Canada’s vote dims hopes on climate change

www.carbon-financeonline.com/
15 October, 2008

Canada's Conservative Party, which has consistently received low marks on environmental issues, expanded its position as the ruling party after securing more than a third of the popular vote in Tuesday's federal election. The Liberal Party suffered a disappointing second place finish after weeks of being attacked by Conservative Party leaders on its proposed federal carbon tax.

But the Conservatives did not receive enough support to form the majority government it was seeking, meaning it must still work with other parties to pass legislation. A return of the Liberals to power either independently or as part of a governing coalition with other opposition parties would have provided a major boost to climate change initiatives such as the party's proposed carbon tax.

Liberal Party leader Stéphane Dion introduced the party's Green Shift plan in June, which included a carbon tax that would immediately price greenhouse gas emissions at C$10 (US$8.47) per tonne, reaching C$40 per tonne within four years. The Conservative Party has resisted efforts to impose a carbon levy or hard emissions cap, proposing an intensity-based approach to emissions criticised by opposition parties as insufficient.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said a new carbon tax would hurt jobs and damage Canada's economy. His government also abandoned Canadian efforts to comply with the Kyoto Protocol. A Sierra Club of Canada analysis ranked the Green Party as having the best plan to address environmental issues, but the party did not gain a single seat in the election.

The NDP and Liberals tied for second place while the Bloc came in third. The Conservative Party received the worst scores on environmental issues in the environmental group's analysis. The Conservative Party won a total of 143 seats in Parliament, picking up 19 seats from the 2006 elections by garnering 37.6% of the popular vote. In contrast, the Liberal Party secured only 76 seats, losing 27 seats from its 2006 tally after receiving just 26.2% of the vote.