Brad Wall mocks Leap Manifesto in high-profile Twitter battle with Naomi Klein
Canadian author and Stanford University scientist were involved in the debate
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall was caught up in a Twitter battle with a Canadian author and a Stanford University professor after he used social media to ridicule the Leap Manifesto.
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On Monday, Wall took to Twitter to share a video of himself claiming Canada could not afford to implement the Leap Manifesto. The principles of the document, which outlines measures for a shift towards clean energy, were adopted by the federal NDP at its Edmonton convention in April.
Canadian author Naomi Klein, who is an outspoken supporter of the manifesto, responded in its defence on Tuesday.
She also questioned Wall's criticism of the manifesto's clean-energy costs, citing his request in May for Ottawa to provide $156 million to clean up old oil wells.
When Mark Jacobson joined the debate, Klein ended her exchange with a challenge to the premier.
Wall accepted, with a series of tweets claiming to debunk the manifesto claims.
Some Twitter users, including Sarah Beuhler who first reported on this Twitter exchange, thought Wall still lost the debate, but the premier had a response for them too.