The Leap Manifesto – a wide-ranging document signed by more than 100 prominent progressive Canadians – lays out an ambitious plan to end fossil fuel subsidies, increase income taxes on corporations and the wealthy, cut military spending and implement a progressive carbon tax.

Signatories include actors Donald Sutherland, Rachel McAdams, and Ellen Page; musicians Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and Alanis Morissette; and writers William Gibson and Michael Ondaatje, along with major environmental groups and labour unions.

"We start from the premise that Canada is facing the deepest crisis in recent memory," the manifesto states. Calling Canada's record on climate change "a crime against humanity's future", it urges a rapid shift over the next two decades to a fully sustainable energy economy.

From the LEAP Manifesto;
‘We could live in a country powered entirely by renewable energy, woven together by accessible public transit, in which the opportunities of this transition are designed to eliminate racial and gender inequality. Caring for one another and caring for the planet could be the economy's fastest growing sectors. Many more people could have higher-wage jobs with fewer work hours, leaving us ample time to enjoy our loved ones and flourish in our communities.

Canada is not this place today – but it can be.'

The Leap Manifesto: A Call for a Canada Based on Caring for the Earth and One Another calls on government to honour indigenous rights and move toward a clean economy fuelled by renewable energy. According to the manifesto, this can be achieved in around three decades by moving away from industries like mining and oil extraction and instead focusing on environmentally-friendly technology.

Visit The LEAP Manifesto website
View September 17, 2015 The Guardian article
View September 16, 2015 CBC News article
View September 15, 2015 The Globe and Mail article
View September 15, 2015 The Guardian article
View September 15, 2015 CBC News article