says that's where government needs to step in.
"There's absolutely an important role for governments to really show up and [help] the people who would love to get behind the wheel of an EV but are just finding a few challenges to doing so," said Doran.
She says this can be done through rebates, and improving charging infrastructure in rural areas.
Heating
Hole's challenges aren't limited to transportation. He says when it comes to home heating, his most affordable option is to throw a few more logs on the fire.
"It's cheaper. It's a really nice heat," said Hole. "It's a catch-22 I think, that yeah we're throwing all this wood smoke off into the atmosphere, but when I can save money on my bill, that seems to come first these days."
Brendan Haley at Efficiency Canada, an advocacy group based in Ottawa, says the cost of energy is often higher for people living in rural areas because of higher fixed charges — a set price per month not dependent on usage. That's because it's more expensive to bring energy to remote areas.
"The data on it that we have is that 30 per cent of rural households spend two times more than the average on energy," said Haley.
Haley says that power is also less reliable, as small towns are often at the end of distribution lines, and more densely populated areas are often prioritized for reconnection.
He suggests people in rural areas prioritize making their homes as energy efficient as possible, whether through government programs, additional electrical power from solar panels, or by using a home energy storage system, which can capture electricity from various sources — including the grid in off-peak times — for later use.
Power of community
Haley said he understands that these changes may not be easy or affordable for everyone. But if people pool their resources together, some of those green options become more practical.
"I think it just takes co-ordinating so that you create a larger scale opportunity, and that's all to the better because it means that more people are getting these solutions, not simply one house," said Haley.
The Upper Nicola Band in Douglas Lake, B.C., has done just that. The area holds one of the province's largest electrical substations, so the community got the idea for a solar project that will allow it to sell clean energy back to the grid.
"We had a unique opportunity to take our aspirations around climate change and green energy into real on-the-ground solutions," said Chief Dan Manuel.
A deal has been reached with B.C. Hydro for a solar project that will provide enough electricity to power almost 5,000 homes. Manuel says the band hopes to break ground on the project next year. Revenue from the solar farm will go toward community programs for language preservation, family services, education, and housing.
"We have a lot of social needs, and having the economic benefits of the energy purchase agreement with B.C. Hydro [will provide] us opportunities to fund a lot of those which are chronically underfunded currently," said Manuel.
Heidi Kolodniski says it doesn't take something as ambitious as a big solar project to make a difference. Kolodniski is a town councillor in Bauline, N.L., home to around 500 people.
She says the town's new curbside composting program prevents a third of Bauline's organic waste from being converted into methane, and that's making an impact on the climate and the community.
"There's an old-timer resident in town who doesn't even believe in climate change, and he's down there composting," said Kolodniski. "You change people's behaviour and then you change their minds."
How can government support?
Hole says his community is trying to do the little things. They recycle. People try to walk where they can instead of driving.
But he says more politicians need to visit and spend time in small towns so they can better understand what rural Canadians are dealing with.
"I think both provincial and federal governments should be more accountable," said Hole.
Kolodniski takes it a step further. She says people who live in small towns and rural areas should get involved in politics themselves, as she did.
"Show up to your council meetings, and listen to what they're talking about and the ways that they're making decisions, because one person absolutely can shift a narrative on a council," said Kolodniski.
"I think that needs to happen in a lot of our small towns in Canada."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Audio produced by Rachel Sanders
