Environment a Tough Sell for Liberals in Canadian Election
Last week’s federal election in Canada saw the Conservatives returned to power, partly on the back of Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion’s “muddled message on the environment,” reports the Globe and Mail. Dion’s proposed “Green Shift” failed to resonate in the federal election campaign and his Liberal Party lost a quarter of its seats.
Certain to take notice was British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell, who heads into an election of his own in the spring having to defend an unpopular carbon tax.
>>More on Canadian environmental politics at RG&B
Mr. Campbell’s Liberal government enacted a carbon tax on fossil fuels on July 1, starting at a couple of pennies per liter for gasoline, and increasing annually. But Campbell’s stock may have risen a little over the weekend as he (and his carbon tax) received high praise from former President Bill Clinton at an event in Vancouver on Friday. Clinton called Mr. Campbell’s efforts to combat climate change “the greatest economic generator you could embrace.”
But can you hang your (party’s) hat on it?
The Globe and Mail writes:
“The party that won last night’s federal election was the one that barely mentioned the environment, except when it was to disparage the green policies of its opponents, particularly the Liberals. What does that say about where the issue sits in the pecking order of Canadian concerns? It wasn’t that long ago the environment topped the list.”
That said, many Canadians did vote for the Liberals and the New Democratic Party, both of which consider climate change and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions important. But the environment has not traditionally been a winning issue in Canadian national elections, let alone with the current economic conditions muddying the message.
Federalism is even stronger in Canada than it is in the United States. In terms of making environmental policy, responsibility has largely been devolved to the individual provinces who have been left to fend for themselves.
The Canadian federal government has never been a leader in environmental policy. One might suspect that will be the case for some time to come.
Image credit: Just-Us-3 via Flickr under a Creative Commons License
There is no point saying anything about the environment as manmade global warming has been shown not to exist. It is cooling despite the increase in C02. Luckily people in Canada know that and did not vote for Dion’s green shift.
Next on the list is the expulsion of Gordon Campbell’s BC party. Not nice Gordon, to tax people for trying to stay warm in a cooling climate.