Canada's two largest cities are cracking down on fossil fuel ads

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Montreal and Toronto have both taken steps to limit advertising for oil and gas on their subways, buses and streetcars. And this week, Toronto city council passed a motion to restrict fossil fuel advertising on city property.

Melissa Lem, president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), called Toronto's decision Thursday a "landmark win."

"This bold move signals the end of unchecked fossil fuel advertising and positions Toronto at the forefront of a global shift," said Lem, a family doctor in Vancouver. 

She called the moves by Toronto and Montreal early but "significant" steps toward tighter restrictions countrywide. 

"We want to take a stand and — even if it's a lonely stand at first — show the rest of the country that we don't want more harmful advertising driven by fossil fuel companies."

Lem's group, which represents 700,000 health-care workers in Canada, has been pushing for advertising restrictions similar to those on tobacco products, arguing the burning of fossil fuels has significant impacts on health, from polluting to the broader impacts of climate change.

The Montreal transit authority, known as the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) has new guidelines that will limit — but not outright ban — oil and gas-related advertisements on its metros and buses. The ads must be reviewed to ensure they are evidence-based, and don't amount to greenwashing — a blanket term for misleading statements about an industry or product's environmental record.

"We wish to contribute to the financing of public transit in a responsible manner, which is why it is so important to establish clear guidelines against greenwashing practices in advertising," Charles Gratton, a representative from Transgesco, which handles advertising for STM, said in an emailed statement.

Similarly, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) adopted a motion last month banning "misleading" fossil fuel advocacy advertising.

The motion singles out Pathways Alliance, which represents major oilsands producers, and Canada Action, another fossil fuel lobby group — both of which have run advertisements on Toronto streetcars. Greenpeace filed a complaint with the Competition Bureau over the Pathways ad, which proclaimed its "net-zero plan is in motion."

Going forward, any proposed advertising by these groups will be put to a review to make sure they follow the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, which states that "advertisements must not distort the true meaning of statements made by professionals or scientific authorities."