The transportation sector was the second largest source of Canadian greenhouse gas emissions in 2016. From 2005 to 2016, transportation sector emissions grew about 6.8 percent, largely driven by passenger trucks and freight trucks. To change this trajectory, a number of provincial policies and incentives to reduce emission in the transportation sector have been put in place, including: vehicle emission standards and higher fuel efficiency standards, standards for cleaner fuels, and goals for deploying more zero emission vehicles.

In addition in December 2017, the federal government of Canada published a regulatory framework for its own clean fuel standard with the aim of reducing emissions 30 metric megatons by 2030. The federal approach builds on the work of five provinces — Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan — that already have renewable fuel mandates equal or greater than the current federal requirements.