Environmental Defence
For the American 501(c)(3) environmentalist group formerly known as Environmental Defense, see Environmental Defense Fund.
Environmental Defence (formerly the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund) is a left-of-center Canadian registered charity founded in 1984 that conducts research and advocacy on climate change, fuel-energy policy, toxic chemicals, plastic pollution, and land and water protection. 1 The organization reported approximately CAD $6.1 million (approximately $4.3 million USD) in donations in fiscal year 2024. The group has campaigned against major oil pipeline projects and nuclear power expansion in Ontario. 2 3
Contents
Background
Environmental Defence was founded in 1984 as “the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund” and in its early years focused on toxic chemical pollution, urban sprawl, water quality, and endangered species. The organization was a founding participant in the Green Energy Act Alliance, a coalition that helped bring Ontario’s Green Energy and Economy Act into law in 2009. That legislation established a feed-in tariff program for weather-dependent energy in Ontario, with a steering committee that included Environmental Defence, the Pembina Institute, the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Ivey Foundation, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, and the First Nations Energy Alliance. 4 5
As of 2026, Timothy Gray was Environmental Defence’s executive director. Gray registered Environmental Defence as a federal in-house lobbyist in 2006, listing subject matters including climate, energy, environment, housing, health, and taxation across multiple federal departments. 6 The organization claims a supporter base of more than 370,000 Canadians. 7
Tax Authority Scrutiny
In 2012, the Canadian federal government, then controlled by the Conservative Party of then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper, funded a new Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) program to audit the political activities of charities, initially targeting environmentalist groups that had opposed its pipeline and energy policies. Environmental Defence was included in the first wave of audits alongside Makeway Foundation, Tides Canada Initiatives Society, Ecology Action Centre, and Équiterre. 2 EthicalOil.org, a pro-oil advocacy group, filed a formal complaint with the CRA alleging that Environmental Defence’s anti-pipeline work exceeded the legal 10 percent cap on charities’ political activities, and the CRA ultimately issued a notice of intent to revoke Environmental Defence’s charitable status. 8 Gray stated the organization spent approximately $500,000 in staff resources and legal fees defending against the audit over five years. 2
After a Liberal Party government took power under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, CRA suspended the remaining audits in May 2017, and a 2018 Ontario court ruling struck down the Income Tax Act provisions restricting charities’ political activities as an infringement on freedom of expression. Environmental Defence welcomed the ruling. 2 9
Energy Advocacy
Environmental Defence has conducted sustained advocacy against Canadian oil pipeline projects. The organization opposed the Energy East pipeline, a proposed 4,600-kilometer pipeline to carry Alberta oil sands bitumen to export terminals in New Brunswick, and described its cancellation in 2017 as a campaign victory. 10
Environmental Defence received CAD $212,500 (approximately $150,000) from an undisclosed funder for work including outreach and education on the Line 9 and Energy East pipelines and government relations work in Ottawa. 11 In fiscal year 2024, the organization continued to advocate the permanent shutdown of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline, which crosses the Straits of Mackinac, and reported that 6,300 supporters had sent letters to the federal government calling for its closure. 3
Environmental Defence has opposed Ontario’s plans to expand nuclear power generation. In June 2026, the organization released a commissioned report asserting that Ontario’s planned nuclear expansion would cost ratepayers CAD $117 billion (approximately $82 billion USD) more than a weather-dependent energy alternative by 2050, adding up to $456 CAD ($321 USD) per year to the average household’s electricity bill. 12
Funding
As of 2026, Environmental Defence listed foundation and government grant supporters on its website including the Catherine Donnelly Foundation, Clean Economy Fund, European Climate Foundation, Hal Jackman Foundation, Ivey Foundation, Metcalf Foundation, Small Change Fund, the Atmospheric Fund, the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, and the Trottier Family Foundation, among others. 13 The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation donated $105,000 CAD (about $74,000 USD) to the organization directed toward work on federal regulations governing climate risk disclosure by financial institutions. 14
Leadership
As of 2026, Timothy Gray was executive director of Environmental Defence. 6 Gray holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master’s of Science in Botany and Environmental Studies from the University of Toronto. He has previously was a founding board member of Global Forest Watch Canada and Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, and as of 2026 sat on the board of directors of Evidence for Democracy. 15