Federal leaders need to prioritize climate change in election, says St. John's deputy mayor

While tariffs and sovereignty are top of mind across federal election campaigns, St. John's Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O'Leary is urging political leaders to remember the fight against climate change.

O'Leary, along with more than 100 Canadian municipal politicians, signed the non-partisan Climate Caucus group's "Elbows Up For Climate Action" open letter to Canada's leaders, calling for climate change action to be included in party platforms. 

"Obviously the trade tariffs are coming in fast and furious, but we cannot forget the conversation of climate action," she told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. 

Apart from municipal politics, O'Leary has been a longtime environmentalist in Newfoundland and Labrador. She says she understands why climate change can be a difficult conversation for people in the province, but it's vital to engage with the problem.

"We have so many people who have and continue to work in and around the oil industry," said O'Leary. "But we know that is transitioning right around the world."

O'Leary pointed to the wildfires in Labrador last summer, which forced thousands of people to evacuate Labrador City and Churchill Falls.

"We're seeing fires, we're seeing coastal erosion, we're seeing flooding. This is happening at an accelerated rate," she said.

LISTEN | The CBC's Jen White speaks with Sheilagh O'Leary on climate change:

St John's Morning Show8:03Municipal leaders are asking federal party leaders to put their "elbows up" for climate action

Elbows up for Climate Change is a call to federal leaders to make it a priority in their campaigns. St. John's city councillor Sheilagh O'Leary is part of that initiative. She told us why she signed that letter.

O'Leary is calling for a plan that involves retraining people in non-renewable energy industries to work in renewable energy. 

"We want to ensure that we have our workers employable in a sustainable fashion for a long time," she said. 

Federal climate platforms

All the major political parties have outlined their climate change and energy platforms. 

The Liberals plan to create incentives for families to invest in cleaner energy, like electric vehicles. It's also looking to speed up energy projects and build pipelines.

The Conservative Party is looking to remove all carbon pricing, but also create more incentives for businesses to reduce emissions and promote clean energy.

The NDP wants to keep industrial carbon pricing and cut oil and gas subsidies. 

 WATCH | Climate change needs to become a federal election priority:

Municipal leaders say climate change needs to become a federal election priority

5 days ago

Duration 1:50

There's been a lot of talk about trade wars and tariffs this election cycle, and not a lot about climate change. It has prompted municipal leaders from across Canada to write an open letter to federal leaders asking them to focus on climate change. Sheilagh O'Leary, the deputy mayor of St. John's, told CBC Radio’s The St. John's Morning Show why she signed the letter.

O'Leary says there has been some positive conversations happening at the federal level, such as the Liberal government's announcement of a new high-speed rail network between Toronto and Quebec City. 

As for St. John's, O'Leary says conversations have centred around electrifying public transit, "as opposed to being reliant upon fossil fuels, which we know is phasing out across the world."

The Climate Caucus letter includes five recommendations for party leaders, including creating a national clean electric grid, building a national high-speed rail network, building two million energy-efficient public homes, retrofitting homes and funding national climate-emergency responses. 

Even among trade wars and other global problems, O'Leary says it's important to not forget climate change. 

"It's really important that we see the opportunities and continue to task our leaders with bold actions," she said, "to ensure that we're going to be safe and for generations to come."

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