Global Courant
There are many factors to consider when choosing who to vote for in elections. But if you’re a voter concerned about climate change, how do you choose the candidate most effective in addressing it?
It’s a growing concern for more and more Canadian voters, according to Matt Hoffman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto-Scarborough, where he co-directs the Environmental Governance Lab.
“We’re getting to a point in the Canadian election at all levels where you’re not being taken seriously if you don’t have a serious plan for climate change,” he said.
Both Hoffman and Kathryn Harrison, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia, say voting is one of the most effective forms of climate action. When evaluating a candidate’s bid for your vote, Harrison and Hoffman suggest three key things to look for in the way they talk about the matter.
Kathryn Harrison and Matt Hoffman say voting is one of the most effective ways to take action on climate change. (Chelsea Kemp/CBC)
1. Urgency
The first is a sense of urgency regarding climate change and the need for immediate action.
“I think if someone takes climate change seriously, they’ll tell voters that we need to take relatively important action relatively quickly,” Hoffman said.
“If people are just focused on[achievement of net zero emissions by]2050, they’re not that serious. We really need to get started on some pretty significant measures now.”
“Things won’t stay the way they are,” Harrison said. “If we delay, they will get worse and worse.”
Both say that, in addition to a sense of urgency, voters should look for candidates to announce specific actions they will take in areas such as active transportation. (Bryan Labby/CBC)
2. Specifics
But beyond that general sense of urgency, Hoffman says it’s important that candidates have concrete plans for specific actions they’ll take.
“I think the more specific people are, the more serious they are,” he said.
“Instead of just talking about how important climate change is, or promising some support for technology development in the future, there should be some details.”
Political candidates need to be realistic about how Canadians’ relationship with fossil fuels needs to change, Hoffman said. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press)
3. Be honest about challenges
For Harrison, it’s important that candidates are honest and realistic about the problem.
“There is a real tendency to exaggerate the (necessary) reductions, to pretend that a magical (solution) will come in the future,” she said.
“(But) there is no miraculous policy that is going to solve this problem by imposing all costs on someone else, or no costs.”
Climate scientists say avoiding the worst impacts of climate change means cutting carbon emissions immediately as much as possible. For Hoffman, this means political candidates who take climate change seriously need to be honest with voters about how that will change Canadians’ relationship with fossil fuels.
“That will be a big change to how Canada’s economy works and what our day-to-day lives are like,” he said. He noted that this doesn’t necessarily mean things will get worse, just that they have to change.
“We need to have a serious conversation at the national level about how an economy based (largely) on the oil and gas sector is (going to) change in a way that does not harm the communities and workers who depend on that oil and gas sector .”
Local governments control things like urban design and public transportation projects, which both Harrison and Hoffman said are essential to shaping people’s daily lives in climate-friendly ways. (John Badcock/CBC)
Different levels, different responsibilities
When it comes to evaluating specific policies and platforms, much will depend on the type of election because the three levels of Canadian governments – local, provincial/territorial and federal – have different areas of responsibility that often overlap.
For Harrison and Hoffman, the most important role local governments have to play is shaping the cities in which Canadians live and the way they move in them.
“How much space is there for active transport such as walking and cycling?” said Harrison. “How much investment will there be in public transportation? Are we going to continue building cities that reserve a very large portion of space for individual cars?”
Provinces and territories, meanwhile, have the authority to regulate things like building codes and major industrial emitters, and to make decisions on things like energy supply and resource extraction projects. Harrison notes that while there is a federal carbon tax in place, many counties have also taken that into their own hands (or tried to combat it).
For Hoffman, one of the most important roles the federal government has to play is managing the transition of workers in the oil and gas sector to other industries — something that is already controversial. The federal government is also responsible for fulfilling Canada’s international obligations, such as the Paris Agreement.
Climate change is now a mainstream issue for which candidates of all political affiliations need a plan to be competitive in elections, Hoffman said. (Michael Sohn/The Associated Press)
Tell people why you vote
There’s a lot that goes into making a decision, but Hoffman says telling people about your decision is just as important as the decision itself.
“You have to tell people you’re voting and why you’re voting, because for those societal transformations to really take effect, individual choices have to be social and visible,” he said.
“Politicians need to know that people vote based on climate change. Parties need to know that. We need people to have these conversations in their living rooms, over fences, in their apartment lobby.”
