Certainly, there will be a role for creating jobs and boosting aggregate demand quickly. There are several existing climate action programs that can be ramped up, including the Low-Carbon Economy Fund, the Green Municipal Fund, and the Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program.

Yet, to avoid boom-bust climate policy support and the weak recovery we experienced post 2008, the federal government must define something more like a Marshall Plan to rebuild after the Second World War than the 2009 stimulus packages. Other jurisdictions are well placed with state investment banks such as the German KfW and the European Investment Bank, or "green banks" in states such as Connecticut and New York.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank could lead a national clean energy investment strategy. But it would need to take a more transformative view of green infrastructure, which includes zero-carbon buildings and other decentralized energy technologies. If the Infrastructure Bank is not the right vehicle, policy-makers should create new institutions, just like Roosevelt did as part of the New Deal. Expending the policy effort to create a Canadian climate investment bank makes good sense if the objective is to lay the foundation for the next decades of economic prosperity rather than solely providing short-term stimulus.

The major lesson we should learn from the post-2008 stimulus packages and the economic downturns that concerned Keynes is that consistent public investments directed toward high-potential and socially useful sectors are needed for long-run prosperity. When the COVID-19 crisis subsides, climate change is another threat we need to manage. And creating a net-zero emissions economy requires decades of public and private investment, not another quick-hit stimulus followed by fiscal austerity.

This article is part of the The Coronavirus Pandemic: Canada's Response special feature.