Why climate isn't a big issue on the Alberta campaign trail

Alberta's provincial election has run concurrent to a devastating wildfire season, the second-worst on record. The fires displaced thousands of people from their homes and led to impacts across the province, which for a period had the worst air quality in the world.

But though the effects are widespread and will continue to be felt for months to come, climate change has not landed as a major sticking point on the campaign trail — at least, not directly.

The issue failed to rank among top issues in recent polling by the Angus Reid Institute, conducted between May 12 and 16. That period began with 74 wildfires burning in Alberta, with 20 considered out of control.

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Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, said wildfires are something Albertans are unfortunately familiar with in the summertime — but it doesn't mean they don't care about climate change.

"In terms of that pecking order of priority, certainly I think we're seeing people have reactions that I think are consistent with other things going on in their lives at present," she said.

The issue has also "barely registered" for pollster Janet Brown over the course of the election campaign, even if Albertans' views on transitioning away from oil are more complex.

That polling appears to have been reflected, up until now, in the public positioning of the issue by the leaders of the two leading political parties, UCP Leader Danielle Smith and NDP Leader Rachel Notley. During last week's debate, the leaders didn't mention climate change but did discuss reducing emissions in the context of creating jobs.

The wildfires and the election come amid an urgent conversation the world is having around climate change. In March, the UN said every country, every sector, on every timeframe must "massively fast-track" climate efforts to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. 

And if Canada is to meet its targets to slash carbon emissions, much will depend on Alberta's progress. In 2021, the oil and gas industry was the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the country, accounting for 28 per cent of total emissions.

But given that oil and gas is Alberta's largest industry, and one that historically has seen its spillover effects creating a significant number of jobs in other industries, any conversation around new regulations for that industry often appears fraught and controversial.

That has led to a political campaign that has seen both campaigns talk about climate change while appearing to avoid mentioning those words explicitly — even if environmental groups would argue the conversation doesn't go far enough.

"We are not properly prepared, and the climate plans that I've seen from the parties are very weak," said Natalie Odd, a former federal candidate for the Green Party and the executive director of the Alberta Environmental Network, a non-profit focused on protecting the environment.

A political balancing act

In Alberta, the climate and the economy are often spoken about in the same breath.

Unlike some past elections, this one has seen climate tied into conversations about the economy when it comes to discussions like those surrounding decarbonizing the electricity grid or around efforts to meet net-zero, said Michael Solberg, a partner and co-owner of New West Public Affairs, a government and public relations firm based in Calgary.

"I think that's part of the reason why we haven't seen a climate debate [on] its face, because it's integrated in a broader conversation about economy and job creation," said Solberg, a former Conservative staffer under former prime minister Stephen Harper.

Leah Ward, vice-president at Wellington Advocacy and a senior advisor to Notley while she was premier, said the conversation is difficult because much of Alberta's identity is built around the oil and gas industry.

But she said that, in the midst of a crisis, most peoples' minds are focused on immediate concerns, such as getting boots on the ground to fight and manage wildfires, evacuate homes and move residents to safety.

"It's possible that peoples' minds are more focused on those very immediate pieces," she said.

Despite their polling focus largely on issues such as inflation and the cost of living, Albertans have also in recent years pushed back against what they viewed as government and corporate infringements on natural spaces, including when it comes to coal and parks.

Though some voters many not rank climate as among their top concerns, according to polling, many of them hold beliefs surrounding environmental protection in their immediate communities.

Medicine Hat resident Jerry Fitzgerald, who disagrees with the direction being taken by federal policymakers, has serious worries about the long-term impacts of melting glaciers on his province.

"I personally would like to see [Alberta] being more proactive in creating large reservoirs where we can capture the runoff in the spring, too, so that we're not running short of water in the summer months," he said. "I don't know if that's that's unreasonable, but I think that's just being proactive."

Party pledges

The UCP recently released an "aspirational" plan to achieve a carbon neutral economy by 2050, and, the UCP says, to do so "without compromising affordable, reliable and secure energy."

It also pointed to other programs it developed aimed at lowering emissions, including energy efficiency regulations, carbon-capture-and-storage technology and methane emissions management.

The NDP has said tackling climate change and having a strong economy go "hand in hand," adding it supports technologies and emissions-reducing investments like carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and energy storage.

It says it is committed to achieving net-zero emissions in the electricity sector by 2035 and net-zero economy-wide by 2050.

The one party that has put climate front and centre during the election campaign has been the Alberta Green Party, which has said it considers "the climate crisis its highest priority."

Speaking to CBC Edmonton's Mark Connolly, Jordan Wilkie, leader of the party, said the Green Party has been talking about such issues for decades.

"When we speak about climate change, there's no one else in this election that's really talking about a solid plan forward. And we have that plan," Wilkie said. 

"We have a plan to combat not just climate change, but we have a resiliency plan for wildfires, floods, droughts — a lot of the issues that are going to be affecting us more and more and more."

The party would seek to decarbonize the electricity sector by retiring gas and coal power plants and replacing them with renewable sources of energy like solar and wind. No new oil, gas or coal projects would be approved.

Oilsands producers would point to an alliance with a goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, largely emphasizing carbon capture, utilization and storage technology. Renewable energy such as solar and wind have been on the upswing and now make up around 26 per cent of the electricity produced in the province, and Alberta has also shuttered coal-fired power plants.

Still, despite all of this, environmental groups say Alberta must move much faster to cut emissions and capitalize on clean energy technology that could define the next economy — especially given the dire warnings emerging globally.