Canada’s vast oil wealth is facing off with environmentalists and splitting the country politically
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Picture: AFP/SEBASTIEN ST-JEAN
Resource proponents are up in arms over a decision on Sunday by Teck Resources to abandon a C$20bn oil development in Alberta because of policy uncertainty. The government is also being accused of being too slow to respond to protesters who blocked rail lines for more than two weeks in support of indigenous people opposed to a new natural gas pipeline.
“The crisis of progressive political leadership around the democratic world is reuniting what some people call the brown and green factions of progressive political parties,” said Robin Sears, a longtime political strategist who has run campaigns for the opposition New Democratic Party. “Those who think that social justice and economic development must come first and those who think climate response must always lead. And these guys are caught in that trap.
Polls suggest Canadians from either side of the divide remain unenthusiastic about Trudeau’s ability to bring results. Support for the Liberal Party is little changed since the election, at about 33%. But according to weekly tracking by Nanos Research Group, the government is now trailing the Conservatives under a lame-duck leader.
According to Sears, the problem isn’t that Canada’s differences on energy can’t be reconciled; rather, he blames the current stalemate on poor execution by Trudeau’s government, which has failed to build trust on either side.
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