I've been working on this for a long time. Certainly the Prime Minister and I and all my cabinet colleagues have had many conversations about this. I had similar conversations with my provincial and territorial counterparts, and we developed a range we felt was ambitious, but attainable. I believe the 40% to 45% is both ambitious and attainable. Again, that's what Canadians would expect us to do: to reach, to stretch, to be in line with the science, and to ensure that we are moving forward in a manner that is addressing climate change for the crisis that it is, and putting Canada in a place where it can seize the economic opportunities that are enabled by the transition to a low-carbon future.
On May 12th, 2021. See this statement in context.