Manitoba is not exactly known for its ambitious climate commitments. For reporter Julia-Simone Rutgers, that rings especially true as she covers this year’s provincial election.
“The environment has felt more like an asterisk in many policy promises,” she told me. “Some leaders haven’t even uttered the words ‘climate change.’ ”
Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson has hopped on the trend of rejecting meaningful climate policies, much like many of her counterparts across the country — particularly policies coming from the federal government.
The federal carbon price? That’s an “unfair cash grab” and Manitoba will “stop at nothing” to see it eliminated. The international goal to conserve 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030? That “could harm economic development” — and the province is considering expanding mining activity in provincial parks. It goes on.
None of this negates the impacts of climate change felt across the Prairies.
Manitoba is a place where floods affect 90 per cent of Indigenous communities and have left residents evacuated for months, if not years. A place where residents are finding their homes — long built to withstand frigid winters — are now way too hot as summer heat intensifies. Add in extreme drought, wildfires and the numerous threats to one of Canada’s “most endangered lakes,” not to mention the uncertainty around extracting minerals deemed critical to a low-carbon future, and you’d think you might have some fodder for intense campaign debate.
But the environment and Manitoba’s climate footprint have again taken a backseat in this election campaign. Voters are set to head to the polls next week, on Oct. 3, and the debate has so far been dominated by concerns about health care, cost of living and public safety.
Climate change is still a priority for Manitobans; very few have been happy with the province’s efforts to curb its carbon emissions.
I spoke with Julia-Simone, who has been scouring the scant environment-related promises for a hint of what’s to come in the province following the election. Read on for her takes from the campaign trail — and why this election matters even if you don’t live in Manitoba.
Take care and don’t forget to vote,
Sharon Riley
Prairies bureau chief